When it comes to school safety, most people think about the physical safety of students and staff on school campuses. Without question, preparing for and preventing incidents of school violence is critical for school administrators. According to the non-profit Educator’s School Safety Network, there were 3,380 threats and incidents of violence reported in K-12 schools in the 2017-2018 school year, up 62% from the previous year. While preparing students, staff, and campuses for a physical attack is crucial, administrators must also focus increased energy and resources on preparing for and preventing a cybersecurity attack.

The eSchool News K-12 School Safety Guide, explains that schools are often targets of cybercriminals because they house an “abundance of personally-identifiable information (PII) on students and staff.” The K-12 Cybersecurity Resource Center reports that there have been 688 publicly-disclosed cybersecurity incidents involving U.S. public schools since 2016. Breaches or hacks, ransomware attacks, or other cyber incidents can disrupt school operations, result in unauthorized disclosures of data, and cost schools a significant amount of money. As teaching and learning becomes more digital, school networks become more susceptible to cyberattacks, and school leaders are urged to be more proactive in protecting sensitive data and their networks.

Preventing Cyberattacks

School technology administrators and security teams must focus on creating and maintaining a well-designed security architecture to prevent cyberattacks, utilize monitoring solutions to quickly identify and address attacks against their institution’s network, and continually monitor the stability of their networks and technology solutions. In addition, as teachers and students use more technologies in the classroom, and since many cybersecurity breaches occur because of poor security practices, staff and students must be educated on the types of cyberattacks, where they can come from, and how to prevent them.

How SafeSchools Can Help – More than Just Compliance Training

Thousands of K-12 administrators trust SafeSchools Training to help manage and deliver important staff training to help comply with important state and federal mandates, including OSHA, Title IX, Mandatory Reporting, FERPA, and more.  But with hundreds of expert-authored courses, SafeSchools Training offers much more than just compliance training, including an entire section of courses focused on Information Technology.

Key SafeSchools Training courses that can help your staff understand their important role in preventing a cybersecurity attack include:

• Browser Security Basics
• Cybersecurity Overview
• Email and Messaging Safety
• Password Security Basics
• Protection Against Malware

Courses are authored by veteran K-12 technology expert, Pete Just, who has served as the Chief Technology Officer at MSD Wayne Township in Indiana for over 10 years.

Our new SafeSchools Training Student Courses solution also includes a course focused on Digital Citizenship for students in grades 9-12, with a course for students in grades 6-8 coming in early 2020.

A Full Suite to Help Manage Safety in Your District 

In addition to online training, the SafeSchools Suite includes solutions to help you prevent and manage safety incidents across your campuses.

• Anonymous Tip Reporting – Students, staff, and parents can confidentially report tips and safety concerns, including bullying, harassment, mental health concerns, weapons and threats of violence to administration 24/7 via mobile app, phone, text, email, and website. Staff are immediately notified of tips and can immediately follow up, bring in law enforcement if necessary, and manage incidents to resolution.
• Incident Management – Administrators can efficiently collect, manage, analyze and act upon comprehensive student and employee incident data. Efficiently manage safety incidents, injuries, and accidents for employees, students, and visitors in one centralized system.

To learn more about any of our K-12 safety solutions to help you manage both physical safety and cybersecurity in 2020, please contact us at [email protected], 1-800-434-0154, or request a free trial.

Preventing school violence is at the forefront of concerns for educators, administrators, parents, and students. Schools are faced with a range of threats of violence and other incidents that have the potential to impact the safety of staff and students. Incidents can include:

• Violent or disruptive incidents (with or without a weapon)
• Bullying
• Cyberbullying
• Harassment
• Discrimination
• Bomb threats or suspicious devices
• Plots to harm others
• Suspicious persons
• Other safety threats

According to the Educator’s School Safety Network 2018-2019 Violence in Schools Report, there was a 113% increase in incidents of violence and a 62% increase in threats of violence reported by American K-12 schools between the 2016-2017 and 2017-2018 school years. And the 2017-18 School Survey on Crime and Safety conducted by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) reported that during the 2017–18 school year, an estimated 962,300 violent incidents and 476,100 nonviolent incidents occurred in public schools nationwide. And while only 6% of tracked incidents involved a shooting, according to the Educator’s School Safety Network research, 24% of all violent incidents related to the presence or use of guns in a school, and bomb threats accounted for 32% of all specified threats. The NCES data indicates that during the 2017–18 school year, there were an estimated 3,600 incidents nationwide involving the possession of a firearm or explosive device at school.

