Newport-Mesa district targets bullying on campuses
Students at Adams Elementary School made a promise Friday morning to keep bullying off their campus and the Newport-Mesa Unified District is planning to teach them the tools to achieve that goal.
Adams students held banners during the school’s flag deck announcements illustrating the new rules for preventing bullying and helping others that face it each day.
Estancia High School cheerleaders led the younger students in a song of encouragement.
“We won’t take it, we say no, bullying has got to go,” the kids chanted.
The event was a kick off to the Olweus Bullying Prevention and Intervention Program, a national initiative that Adams and Lincoln elementary schools will be piloting for the district. Olweus focuses on encouraging teachers and staff to make students aware of different types of bullying and teach them how to step in to defend others.
The program is designed to complement the district’s overall goal of improving social climates in schools to assure that no child is excluded.
“Bullying is an unfortunate byproduct of putting 500 people in one place,” said Principal Gabe Del Real.
The district plans to extend the program, which includes school administration and teacher training, to each of its campuses in the coming years.
Another tactic the district hopes will reduce bullying is the implementation of the Positive Behavior Interventions and Support program, a form of restorative justice that gives administrators tools to understand specific students’ behavior.
Like restorative justice, it forces students to understand the repercussions of their actions and work to make amends for wrongdoing.
While officials say there isn’t an abundance of bullying at Newport-Mesa campuses, studies show that elementary school age children are more likely than students in higher grades to encounter bullying at school.
“One of the roles of our schools is to teach kids to be responsible citizens,” said Director of Student Services Phil D’Agostino. “We’re trying to shape kids that are going to go out into the world and do great things.”