Bully Prevention using Positive Behavioral Interventions & Supports

Purpose Define why bullying is worth addressing Provide a comprehensive model for bully preventions Provide a description of core elements of universal level bully prevention

Violence Prevention Positive, predictable schoolwide climate High rates of academic & social success Formal social skills instruction Positive active supervision & reinforcement Positive adult role models Multi-component, multi-year school, family, & community effort

The Logic: Why Invest in Bully Prevention? The National School Safety Center (NSSC) called bullying the most enduring and underrated problem in U.S. schools. (Beale, 2001)

The Logic: Why Invest in Bully Prevention? Nearly 30 % of students have reported being involved in bullying as either a perpetrator or a victim. (Nansel et al., 2001; Swearer & Espelage, 2004)

The Logic: Why Invest in Bully Prevention? Victims and perpetrators of bullying are more likely to skip and/or drop out of school. (Bethold & Hoover, 2000; Neary & Joseph, 1994)

The Logic: Why Invest in Bully Prevention? 84.6% of LGBT students reported being verbally harassed, 40.1% reported being physically harassed, and 18.8% reported being physically assaulted at school in the past year because of their sexual orientation. (GLSEN, 2009)

The Logic: Why Invest in Bully Prevention? Students on the autism spectrum are more likely to be victimized than their non- disabled peers. (Little, 2002)

The Logic: Why Invest in Bully Prevention? Victims and perpetrators of bullying are more likely to suffer from underachievement and sub-potential performance in employment settings. (Carney & Merrell, 2001; NSSC, 1995))

The Logic: Why Invest in Bully Prevention? Involvement in bullying is a cross-cultural phenomenon. (Jimerson, Swearer, Espelage, 2010)

The Logic: Why Invest in Bully Prevention? Bullying is NOT done by a small number of students who are socially and emotionally isolated. Bullying is common across socio-economic status, gender, grade, and class. (Bradshaw et al., 2010)

The Logic: Why Invest in Bully Prevention? Many bully prevention programs are either ineffective, only show change in verbal behavior, or inadvertently result in increases in relational aggression and bullying. (Merrell et al., 2008)

What is Bullying? Bullying is repeated aggression, harassment, threats, or intimidation when one person has greater status, control, or power over the other.

Why invest in schoolwide bully prevention? Most bully prevention programs focus on the bully and the victim. Problem #1: Inadvertent “teaching of bullying” Problem #2: Blame the bully Problem #3: Ignore the role of “bystanders” Problem #4: Initial effects without sustained impact Problem #5: Expensive effort

Why invest in schoolwide bully prevention? What do we need? Bully prevention that “fits” with existing behavior support efforts Bully PREVENTION, not just remediation Bully prevention that is SUSTAINABLE

Bully Prevention in PBIS: Bully Prevention in PBIS: The Foundation Bullying occurs in many forms, and locations but typically involves student- student interactions o Bullying is seldom maintained by feedback from adults

Bully Prevention in PBIS: Bully Prevention in PBIS: The Foundation What rewards Bullying Behavior? o It is likely that many different rewards are effective. o Most common rewards are: Attention from bystanders Attention and reaction of “victim” Self-delivered reward

Bully Prevention in PBIS: Bully Prevention in PBIS: The Foundation Consider the smallest change that could make the biggest impact on Bullying… o Remove the “pay off” (e.g. praise, attention, recognition) that follows bullying o Do without: Teaching bullying Denigrating children who engage in bullying

Academic SystemsBehavioral Systems 1-5% 5-10% 80-90% Intensive, Individual Interventions Individual Students Assessment-based High Intensity Intensive, Individual Interventions Individual Students Assessment-based Intense, durable procedures Targeted Group Interventions Some students (at-risk) High efficiency Rapid response Targeted Group Interventions Some students (at-risk) High efficiency Rapid response Universal Interventions All students Preventive, proactive Universal Interventions All settings, all students Preventive, proactive Idaho’s Tiered Instructional and Positive Behavioral Interventions and Support (PBIS) Framework

Science of Human Behavior Behavior is learned All behavior has a purpose Behavior occurrences are linked to environmental factors Behavior change occurs through manipulation of environmental factors

Schoolwide Systems 1.Common purpose & approach to discipline 2.Clear set of positive expectations & behaviors 3.Procedures for teaching expected behavior 4.Continuum or procedures for encouraging expected behavior 5.Continuum of procedures for discouraging inappropriate behavior 6.Procedures for on-going monitoring & evaluation