Schools Investing in Preventing School Violence

Nationwide, schools are making significant investments in time and resources to increase their preparedness to prevent or respond to threats of violence or other incidents. While initiatives and policies vary across states and districts, many districts are focused on:

• Improving the quality of training for staff and students
• Increasing the presence of school resource officers or other law enforcement
• Increasing physical safety measures
• Improving mental health services
• Expanding social emotional learning efforts

Making “See Something, Say Something” a Reality with Anonymous Tip Reporting

Another measure many districts are taking to prevent school violence is to implement an incident or tip reporting system to support the “see something, say something” mentality and to empower their school communities to anonymously report safety concerns, threats of violence, weapons, mental health concerns, or other incidents. An online tip reporting system lets administrators stay connected to students, staff, and parents, and enables them to receive information abbot potential incidents, so that they can investigate and respond before a serious safety incident occurs.

How SafeSchools Alert Can Help

With the SafeSchools Alert Online Tip Reporting System, students, staff, and parents can choose from five convenient options to submit tips: mobile app, phone, text, email, or website. Staff are immediately notified of every tip, and can easily track and manage incidents in our web-based system. Built-in communication tools enable administrators to easily gather additional details from anonymous tipsters to facilitate follow-up and resolution. Mason City Schools, a district of 10,500 students in our hometown of Cincinnati, recently shared their outdoor signs encouraging their school community to use their SafeSchools Alert system to “see something, say something.” And Lincoln Middle and High School in West Virginia, was recently able to quickly involve law enforcement to investigate a threat received through SafeSchools Alert.

To learn more about how our SafeSchools Alert System can help your school or district support your school community in preventing and managing safety threats and concerns, please contact us at [email protected] or 800-434-0154, or request a free trial today!

As Seen on WLWT: Students increasingly using school tip lines to report potential threats of self-harm, violence

At Mason City Schools, signs are posted that encourage students who are worried about threats of violence or the mental health of a classmate to share those concerns, even anonymously, if need be.

“If it’s late at night and you saw something on (an Instagram) story or, you know, somebody’s text, you don’t have to hold that weight all night long. They can go on the tip line, and we’ve got folks who are monitoring that who can get them help,” said district spokeswoman Tracey Carson.

As a school resource officer at Edgewood Middle School, Patrick Carr knows a lot about social media threats students make in the middle of the night.

“It never goes away,” Carr said.

But Carr is grateful for tips that alert him to potential trouble, because the earlier he knows about a threat, the faster he and other officers can investigate.

“We wake up. We log on to provide them the assistance they need to be able to find whoever it is to have a conversation with them, to ask them about what they just posted,” Carr said.

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine fully supports students who take their own safety seriously.

After a mass shooting earlier this year in Dayton, DeWine created a school safety center to help districts better handle threats of violence.

He also wants students to call or text a statewide hot line if they feel something’s not quite right.

“If they see some threats, they can refer it to our center and we can do a search on social media,” DeWine said. “In other words, we can try to fill the rest of the picture out. We have to do as much as we can to give our schools more tools, more ability to keep our kids safe.”

Carson said empowering young people is making a big difference for students in Mason.

“It does save lives, and we are grateful for them for stepping up,” she said.

Mason has its own tip line. So far this school year, Carson said the district has received 92 Safe School tips, up from 55 all of last year.

