NEGAUNEE, Mich. (WLUC) – October is National Bullying Prevention Month, and according to the National Center for Education’s statistics, 19%, or roughly 1-in-5 students aged 12 to 18, experience school bullying.
Bullying can negatively affect children’s mental health, academic performance and physical and emotional well-being.
Tiffany Green, a school counselor for Gwinn Area Community Schools, says cyberbullying has increased in recent years.
“The last 25 or so years, the cyberbullying landscape has definitely exploded because of the prevalence of social media of course,” Green said.
Educators hope that by building and growing connections and relationships between students, bullying will decrease school wide.
Negaunee High School is installing a “peer coaching” class, which helps to build relationships and a culture of caring.
“I think students face a number of challenges and one of the things that we want to have happen here at school is that they feel connected, and we think that in terms of preventing bullying that’s probably the number one factor,” said Negaunee Public Schools Superintendent Andy Skewis. “Students that feel connected to their classmates, to their teachers, to the other staff, feel safe reporting things that are happening, and students that feel connected tend to treat each other better.”
Outside of the peer program, NHS students will be taking multiple steps to address bullying during National “Stop Bullying Day” on Wednesday, Oct. 14.
“Next Wednesday, they’ll meet their classmates with some positive messages when they come through the doors, they’ve produced a video, to address concerns and issues related to how they treat each other in their school,” Skewis said.
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