Building Relationships and Targeting Bullying to Ensure

Building Relationships and Targeting Bullying to Ensure Student Success
by Amy Flinn
As educators, we are expected to understand and value the importance of such things as
research-based instructional practices, high quality professional development for teachers,
and achieving high levels of success with our students. However, none of this can be
achieved without one key factor in place—relationships. It is our responsibility as
educators to establish positive relationships with the students in our care and to help
students learn the importance of building positive relationships with their peers.
We do have the power as educators to inspire our students and ignite passion within them
to achieve their dreams, and these dreams start with a connectedness to school. In order to
achieve this “connectedness” for each and every one of our students, we must focus on
building those critical relationships with them. Without this effort, our best laid plans will
fail. No school improvement plan will be truly successful without first looking at our school
culture and how we interact with our students and each other. Do we know our students by
name and do we call them by name when we meet them in the hallways? Do we know what
they are interested in? What they are passionate about? Do we know their parents or
caregivers? Have we made the effort to build a relationship with their parents or
caregivers, so that they, too, feel connected to school and can partner with us in helping
their children realize their dreams? These are questions we must ask ourselves and be able
to answer if indeed our goal is the success of each student that comes through our school
doors.
First and foremost, our students must feel safe when they come to school. Not just
physically safe, but emotionally safe as well. Our school district has had a bullying
prevention model (the Olweus Bullying Prevention Program) in place for the past 11 years.
Bullying has been reduced considerably as a result. Each school has a “theme” that they
use to help reinforce expectations for behavior at school. Each school also has a reporting
system so that students can confidentially report issues of bullying. Every week at the
elementary level, students meet with a teacher for a “class meeting” to address specific
types of bullying issues and work on strategies to create a positive school environment for
all children. At the secondary level, students meet at minimum monthly with a teacher for
a class meeting, and sometimes more often. We also have a “kick-off” each fall to teach
students the school rules against bullying, as well as the expectations we have for how
students are to treat one another and what they can do if they know someone is being
bullied.
Our goal is to maintain a safe, nurturing, positive school environment for all of our students
to ensure that they can learn and develop in optimal conditions. We ask our parents to
convey to your children that you will not tolerate any form of bullying and that you expect
your children to treat all individuals in a kind and respectful manner. We will continue to
make it our mission to build positive relationships with students so that all children feel
connected and respected in the school setting. With your help and support, we will
continue to work toward creating a bully-free environment and keep our USD 320 schools a
safe, inviting place for everyone.

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