About Mason City Schools’ Anonymous Tip Line

Mason City Schools has been using the SafeSchools Alert Anonymous Tip Reporting System since 2013 to stay connected to their students, staff, and parents and to prevent crises before they occur. To help safeguard its school community, the district is using SafeSchools Alert, which allows students, staff, and parents to submit safety concerns to administration in multiple ways, including: mobile app, website, phone, text, or email.

The district encourages its community members to “see something, say something” and report tips on bullying, harassment, drugs, vandalism or any safety issues they’re concerned about through SafeSchools Alert. Every tip submitted through SafeSchools Alert is immediately logged in the system and administration is notified so that they can investigate and take appropriate action. And, tips may also be submitted anonymously if you prefer.

Contact us at [email protected] or request a free trial to learn more about SafeSchools Alert for your school district!

At Vector Solutions, we rely on thought leaders, professional organizations, and advisory school districts that provide us with ongoing insight into school safety needs. In addition to monitoring the legal environment to ensure we’re providing resources to help school administrators address their staff compliance training needs, we’re also focused on shifting cultural and societal norms, as well as the impact of technology and how all of these factors affect school communities. Whether it’s an increased sensitivity to survivors of sexual assault or recognizing the growing role of social media in sexual harassment or bullying, we’re evolving to meet our clients’ needs. One such area of need that has been growing at an alarmingly rapid rate is the youth vaping crisis.

New Vaping Resources for Students

In response to this urgent student health and safety issue and the valuable feedback we’ve received from our clients, we are releasing a new, powerful vaping prevention online training module available for students in Grades 9-12. This engaging resource, which is included as part of the SafeSchools Training Student Courses, provides information about the damaging health effects of vaping as well as offering tips and strategies to resist these pressures. Click here to preview the Vaping Course Module.

Often marketed as a “safer” alternative to smoking traditional cigarettes, the popularity of vaping among teens has risen dramatically in recent years due to the ease of concealed use and perceived harmlessness, especially in comparison to cigarette smoking. According to data compiled by the National Center for Health Research, the percentage of teens who have tried e-cigarettes has increased from 5% to 19% over the last four years. Additionally, one in four students in 12th grade and one in five students in 10th grade have vaped within the past month. Our new vaping prevention module seeks to dispel the myths about the safety of vaping and explains the risks and potential consequences of using electronic vaping products.

Preview the New Vaping Module

About SafeSchools Training Student Courses

The vaping module is included in the Alcohol, Marijuana & Other Drugs course, one of the five online courses available in the SafeSchools Training Student Courses for students in Grades 9-12. The module will also be available for middle school students when the new collection of student courses launches in early 2020 for students in Grades 6-8. Other course topics in both the Grades 9-12 and Grades 6-8 collections include: Bullying & Cyberbullying; Youth Suicide Awareness; Sexual Harassment; and Digital Citizenship. The Grades 9-12 course collection is available today, and the Grades 6-8 course collection is now available for pre-order. View the Student Course Library.

For more information or to schedule a demo, click here. You can also contact us at 1-800-434-0154 or [email protected].

It’s hard to miss the headlines about the recent outbreak of lung illness associated with the use of e-cigarette, or vaping, products. E-cigarettes are battery-powered devices that heat up liquid nicotine to generate aerosol that users inhale. As recently as September 6, 2019, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention posted this investigation notice: “CDC, U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), state and local health departments, and other clinical and public health partners are investigating a multistate outbreak of severe pulmonary disease associated with e-cigarette product (devices, liquids, refill pods, and/or cartridges) use.” In addition, the CDC recommends that during this ongoing investigation, individuals should consider not using e-cigarettes. This holds especially true for teens and young adults. 

The Problems with E-cigarettes

Many school administrators around the country have reported that addressing the growing use of vaping by students is one of their top safety concerns for this school year. Recent studies showed more than 20 percent of high schoolers currently using electronic vaping products. The CDC is clear: “The use of e-cigarettes is unsafe for kids, teens, and young adults.” Most e-cigarettes contain nicotine. Nicotine is highly addictive and can harm adolescent brain development, which continues into the early to mid-20s. E-cigarettes can also contain other harmful substances besides nicotine.

