October is Bullying Prevention Month and at Rochester Public Schools (RPS), teachers and staff across the district are trained in conflict resolution and work to convey anti-bullying messages. In our school buildings, RPS school counselors lead the charge to prevent bullying and start the effort when students enter elementary school.
Tony Yang is a school counselor at Jefferson Elementary School and the self-published author of “Banana,” a children’s book that draws from his personal experiences of bullies calling him “Banana” in school.
Tony Yang's book, "Banana," is self-published and available in the Jefferson Elementary School library.
“We use books to teach life lessons and skills to students and it was difficult to find a book that was related to students who look like me,” said Tony. “When kids hear that I wrote this, they’re shocked! They gasp and they see that anyone can do this and more importantly have a person to identify with the lessons in the book. When kids can see a living product of bullying in front of them, they have an easier time making connections between their peers and their actions.”
His vision aligns with RPS’ Multi-Tiered System of Supports in the mental health field. If a student is experiencing bullying — either noticed by a teacher or self reported by a student to a caregiver/adult — students can expect a school counselor to be receptive to their concerns. If additional intervention is necessary, students are enrolled into small groups of students with similar problems.
Sonya Lundstom, a school counselor at Kellogg Middle School, works specifically with students in this area.
“We do a lot of preventative work on bullying through community building. Most counselors here spend their time outside of their office and in classrooms and spaces where students are. Of course, students are willing to come seek us out, but by us being present, they’re more comfortable bringing their problems to us,” she said.
Sonya hands out notecards that have various thought provoking questions for students to fill out throughout the year. For the month of September, her notecards have asked: What does belonging look like to you?
Some students have responded: ‘having friends,’ ‘kindess,’ ‘feels welcoming,’ feels happy,’ ‘feels like not being left out,’ some of them draw pictures to illustrate how that prompt makes them feel.
“One of them said ‘ownership” said Sonya. “These are sixth graders with really profound outlooks on community and relationships with their peers.”
Sonya Lundstom's room at Kellogg Middle School has candy and sensory activities for student's who come in.
Kristina Stephenson, a school counselor at Dakota Middle School, has expanded her program to not only help students resolve peer conflicts, but also include adults.
“We’ve seen restorative circles work with kids and we’ve taken it a step further by including it in our staff and faculty practices,” Kristina said. “Dakota is building a school culture that starts with the adults leading by example.”
The foundation of preventative bullying starts with interactions like the ones listed above. The Multi-Tiered System of Supports starts with broad-stroke meetings with classrooms that outline what bullying looks like, where bullying behaviors come from, and how to prevent it.
Because of the efforts at the elementary school level, kids have the groundwork to recognize signs of bullying at the middle school level and beyond. Because of the middle school practices implemented by school counselors, students can continue building relationships with their peers and improving their skills to recognize their own behaviors.
Tony hosts town halls for every grade in Jefferson Elementary School, designed for students to go over bullying prevention. He also hosts his fourth and fifth graders for additional events on cyberbullying.
Sonya orchestrates orientation with Kellogg Middle School teachers for her to meet every sixth grader in the building. She also meets with the elementary school counselors to know more about the incoming students before she meets with them.
Kristina has embraced the Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) reward system (they call it Dakota Dollars) — a digital currency that is distributed by building staff when they see kids demonstrating good examples of safe, respectful, and responsible behavior.
After these foundation meetings have been established, school counselors can provide more welcoming environments for students who know what they’re experiencing is bullying. From there, more attention can be focused on managing relationships, respecting boundaries, and developing critical emotional skills. All of this can be done because the groundwork was laid by these school counselors prior.
RPS school counselors recommend parents/caregivers connect with their students and be curious about what their kids are experiencing at school — ask questions, and take things seriously when they bring them up. Regardless if a student or parent/caregiver brings up a concern, RPS takes these reports seriously.
“Anyone is always welcome to reach out to school counselors or even principals about a concern,” Sonya said. All schools use the Speak Up feature to anonymously report bullying instances.