Core Features of an Effective Prevention Effort Five Student SkillsFor Faculty/Staff Schoolwide behavioral expectations (respect) Stop routine when faced with disrespectful behavior Bystander stop routine when observing disrespectful behavior Stopping routine if someone tells you to “stop” A recruit help routine to recruit adult help if you feel unsafe Agreement on logic for bully prevention effort Strategy for teaching students core skills Strategy for follow-up and consistency in responding Clear data collection and data use process Advanced support options

Expectations are… Overarching character traits you want to build into all students Driven by your local data Focused in the areas of Respect, Responsibility, and Safety The start of the to-do’s (end of the don’ts)

Defining Expectations

School Rules NO Food NO Weapons NO Backpacks NO Drugs/Smoking NO Bullying Redesign Learning & Teaching Environment 26

Teaching Matrix SETTING All Settings HallwaysPlaygroundsCafeteria Library/ Compute r Lab AssemblyBus Respect Ourselves Be on task. Give your best effort. Be prepared. Walk.Have a plan. Eat all your food. Select healthy foods. Study, read, compute. Sit in one spot. Watch for your stop. Respect Others Be kind. Hands/feet to self. Help/share with others. Use normal voice volume. Walk to right. Play safe. Include others. Share equipment. Practice good table manners Whisper. Return books. Listen/watch. Use appropriate applause. Use a quiet voice. Stay in your seat. Respect Property Recycle. Clean up after self. Pick up litter. Maintain physical space. Use equipment properly. Put litter in garbage can. Replace trays & utensils. Clean up eating area. Push in chairs. Treat books carefully. Pick up. Treat chairs appropriately. Wipe your feet. Sit appropriately. Expectations 1. SOCIAL SKILL 2. NATURAL CONTEXT 3. BEHAVIOR EXAMPLES Eber & Sugai, 2009

Element of Bully Prevention with SWPBIS 1.Getting student buy-in 2.Teaching students how to respond 3.How adults should respond 4.Effective delivery of instruction 5.Using data 6.Advanced supports

1. Getting Student Buy-in Getting older students to buy into schoolwide behavioral intervention is half the battle (or more than half!) Have students involved in every phase of the intervention o Create student focus group prior to implementation o Consider schoolwide surveys to allow all students to give input o Students can be involved in teaching the curriculum o They can also help collect data

2. Teaching Students How to Respond Teach schoolwide expectations first! o Teach students to recognize “respectful” versus “non-respectful” behavior. o Discuss examples (and non-examples) of following schoolwide rules in specific settings. o Use non-examples (e.g. problem behaviors) from outside the classroom: Basketball, four square, between classes, hanging out in the parking lot The word “bully” is never used. Peer attention comes in many forms:  Arguing with someone that teases you  Laughing at someone being picked on  Watching the problem behavior and doing nothing

Stop Routine Teach a clear, simple, and easy way to remove the peer attention maintaining problem behavior. If someone does something disrespectful to you or someone else, tell them to “stop.” Because talking is tough in emotional situations…always include a physical “signal” for stop. Firm hand signal Clear voice

Teach “Walk Away” Often, even when students tell others to “stop,” problem behaviors continue. When this happens, students are to “walk away” from the problem behavior (remove themselves from the situation). Students should help others walk away too. Students can comfort victims after helping them walk away.

Teach “Getting Help” Even when students use “stop” and “walk away” sometimes others will continue to behave inappropriately toward them. When that happens, students should “talk” to an adult. Report problems to adults o Where is the line between snitching/tattling and reporting? “Talking” is when you have tried to solve the problem by staying “stop,” or “walk away” steps. Snitching or tattling is when you do not try the “stop” or “walk away” steps. Snitching or tattling is when your goal is to get the other person in trouble. An exception to the rule: If students are in significant fear for their safety, they should skip the “stop” and “walk away” steps, and go immediately to an adult.

Discussing the “What Ifs” When teaching the new response, it is important to discuss the “what ifs.” o What if the person being disrespectful is your best friend? How can you still support the student who is being treated disrespectfully without jeopardizing your friendship? o What if the non-respect is gossip when I’m not around? o What if the disrespect is done online or through a text? o What if the person being disrespectful retaliates later?

Teaching a Reply: The Stopping Routing What to do when YOU are asked to “stop” Eventually, every student will be told to stop. Here is the rule: If someone asks you to stop doing something that they think is disrespectful, you stop – whether you were doing it on purpose or not. When you are asked to stop, do the following: o Stop what you are doing o Take a deep breath o Go about your day (no big deal) At this point, students can problem-solve, apologize, or just drop it

Practice with Students The majority of the instructional time is spent modeling effective responses, followed by guided practice. Use student examples of disrespect to model how to respond. Then, give students the opportunity to pair up and practice the effective response. Review the logic of the stop routine: Saying “stop” is a way to stop the oxygen fueling disrespectful behavior. Be prepared for students to use the “stop” response with too much gusto. Demonstrate non-examples of inappropriate ways to deliver the stop sequence.