The design, addictiveness, and student-friendly flavors make e-cigarettes increasingly popular. Not to mention, students are often misguided by peers, social media, and industry messaging that the act of vaping or the use of an e-cigarette is a healthy alternative to smoking – and in the opinion of health officials, it’s even worse!

The U.S. Office of the Surgeon General advises against use of e-cigarettes due to their high nicotine content and potentially harmful ingredients, including “ultrafine particles that can be inhaled deep into the lungs; flavorants such as diacetyl, a chemical linked to serious lung disease; volatile organic compounds; and heavy metals, such as nickel, tin, and lead.”

Six Facts to Encourage Students to Put Down the E-cigarettes

1. E-cigarettes haven’t been around long enough to measure long-term abuse to users’ physical and mental health.
2. The use of e-cigarettes heightens the likelihood of students abusing other tobacco products in their lifetimes.
3. The chemicals in e-cigarettes are particularly harmful to students as brain development continues until age 25 and can lead to development issues with attention, impulse control, and behavior.
4. Defective e-cigarettes can cause explosions and fires – a few have even caused significant injuries.
5. Young adult users often don’t realize that e-cigarettes have nicotine – only 37% of young adult users knew they contained some amount of nicotine.
6. E-cigarettes are often used with another form of tobacco, known as dual use, and can lead to increased levels of nicotine intake.

Officials are worried that the popularity with e-cigarettes among young adults will destroy the progress and effort made to reduce smoking across the country since the 1960s. Above all, it’s important to make sure your students understand all the risks and consequences that increase when vaping or using an e-cigarette. The enjoyment of vaping will never outweigh the consequences that follow.

How SafeSchools Can Help

The SafeSchools Online Training System includes a variety of expert-authored courses dedicated to helping you address the use of e-cigarettes, and other drugs, with your staff and students:

• Student Drug and Alcohol Abuse
• Alcohol, Marijuana, Vaping, and Other Drugs (Student Course)

We also offer our SafeSchools Alert Tip Reporting System that allows students, staff, and parents to confidentially report safety concerns, including the use of alcohol, e-cigarettes, or other drugs, to your administration 24/7/365 via mobile app, text, phone, email, and website. 

With preventative education, training, and preparedness, we hope that we can all work together to make this school year the safest on record.

The news has unfortunately been flooded with reports of kids tragically taking their own lives. Some people may think that talking about bullying, suicide, and mental health may increase the frequency among students however, the reverse is actually true. Opening up the discussion and providing training can help spread awareness on these topics. Think about a problem you may have had recently. Did it help to talk about it with someone else? Did it relieve some anxiety or stress about the issue? Sometimes being a good listener and creating a positive, supporting environment can make all the difference in a student’s life.

As an educator, you interact with children every day so you might be the first to notice a change in a student’s behavior or overall demeanor. Most youth suicides can be prevented. School staff members who are trained and aware can often make the difference between life and death.

Suicide by the Numbers

• Each year approximately one million people die from suicide. That equals out to one death every 40 seconds. By 2020, it is predicted that this rate will increase to one death every 20 seconds.*
• Worldwide, suicide rates have increased by 60% over the last 45 years.*
• Mental health disorders (depression and substance abuse in particular) are associated with more than 90% of all cases of suicide.*
• Globally, 55% of all suicides are people aged 15-44 years.*
• Youth suicide is increasing at the greatest rate.*
• In 2017, suicide was the 10th leading cause of death in the U.S., claiming the lives of over 47,000 people.**
• In 2017, suicide was the 2nd leading cause of death among people ages 10 to 34.**
• In 2017, there were over twice as many suicides (47,173) in the U.S. as there were homicides (19,510).**

* World Health Organization (WHO)

**Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

Suicide Awareness Tips

Here are some warning signs you should pay close attention for: 

1. Symptoms of depression.
2. Sudden changes in behavior, friends, or personality.
3. Changes in physical habits or personality.
4. Loss of interest in previously pleasurable activities.
5. Increased use and abuse of alcohol and/or drugs.
6. Suicide threats or confiding thoughts of suicide to a friend or trusted adult. 
7. Writing suicidal thoughts in a Social Networking Web page, diary, journal, or class work.
8. Giving away prized possessions and/or making a will.
9. Preoccupation with death and suicide themes.

