Mr. Carl Williams, Assistant Principal Dr. Marilyn Highland, Principal Sarasota School of Arts and Sciences

 Sexuality issues reported  Health classes 2/28/11  Increased number of bullying related deaths  Interest on campus with only a few students and their desire to stop bullying  Design of Anti-bullying bracelets on campus  Creation of the Anti-Bullying Committee

 After initiating the “Open Reporting” we initially received on average 10 reports per day (for about 2 weeks)  Shared across 5 people: Principal, 2 Assistant Principals, School Counselor, Security Aide  Students showed a certain level of comfort with knowing they could report without feeling intimidated (changed culture)

 Statement of Witness/Subject report  Appointment Request  Can be anonymous  Can be slipped under any teacher’s door or placed into any teacher’s mailbox (will then be turned in to Admin)  Anyone can report  Reports investigated immediately

 Nationally, bullying has risen to levels higher than ever, but the word “bullying” cannot be taken for granted  While every report is properly investigated, there are times when it just isn’t bullying  Parents like to hear that there really isn’t bullying as much as they like to hear that a case of bullying has been effectively handled

 Physical = Inferiority  Verbal = Confrontation  Cyber = Confusing Thoughts  Non-verbal = Isolation  Text messaging = Rumors  Any of these can lead to mental bullying which is the most dangerous and leads to depression, injury, or death

 Started in March of 2011  Approximately 75 student committee members (and growing)  2 student representatives for each grade level  Hold monthly meetings organized and facilitated by representatives  Address relevant and current issues  Decision making body

 Incoming 6 th Grade Parent Meeting  Connect Ed  Team News (Online and Hard Copies)  School Newspaper  School Website  PTSS Meetings

 On Site visits from County Law Enforcement to speak to student body  Assistance from School District (ie: resources we may not have)  Yearly presentation for families with City Law Enforcement, Government Leaders, and Professional Counselors*

 Our students spread the word that bullying will not be accepted  What started as a staff driven concept has now become student driven  Our families are very well aware of the zero tolerance policy. We constantly receive families to our school who were referred by others due to this fact.

 Positive Promotion  Level of trust and confidence in reporting  Consistency with investigations  Effective Decision Making  Tolerance and acceptance for all  Support from inside and outside sources  Strong consequences when applicable

 The methods of reporting have been utilized  The level of bullying related incidents have decreased significantly  The reputation in the community of the school has been noted as one with “true” zero tolerance  Other schools have contacted us about anti- bullying measures  Morale of the students and staff has risen

 The Anti-Bullying Committee started at SSA+S has garnered local and statewide attention including interviews with Fox and ABC News  A Facebook page was put together by our first grade level representative (8 th grade) which accumulated 7000 followers in the first week  While the number of reports has risen (approx. 4 per week), the number of referral incidents has dropped (approx. 1 per month)

 Dr. Marilyn Highland, Principal (941) ext 204  Mr. Carl Williams, Assistant Principal (941) ext 202