3. How Adults Should Respond When a student reports problem behavior, adults should follow a specific response sequence: First, let students know that their report is important o Reinforce the student for reporting the problem behavior (i.e. “I’m glad you told me.”) o Use reflective statements to let the student know you are listening to them. o Use supportive statements to let the student know that you care about what they’re saying. Ensure the student’s safety. o Is the behavior still happening? o Is the reporting student at risk? o What does the student need to feel safe? o What is the severity of the situation? “Did you tell the student to stop?” (If yes, praise the student for using an appropriate response. If no, practice.) “Did you walk away?” (If yes, praise the student for using an appropriate response. If no, practice.)

Extra Practice with Some Students For students who are chronic victims or perpetrators (physical, verbal, or social aggression): o At the beginning of unstructured times, a school adult should check in with the student and remind them of the stop sequence and how to reply if another student uses the sequence with them. o At the end of the unstructured time, check in again, ask about how it went, and reinforce them for their effort. Don’t underestimate the power of this added intervention!

4. Effective Delivery of Instruction Use the teaching plans in the BP-PBIS handbook Build your own teaching plans Develop a schedule for implementation o Teach all students in the school within a 2 week period. How will we do this? o Build a strategy for providing orientation to new students entering the school. After the initial lessons, teachers should follow up with students weekly (10-15 min.) to discuss what is working and what isn’t. o Remember the flame won’t go out immediately, so checking-in regularly is critical.

Walking the Walk The effectiveness of the intervention is contingent on the ongoing coaching and practice (fidelity of implementation). SWPBIS teams need to ensure that implementation continues after the initial lessons. o Weekly surveys “I checked in with a student at the beginning of recess.” “I praised a student for using the stop/walk/talk response.” “I modeled the stop/walk/talk response for a student.” “I praised a student for reporting a problem behavior.” “I coached a student who was not respectful to others about how to respond when others say stop.” o Daily checklists

5. Data Collection/Decision- Making Office Discipline Referral Data o Whole school o Individual students Staff survey o The School Safety Survey Fidelity o Fidelity checklist o Are we doing the BP-PBIS program as developed?

6. Advanced Support SWPBIS & BP-PBIS will not be sufficient for all students. Aggressive, bullying behaviors occur for many reasons. o Mental Health issues o Family dynamics o Disabilities Use your data to identify students in need of more intense support and refer them to your team.

ElementaryMiddle School Curriculum

BP-PBIS Program Contents 1.Student Curriculum (Part 1) o Teaching the Social Responsibility Skills 2.Student Curriculum (Part 2) o Responding to Stop/Walk/Talk 3.Gossip 4.Inappropriate Remarks 5.Cyber Bullying 6.Supervising Behavior 7.Faculty Follow-up 8.Where BP-PBIS Came From 9.Citations

Implementing Bully Prevention Phase ExplorationDoes your school need a bully prevention program? Office discipline referrals Student survey Faculty/family reports InstallationBuild the foundation. Faculty orientation. Team developed/trained “Stop” signal selected Faculty orientation (logic) Implement Bully Prevention within SWPBIS Develop & deliver. Student orientation. Build BP curriculum and teaching plans Teach BP-PBIS to all students Schedule and conduct boosters Full Implementation Monitor fidelity & impact. Adapt to unique needs. Build sustainability. Collect and use data Coaching and Training capacity developed

How to Implement Bully Prevention in PBIS SchoolDistrict Implement SWPBIS Faculty commitment Faculty introduced to BP Team to implement Student Forum Build BP lessons for students Train all students Booster/Follow-up lessons Coaching support for supervisors Collect and use data Build expectations for all schools Fall orientation emphasis on social behavior District trainer/coordinator District reporting of: o Schools using BP-PBIS o Fidelity of implementation o Impact on student behavior

Additional Resources Bullying and Harassment Prevention in Positive Behavior Support Bully Prevention in Positive Behavior Support o elementary and middle school versions Reducing the Effectiveness of Bullying Behavior in Schools o great document to share with staff – rationale Self Assessment Survey o To be completed individually Student Survey Stand for Courage Peer Nomination Form Bully Prevention in Positive Behavior Implementation Checklist

Team Activity 1.Review the following: Bullying and Harassment Prevention in Positive Behavior Support Bully Prevention in Positive Behavior Support o elementary and middle school versions How might you utilize these resources at your school? 2.Complete the following as a team: Bully Prevention in Positive Behavior Implementation Checklist