If a school staff member encounters a situation in which a student is threatening suicide, the staff member should immediately take the following actions: 

• Assess the severity of the situation. Always err on the side of caution. Support personnel, such as counselors, need special training in this area.
• Remove access to methods a student may have to harm themselves.
• Notify school administration and counseling. Follow your school and school district’s policies carefully.
• Notify parents/caregivers.
• Supervise the student at all times. Do not leave the student alone!
• Document all actions. Legal documentation may be needed at a further date.

Dr. Scott Poland, a nationally recognized school safety expert and SafeSchools Training author, shares more tips that schools can implement to improve their suicide prevention efforts. Click here to read the tips.

How SafeSchools Can Help

The SafeSchools Online Training System includes a variety of expert-authored courses dedicated to helping your staff and students prevent incidents of suicide, including: 

• Student Mental Health
• Youth Suicide Awareness (Student Course)
• Youth Suicide: Awareness, Prevention & Postvention

We also offer our SafeSchools Alert Tip Reporting System that allows students, staff, and parents to confidentially report safety concerns to your administration 24/7/365 via mobile app, text, phone, email, and website. 

With preventative education, training, and preparedness, we hope that we can all work together to make this school year the safest on record.

Over 1.5 million people worldwide become victims of cybercrime every day. Educational institutions are no exception, as these recent news headlines confirm: 

• School District Delays Classes Again, Citing Malware Hack
• District Hacked, 10 Years’ Worth of Data Stolen
• High School Safety Includes Protecting Teens’ Data

It’s important to educate your staff on safe internet practices to help protect them, and your school organization, from becoming the victim of a cybersecurity attack. Here are some general cybersecurity safety tips:

• Never disable browser security for increasing functionality or ease of use.
• Avoid websites that want to install software that you didn’t ask for.
• Avoid clicking on phishing emails.
• Avoid clicking on links that you’re not sure you can trust/look suspicious.
• Avoid downloading apps, extensions, or items that aren’t familiar to you.
• Use antivirus software, and enable security on your computer/laptop.
• Enable auto updates or routinely update your operating system and browser software.
• Always protect your usernames and secure passwords.
• Always be on guard when you interact with strangers online and avoid oversharing.
• Always be on the look out for habits or actions that might place you and your information at risk.
• Control your internet security and privacy settings and check them regularly.
• Consider adjusting the security settings of your browser, such as blocking or limiting cookies.

How SafeSchools Can Help

The SafeSchools Online Training System includes courses to help educate your staff on cybersecurity, including: 

1. Browser Security Basics
2. Cybersecurity Overview
3. Email & Messaging Safety
4. Password Security Basics
5. Protection Against Malware

And our new Student Safety Training includes a Digital Citizenship course, with a module specifically dedicated to helping students learn how to protect themselves and others online.

With preventative education, training, and preparedness, we hope that we can all work together to make this school year the safest on record.

In recent years, the headlines regarding sexual misconduct by school staff members with students have become all too familiar. Approximately 4.5 million students are subject to some kind of sexual misconduct – ranging from inappropriate sexual comments to outright molestation – by an employee of a school, between kindergarten and 12th grade.

Students who are harassed report that they have trouble sleeping, do not want to go to school, and change their route to get to school. Of course this stress results in decreased productivity and learning, and increased absenteeism. There are many types of sexual harassment, including verbal, nonverbal, physical, and cyber.

