- Spring Hill Schools
- Student Safety
- Bullying
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Spring Hill Schools in conjunction with the Spring Hill Board of Education are committed to providing a positive and productive learning environment for students as well as staff members. Hazing, harassment, intimidation, menacing or bullying by any means by students, staff or a third party is strictly prohibited and shall not be tolerated in the district. The Spring Hill Board of Education has adopted policies to ensure the safety of all students and staff (See Board Policies: JDDC, JCE, JDD, JGEC, JGECA, EBC, GAAB, GAF).
Bullying is defined as 'aggressive behavior that involves unwanted, negative actions. Bullying involves a pattern of behavior repeated over time. Bullying is intentional and involves an imbalance of power.' There are four types of bullying:
- Verbal Bullying occurs when someone uses language to gain power over his or her peers. Examples include name calling, teasing, taunting, threatening, slurs, etc.
- Physical Bullying occurs when a person uses body actions including hitting, tripping, shoving, slapping, punching, kicking, damaging or destroying personal property, etc.
- Relational Bullying occurs when a group of individuals try to hurt a peer by ignoring, isolating, excluding, shunning or gossiping.
- Cyber Bullying means bullying by the use of any electronic communication device. Examples include email, instant messaging, text messages, blogs, online games, websites, etc.
Student Rules of Bully Prevention
- We will not bully others;
- We will try to help students who are being bullied;
- We will try to include students who are left out; and,
- If we know that someone is being bullied, we will immediately tell an adult at school and an adult at home.
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Reporting Bullying
Spring Hill Schools administration, principals and counseling staff members will take every reasonable measure to investigate bullying incidents of students. All schools will enforce handbook provisions if the bullying occurs on campus or negatively impacts the school learning environment through disruption of instruction. For instances of off-campus bullying or cyber bullying, please contact the appropriate law enforcement agency servicing your residence. Any harassment or bullying incidents on or off campus may be referred to the School Resource Officer for possible law enforcement intervention as appropriate.
If you think your child is being bullied, please take the following steps:
- Instruct your student to immediately contact an administrator or teacher if they feel they have been harassed or bullied.
- Speak to your child about the specifics of the incident so that they may relay that information to the school administration. If possible, please note the alleged bully and any associates, any participants and/or witnesses to the incident, time and location of the incident(s), and the nature of the bullying itself (physical/non-physical, verbal/non-verbal, cyber bullying, etc). School administrators will use this information in an attempt to verify the incident and take appropriate action.
- If possible, please provide copies or screen images of any alleged cyberbullying for use by the administration during their investigation. If it’s a case of verbal abuse, please have the voice mail or message available for administrative review.
- Do not hesitate to notify school administrators or counselors of suspected harassment or bullying. Dealing with the incidents as soon as possible enables the administration/counseling staff to prevent potential incidents with other students.
- Be prepared to speak to our School Resource Officer for possible law enforcement intervention.
- A free and anonymous service is available to provide counsel and resources to those who have questions or concerns about bullying situations. The 24-hotline can be reached at 1-800-332-6378 or 1-800-children. You can also contact the hotline via text, or e-mail at 1800children@kcsl.org.
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Bully Prevention Hotline
A free and anonymous service is available to provide counsel and resources to those who have questions or concerns about bullying situations. The 24-hotline can be reached at 1-800-332-6378 or 1-800-children. You can also contact the hotline via text, or e-mail at 1800children@kcsl.org.
The Bullying Prevention Hotline should not be confused with the Kansas School Safety Hotline (Kansas School Safety Hotline: 1-877-626-8203). The School Safety Hotline should still be used to report potential violent acts at schools. Students who feel unsafe at school could call either hotline; the professionals at the Bullying Prevention Hotline will forward any calls where they feel there is the potential for violence, or that a student may harm him or herself or others to the School Safety Hotline.
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Resources
To assist students and family members in understanding and coping with the aspects of bullying, the following websites provide information about bullying, cyberbullying, and current legislation designed to inhibit and/or prevent bullying in our schools. Spring Hill School District is a practitioner of the Olweus Bully Prevention Program and is dedicated to creating a safe and secure environment for all of our patrons.
- If you are concerned that your child may be being bullied or if your child may be bullying, visit PACER's Bullying website for tips.
Online Bullying Issues:
- Are you concerned about your teenager's online activities? Would you like some tips for helping you keep your teen safe online? The Stop.Think.Connect. Campaign has great resources for help.
- If you feel that inappropriate comments are being posted about your student on Twitter or that your student may be posting inappropriate Twitter comments, visit Twitter's About Online Abuse webpage.
Additional Resources:
- The Kansas Children's Service League has implemented a new Bully Prevention Facebook page.
- Red Card KC
For further information about bullying and what the State of Kansas is doing to fight it, visit the following: