Bullying is not a systemic problem in the Unionville-Chadds Ford School District but, “To say that there’s no problem, would be false. I think every school, every institution, wouldn’t be able to say there’s no problem. I think we’re being proactive.”
Those were the words of Rich Hug, the district’s director of public relations. He made the comment prior to a community discussion on the topic of bullying, a discussion that included parents, teachers, administrators and students from U-CF as well as the Kennett Consolidated School District. Roughly 50 people attended the session held in the Unionville High School cafeteria on Nov. 5.
School Superintendent John Sanville admitted that bullying exists, but added that it’s not systemic.
“It exists at Unionville-Chadds Ford School District just like it does everywhere, but we’re not afraid to tackle difficult social issues head on,” he said. “If one child is being bullied, that’s one child too many.”
There is already an anti-bullying program in the district and it could be expanded.
The evening was spurred by a viewing of the movie “Bully,” a documentary about bullying that was filmed by Lee Hirsch in Iowa. It follows the problems of several students who were victims of bullying, one of whom committed suicide.
According to the storyline, more than 13 million students across the country this year will be victimized by bullies, either at school, on a bus or online.
Viewing the film was not a requirement for taking part in the discussion, but it did help. Individuals talked in groups about the film, reading some excerpts from the director.
Ideas that people took away from those group sessions included the fact that bullying can take several forms such as physical or verbal abuse or shunning and avoiding. In today’s society, though, students can’t necessarily escape bullying when they go home because it can be carried over into cyberspace through texting and social media.
Other ideas included being aware that bullying is not always overt, that it’s more of a problem in the middle school and that all school personnel, from administrators to aides to bus drivers need to know what to look for and how to handle situations.
One parent in a breakout session said that school need to keep track of incidents to learn if there’s a pattern or habit behind any of the kids doing the bullying. Another parent said that students need to learn to respect themselves and others.
School Director Kathy Do was one of the people behind the discussion program. She said she wants people to talk candidly about the matter.
“The movie opened up a lot of eyes. I think when people get a better sense of what bullying is and how it affects children, they will open up,” Do said. “It’s a matter of getting people to care about the issue.”
She said she thinks parents and other adults do care, but they just don’t know enough about bullying.
“And if they don’t know it exists, it’s not on their radar screen,” she said. “They will care about the issue if they know it exists.”
Do also said the U-CF School Board is considering a policy change that would expand an already existing program — the Olweus Bullying Prevention Program — into the elementary schools.
The program is nationally recognized, Do said, and is already part of the education curriculum in the middle school.
The board is expected to vote this month on expanding the program to the elementary level.
About Rich Schwartzman
Rich Schwartzman has been reporting on events in the greater Chadds Ford area since September 2001 when he became the founding editor of The Chadds Ford Post. In April 2009 he became managing editor of ChaddsFordLive. He is also an award-winning photographer.
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