Sexual Harassment in Schools by the Numbers

• 21% of girls, compared to 7% of boys, report being cyberbullied, online or over texts. 
• About half of students in general are at the receiving end of sexual harassment. And, 87% of them said it had a negative effect on them. 
• 30% of students have observed sexual harassment. 
• At least one in four middle school students say they’ve experienced unwanted verbal or physical sexual harassment on school grounds.
• Only 9% report the harassment to a school staff member, and only 27% reported it to family members or friends. Approximately one-half of targeted students didn’t report at all.
• GLSEN found that nearly 75% of LGBTQ students are verbally harassed. The study also found that grade point averages for LGBTQ students who were harassed were between nine and 15% lower than for others, and that 30% had missed at least one day of school in the month prior to their survey.

Statistics from the American Association of University Women (AAUW) and GLSEN.

Understanding the Problem

Students experience unwanted physical touching, verbal sexual commentary, and homophobic name-calling in the halls, classrooms and gym. Students often dismiss this behavior as normal. Surprisingly, many school staff members don’t understand sexual harassment and cannot clearly distinguish it from bullying. Some fail to intervene, or in some cases unintentionally normalize it.

Sexual harassment is unwelcome behavior or communication that is sexual in nature when:

• A student or employee is led to believe that he or she must submit to unwelcome sexual conduct or communications in order to gain something in return, such as a grade, a promotion, a place on a sports team, or any educational or employment decision.
•  The conduct substantially interferes with a student’s educational performance, or creates an intimidating or hostile educational or employment environment. 

Examples of Sexual Harassment

• Pressuring a person for sexual favors.
• Unwelcome touching of a sexual nature.
• Writing graffiti of a sexual nature.
• Distributing sexually explicit texts, e-mails, or pictures.
• Making sexual jokes, rumors, or suggestive remarks.
• Physical violence, including rape and sexual assault.

According to an AAUW survey, many students – evenly, both boys and girls – admit to sexually harassing another student. When asked why, almost half of those surveyed said, “It’s just part of school life/it’s no big deal,” and a third said they just “thought it was funny.” The study also found that most of the students who admitted to being harassers, had been harassed themselves, suggesting that sexual harassment can often be a vicious cycle that becomes normal.

Preventing Sexual Harassment

1. Familiarize yourself with federal and state laws, as well as your school’s policies and procedures regarding sexual harassment.
2. Create a culture of caring and respect.
3. Be approachable.
4. Diligent documentation and good communication are effective preventive tools against harassment.
5. Schools should consider adopting a “zero tolerance” policy on sexual harassment.
6. Schools should draft and enforce a solid anti-harassment policy. Such a policy should clearly state what type of conduct is unacceptable and provide examples. The policy should also explain what will happen if it is violated, namely that the person violating it will be subject to discipline up to and including termination/expulsion. The policy should describe the complaint procedure and provide a list of administrators that an employee or student can go to with a harassment complaint. Furthermore, the policy should discuss confidentiality and the protections available against retaliation.
7. Schools should clearly communicate to employees and students that sexual harassment will not be tolerated. They can do so by providing sexual harassment training to their employees and students, and by establishing an effective complaint or grievance process and taking immediate and appropriate action when an employee or student complains.

How SafeSchools Can Help

The SafeSchools Online Training System includes a variety of expert-authored courses dedicated to helping your staff and students prevent incidents of sexual harassment, including: 

1. Boundary Invasion
2. Sexual Harassment: Policy & Prevention
3. Sexual Harassment: Staff-to-Staff
4. Sexual Harassment (Student Course)
5. Sexual Harassment: Student Issues & Response
6. Sexual Misconduct: Staff-to-Student

We also offer our SafeSchools Alert Tip Reporting System that allows students, staff and parents to confidentially report safety concerns, including incidents of sexual harassment, to your administration 24/7/365 via mobile app, text, phone, email, and website. 

With preventative education, training, and preparedness, we hope that we can all work together to make this school year the safest on record.

