Dear Parents/Guardians:
At our school, bullying of any kind, by any person, is unacceptable. All students should be free from worries about being bullied. Students who bully others must be taught other, appropriate ways of interacting with peers. The purpose of this letter is to provide you with information concerning the Loleta Elementary School’s anti-bullying policies and to encourage you to help us identify students who are being bullied.
At Loleta Elementary School District, we believe in working together with parents to combat bullying. We know this problem is not confined to school grounds and can also occur via social media. Bullying at school affects and is affected by what happens at home between siblings, what happens in the neighborhood, and what happens when kids go online. We must work together to take immediate action, whether a child bullies, is a victim of bullying, or is a witness to bullying.
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Bullying is defined as follows:
Bullying means any severe, repeated, or pervasive physical, relational, or verbal act or conduct, including communications made in writing or electronically, directed toward a student that has or can be reasonably predicted to have the effect of one or more of the following:
- Placing the student in reasonable fear of harm to the student’s person or property.
- Causing a substantially detrimental effect on the student’s physical or mental health.
- Substantially interfering with the student’s academic performance.
- Substantially interfering with the student’s ability to participate in or benefit from the services, activities, or privileges provided by a school.
Bullying, intimidation, and/or harassment may take various forms, including without limitation: threats, stalking, physical violence, sexual harassment, public humiliation, destruction of property, or retaliation for asserting or alleging an act of bullying.
I have asked our school staff members to respond immediately and with compassion to a student who reports bullying or school violence. After evaluating the situation to determine if an immediate referral to my office is needed, a staff member can also fill out a Report of Bullying, Harassment, or Discrimination Report Form. I will inform you whenever your child is involved in a bullying report.
I also asked our staff members for their feedback and concerns specifically regarding locations that may be bullying hot spots needing additional supervision or monitoring or if there are any known bullies or targets of bullying in our building. I want to ask you to do the same thing. Please inform me if you know of any bullying hot spots in or around our school, or if you are aware of a known bully or target of bullying.
Finally, I requested our staff members to intervene immediately to stop a bullying incident and report the concern to me in the form of a Behavior Tracking Form and/or Report of Bullying, Harassment, or Discrimination Report Form. You are also welcome to complete a Universal Complain Form should you have any concerns or suggestions. The form is located on our website at loletaschool.org.
I believe that communication is key to our success. Please contact me if you have any bullying-related information for us. If we do not know, we will be unable to take appropriate action.
Sincerely,
Autumn Chapman
Superintendent/Principal