Bullying -- it's an issue that affects thousands of students, even prompting the creation of a state law in Texas requiring schools to explicitly define the term.
Now, the Cisco Independent School district is fighting back against bullying in a new way.
Called the CyberBully Hotline, the program allows parents and students to call or text a school-specific number with a complaint or issue that is then dealt with immediately -- anonymously and confidentially.
"Because it's so quick, it's helpful, " said Kelly West, the counselor at Cisco Junior High School.
According to West, there are three types of bullies.
"There's the bully, the bullied and the bystander." she explained. "We teach them that almost everyone is in every one of those positions at some time in their life."
With the new program in place, the goal is to identify exactly what bullying is -- and find solutions before situations can escalate.
"I've not had any problems with incidents recurring, we usually solve it right then," said Erin Schaefer, the counselor at Cisco High School.
Schaefer said she has not received a single complaint through the hotline yet and credits it to the district's proactive anti-bully approach, such as bringing in motivational speaker Justin Lookadoo.
"He gave students the ins and outs of how to get out of bad situations and gave them the words to say," Schaefer said. "I feel like most of our students are in the texting mode and they don't know how to communicate with each other effectively."
Both counselors agree -- cyber bullying is the biggest challenge facing students these days, so the cyber hotline is a way for them to fight back in that same vein.
The program has been in place for about six weeks now. It was funded by a grant the school received.
Below are the hotline numbers for each school:
Cisco Elementary 254-523-0335
Cisco Junior High School 254-230-9038
Cisco High School 254-230-9037
Now, the Cisco Independent School district is fighting back against bullying in a new way.
Called the CyberBully Hotline, the program allows parents and students to call or text a school-specific number with a complaint or issue that is then dealt with immediately -- anonymously and confidentially.
"Because it's so quick, it's helpful, " said Kelly West, the counselor at Cisco Junior High School.
According to West, there are three types of bullies.
"There's the bully, the bullied and the bystander." she explained. "We teach them that almost everyone is in every one of those positions at some time in their life."
With the new program in place, the goal is to identify exactly what bullying is -- and find solutions before situations can escalate.
"I've not had any problems with incidents recurring, we usually solve it right then," said Erin Schaefer, the counselor at Cisco High School.
Schaefer said she has not received a single complaint through the hotline yet and credits it to the district's proactive anti-bully approach, such as bringing in motivational speaker Justin Lookadoo.
"He gave students the ins and outs of how to get out of bad situations and gave them the words to say," Schaefer said. "I feel like most of our students are in the texting mode and they don't know how to communicate with each other effectively."
Both counselors agree -- cyber bullying is the biggest challenge facing students these days, so the cyber hotline is a way for them to fight back in that same vein.
The program has been in place for about six weeks now. It was funded by a grant the school received.
Below are the hotline numbers for each school:
Cisco Elementary 254-523-0335
Cisco Junior High School 254-230-9038
Cisco High School 254-230-9037
Comments
Thanks for your story about the CyberBully Hotline! If you'd like further information on bullying or cyberbullying, we invite you to check out our website:
http://www.cyberbullyhotline.com
G. H.
March 22, 2013 at 2:54 pm