Cyberbullies’ actions can have a greater and longer lasting effect than traditional physical bullying. Cyberbullying has quickly become a serious problem among children from elementary through high school. Cyberbullying leverages tools that students use most often to communicate among themselves and has increased because these tools are convenient and often free of adult oversight. They also provide the means to inflict immediate, devastating harm on the bully’s target. That’s because the bully’s message can be transmitted to and accessed by anyone in seconds, and traditional school safeguards are often ineffective. Even if a few students participate in cyberbullying, it only takes one to do serious harm. Students who are cyberbullied are more likely to:

• Use alcohol and drugs.
• Skip school.
• Experience in-person bullying.
• Be unwilling to attend school.
• Receive poor grades.
• Have lower self-esteem.
• Suffer from physical and/or health problems.

Cyberbullying by the Numbers

• 21% of girls, compared to 7% of boys, report being cyberbullied, online or over texts. 
• Reports of cyberbullying increased to 15.3% during the 2016/17 school year, compared to 11.5% during the 2014/15 school year.
• One third of middle & high school students report dealing with cyberbullying at least once a week to daily.
• 33.1% of middle schools and 30.2% of high schools report disciplinary problems due to cyberbullying at least once a week or daily. 
• Within the past year, almost one third of students with disabilities have experienced cyberbullying, compared to 20% of students without disabilities.
• Compared to their peers without disabilities, students with disabilities are almost twice as likely to be victims of cyberbullying.

Statistics from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), Ruderman Family Foundation Study, and the U.S. Department of Education.

Preventing and Responding to Cyberbullying within Your District

Check out our Cyberbullying Prevention Safety Tip video for the definition of cyberbullying and tips to help keep your school safe:

Here are more tips that can help control cyberbullying on your campus and keep your school safe: 

1. You should be familiar with your school’s bullying policy. Since cyberbullying fits the traditional definition of bullying, your school’s anti-bullying policies apply to cyberbullying.
2. You should always report cyberbullying immediately. Teach your students to report cyberbullying immediately, as well.
3. Always carefully preserve any evidence of cyberbullying, including text messages, voicemail messages, images, videos, webpages, and any other digital evidence.
4. Recognize that students are sophisticated users of technology at a young age. Cyberbullying is not just a high school issue, it’s common in middle school and late elementary school as well.
5. If you become aware of cyberbullying and fail to report it, you, as well as your school, may become subject to lawsuits and other legal actions.
6. Some actions like threats of violence and distribution of explicit images do more than just violate your school’s bullying policy. They may also be against the law, so don’t hesitate to report potential criminal actions by carefully following your school’s policy. 
7. Your school should also update its Acceptable Use Policy to prohibit cyberbullying from locations away from school.

How SafeSchools Can Help

The SafeSchools Online Training System includes a variety of expert-authored courses dedicated to helping your staff and students prevent incidents of cyberbullying, including: 

• Bullying & Cyberbullying (Student Course)
• Cyberbullying

We also offer our SafeSchools Alert Tip Reporting System that allows students, staff and parents to confidentially report safety concerns, like cyberbullying, to your administration 24/7/365 via mobile app, text, phone, email, and website. 

With preventative education, training, and preparedness, we hope that we can all work together to make this school year the safest on record.

In the education world, bullying prevention has become a major focal point over the last few years, and there’s no longer a question about the dangers to students, and the entire school community, if bullying is left unchecked. Bullying can lead to low self-esteem, mental and physical health problems, poor grades and attendance issues, and even suicidal thoughts.

Bullying by the Numbers

• Studies show that every 7 minutes a child is bullied at school, and every year 19,000 bullied children attempt suicide.
• More than 70% of kids, teachers, and staff have seen bullying at school.
• Bullying happens: 
  • 29.3% in the classroom.
  • 29% in the hallway or near lockers.
  • 23.4% in the cafeteria.
  • 19.5% in the gym.
  • 12.2% in the bathroom.
  • 6.2% on the playground/recess.
• Half of students who are bullied for being LGBTQ skip school to avoid tormentors.
• 69% of students believe that teachers and staff won’t do anything about bullying even if they see it.
• When bystanders intervene within 10 seconds, bullying usually stops 57% of the time.
• 1 in 4 students reports that his or her education suffered from an unsafe school climate.

