Bully Prevention within PBIS: Expect Respect – Secondary Schools Brianna Stiller, Ph.D.

 Introductions  Foundations and Core Concepts  Expect Respect Curriculum  Fidelity of Implementation  Data  Questions/Discussion

Bullying & Harassment  30% of youth in the United States are estimated to be involved in bullying as either a bully, a target.  Staff are likely to underestimate the extent of harassment and bullying. One study showed:  58% of students perceived teasing, spreading lies or rumors, or saying mean things to be problems.  Only 25% of teachers perceived these behaviors to be problems. Nansel et al. (2001). Bullying Behaviors Among U.S. Youth. JAMA.

Scott Ross, University of Oregon Its way past time… 4

Scott Ross, University of Oregon Adults only see the tip of the iceberg.

 Approximately 42% of secondary students report being bullied during the past year.  42% of students report being harassed in the last year.  43% of students report observing harassment based on sexual orientation once a month or more  42% report observing harassment based on disabilities one a month or more.  31% report observing harassment based on race once a month or more

 The majority of incidents are low level – name calling; exclusion; low levels of physical contact (pushing; shoving; etc.)  There is research to show that high rates of low level behaviors are associated with a greater probability of high intensity incidents  Ignoring low level incidents is an invitation to escalate social aggression.

Literature Review of Existing Bully Prevention Programs  Outcome data is sparse. Most programs show student knowledge of what to do improves, not that actual behavior changes  Efficiency is a major issue – amount of effort needed to deliver the program v. potential benefits  Most programs do not target behavior of bystanders

Primary Prevention: School Wide Program (Bully Prevention in Positive Behavior Support) Student Forums Adult Coaching Secondary Prevention: Intensive Practice Safety Plans for Recipients Mediation Tertiary Prevention: Behavior Support Plans for Perpetrators and/or Recipients ~80% of Students ~15% ~5% CONTINUUM OF SCHOOL-WIDE Bully Prevention Program

Bully Prevention in PBIS: Expect Respect  Critical Features of Expect Respect: ◦ Facilitate student participation ◦ Reduce interactions that reinforce bullying  Target Recipient Behavior; Perpetrator Behavior; and Bystander Behavior ◦ Teach students how to respectfully interrupt socially aggressive behavior  Establish a School-Wide Stop Phrase  Teach Student Strategies  Teach adults to support students ◦ Deliver the intervention with sufficient intensity to maintain positive effects

 Attention from Bystanders  Reactions from the Recipient  Access to Items

 Faculty Orientation  Student Advisory Committee (Forum)  3-4 Formal Lessons  Repeat and Repair  Fidelity of Implementation Monitor Plan  Data  Student Projects? You-Tube; Assembly; Play

September & October  Faculty Orientation  Student Advisory Meeting  Lessons  Regular check-ins with staff November  Fidelity Checks  Student Project? December – May  Fidelity Checks  Repeat and Repair  Student Project? June  School-wide event to celebrate Expect Respect

1. Staff Orientation/Alignment 2.Active Listening/Reflective statements 3.Role Play Taking Reports

 Meeting to get student feedback on skills to be taught and Stop Phrase  Determine if student group wants to be involved in teaching the lessons  Determine if there is interest to start a student led project – You Tube video; play; assembly; etc.

 Lesson 1: Student Orientation/Introduction  Lesson 2 (Year 1): Simulation (Getting on the Bus)  Lesson 2 (Year 2): Interrupting Bullying and Harassment in the Classroom  Lesson 3 (Year 1): YouTube videos and Safety Plan  Lesson 3 (Year 2): It Gets Better and Seeking Support  Supplementary Lesson: Creating a Pledge

 The lessons are scripted, and there are many tips for how to respond to “what ifs”  Determine: ◦ Who will teach the lessons ◦ How far apart the lessons will be taught  Skilled Facilitation is important ◦ Make the role plays realistic. If the scenarios and responses are trivial or not congruent with how students interact with one another when no adults are present, the students will think the program is silly. Be provocative; the students must be actively engaged

Bully Prevention in Positive Behavior Support: Expect Respect  Skills taught within Expect Respect  Stop Strategy  Stopping Strategy  Seeking Support Strategy  Adult Coaching Strategy

 Step One: If someone treats you in a way that feels disrespectful, use the School wide “Stop Phrase”  Step Two: If the person Stops, say “cool” or “OK” and move on with your day  Step Three: If the person does not Stop, decide whether to ignore the person or seek support  Step Four: If you decide to ignore, don’t look at or talk to the person. If you decide to Seek Support, select a school adult to approach and ask for support.

 If someone uses the School wide Stop Phrase toward you: ◦ Step One: Stop what you are doing, even if you don’t think you are doing anything wrong ◦ Step Two: Remind yourself “No big deal if I stop now and don’t do it again” ◦ Step Three: Say “OK” to the person who asked you to Stop and move on with your day

 If you use the School wide Stop Signal and the person does not Stop: ◦ Step One: Decide whether to ignore it or seek support ◦ Step Two: If you seek support, select a school adult to report to ◦ Step Three: Approach the adult, and say “I’m having a problem with ______. I asked her to Stop and she continued”. ◦ Step Four: If the adult doesn’t have time to help solve the problem right then, ask the adult when they would have time and make an appointment.

 If a student approaches you with a problem involving disrespectful behavior: ◦ Step One: Say “Thanks for telling me” ◦ Step Two: Listen empathetically. Ask if this is the first time; who/what/when where ◦ Step Three: Ask the student if he/she used the Stop Phrase ◦ Step Four: Ask the student if the person who didn’t stop is likely to retaliate if confronted by an adult about their behavior ◦ Step Five: Help the student select a course of action. Possibilities include:  Filing a harassment report  Mediation  A safety plan for minimizing contact  Letting it go (“I just needed someone to listen to me”)

Scott Ross, University of Oregon No means no. The rule is: If someone asks you to stop, you stop.

 The purpose of fidelity of implementation checklists are to: ◦ Track the progress of implementation of the intervention ◦ Provide a reminder of the steps that staff take in responding to bullying behaviors ◦ Assess whether or not the intervention is being delivered as intended

 Faculty Self-Assessment: Fidelity assessed using a 5-item checklist ◦ Completed 2-3X by teachers and supervising staff  Implementation Checklist: Completed by coordinating team to monitor implementation of all components

Faculty Self-Assessment

Implementation Checklist

 Purpose: ◦ Assess students’ perceptions of their school environment and their responses to bullying and harassment behaviors. ◦ It may also be used to collect pre- and post- intervention data, to assess if implementation of Expect Respect has an effect on the way students’ view school safety.

 Piloted in 3 PBIS middle schools ◦ None of the schools had been implementing Bully Prevention in PBIS before this study  Data on bullying/harassment behavior collected during 6 th - 7 th grade lunch for 20 minute observations  Direct Observation data shows reduction in socially aggressive incidents during and after implementation of Expect Respect  Student survey data indicates students liked the program, but that it didn’t change their perceptions of bullying in the school

 Critical Implementation Variables: ◦ Intensity: Enough to engage the students in problem solution ◦ Fidelity: Systematic checks particularly regarding adult coaching and follow through with interrupting behaviors ◦ Sustainability: Continued effort needed to obtain long term results

What We’ve Learned  You need a team (PBIS Team) to monitor implementation  Keep the conversation going  Facilitate active participation from the students and keep it real!  Solicit feedback from the staff and maintain staff involvement

 Brianna Stiller Please visit for Expect Respect curriculum and information (not yet posted, but should be posted by mid August)