Statistics from StopBullying.gov

Legislation, laws, and mandates have been passed across multiple states to help prevent bullying. And school districts are spending significant energy and resources on bullying prevention programs, to comply with mandates, but more importantly, to create a positive, supportive school culture where students feel safe to learn and grow.

Implementing a Successful Bullying Prevention and Response Program in Your District

Implementing a complete bullying prevention program can be a massive undertaking for a school district to try and put together, but committing to educating students and staff early and often, as they head back to school and throughout the year, can help stem the problems before they grow.

At Vector Solutions, we are honored to work with several nationally recognized bullying and suicide prevention experts who have written many of our SafeSchools Training staff and student online courses. These expert-authors have provided these recommendations to help schools and districts implement successful bullying prevention programs. 

Dr. JoLynn Carney and Dr. Richard Hazler, the authors of our SafeSchools Online Staff Training System’s Bullying: Recognition & Response and Conflict Management courses, have put together four elements they believe will help with a successful bullying recognition and prevention program:

1. Isolation Reduction: A student who sits alone at lunch, avoids speaking to others, or makes poor eye contact could be an indicator that the student is a victim of bullying. Teach students to befriend other students who display those characteristics. The more that peers and staff members show support to ALL students, the faster bullying can be stopped before it even begins.
2. Empathetic Knowledge and Investment: Bullying can be prevented when victims/targets start being viewed as regular people, instead of “others” or “outsiders.” Creating empathy among your students is essential for any bullying prevention plan.
3. Community as a Team: The more support that you can get from your school community for bullying prevention, the better. School-wide assemblies, team building activities, pep rallies, banners, posters, contests, and daily reminders can all be used as tools to help bring your school community together against bullying.
4. Ongoing and Organized Investment: Bullying prevention isn’t a one-time thing. It’s an ongoing task that you must evaluate regularly to determine what’s working and what’s not working well.

In addition, Dr. Scott Poland, internationally recognized expert on school psychology issues and author of several SafeSchools Training courses, including Bullying: Recognition & Response; Youth Suicide: Awareness, Prevention and Postvention; Cyberbullying, and others, offers the following recommendations educators can implement to improve their prevention efforts:

• Implement a school-wide program where all staff cooperates towards the common goal of reducing bullying.
• Teach staff to recognize bullying and to take immediate action to stop bullying when it occurs.
• Implement programs designed to reach bystanders and to gain a commitment from them to take action to stop the bullying instead of standing by and allowing bullying to take place. Research has found that the more bystanders are present then the less likely it is that someone will intervene. 
• Survey students to determine the extent and nature of the problem and to solicit student recommendations to reduce bullying, and increase staff supervision in areas where bullying occurs the most. 
• In instances of cyberbullying, the administration needs to investigate the messaging, involve parents and maybe even law enforcement. The investigation will include interviewing the victim, perpetrator and any witnesses and will likely result in consequences for the perpetrator.

How SafeSchools Can Help

No child should go to school in fear and we believe that technology can be an important part of the solution. The SafeSchools Online Training System includes a variety of expert-authored courses dedicated to helping your staff and students prevent incidents of bullying, including:

• Bullying: Recognition & Response*
• Bullying & Cyberbulling (Student Course)
• Conflict Management: Student-to-Student
• Cyberbullying
• Hazing Awareness & Prevention
• Making Schools Safe for LGBT Students
• Making Schools Safe & Inclusive for Transgender Students

*State-specific versions of this course are available. 

We also offer our SafeSchools Alert Tip Reporting System that allows students, staff and parents to confidentially report safety concerns to your administration 24/7/365 via mobile app, text, phone, email, and website. 

With preventative education, training, and preparedness, we hope that we can all work together to make this school year the safest on record.