Bullying & Harassment

• Peer Conflict: Verbal teasing, name calling, put-downs, or low intensity disrespectful comments directed towards peers.
• Bullying: "Any unwanted aggressive behavior(s) by another youth or group of youths, who are not siblings or current dating partners, that involves an observed or perceived power imbalance and is repeated multiple times or is highly likely to be repeated. Bullying may inflict harm or distress on the targeted youth including physical, psychological, social, or educational harm.” (Gladden et al., 2014, p. 7)
• Harassment: Harassment means behavior toward a student or group of students based, in whole or in part, on their sex, race, color, religion, national origin, ancestry, creed, pregnancy, marital or parental status, sexual or transgender orientation or physical, mental, emotional or learning disability or any other characteristic protected under State, Federal or local law, which substantially interferes with the student’s school or academic performance or creates an intimidating, hostile or offensive school environment.
• Examples of bullying and non bullying: Please see pages 4-8 of the DPI bullying prevention tool kit.

Rather than utilizing a pre-packaged purchased program, we have established a set of instructional practices and opportunities for students to develop and practice bullying prevention skills (in the table above). These practices align specifically with MTSD’s efforts in workforce readiness skills and student wellness.  

Staff are formally trained in bullying/harassment identification and reporting. This training happens one a year, as a minimum. Topics include identification of bullying and harassment, reporting procedures, immediate response procedures, how to talk with students about bullying, investigation roles and responsibilities, and communication practices and procedures. 

To report a bullying or harassment situation, please contact your building administrator (principal or assistant principal), or fill out the MTSD Safety Reporting Form.

Once an incident is reported, a school or district administrator will launch an investigation with steps that may include:

1. Parent interviews
2. Student interviews
3. Staff interviews
4. Incident evidence review

School administration will be in contact to explain the potential outcome of the situation. If the outcome is determined to not be bullying or harassment, you may be contacted by a student services professional on the administrator’s behalf. Please note that student confidentiality will limit what information can be shared about students other than your own. 

Please see the MTSD Parent-Student Handbook, pages 22-28.

Student and family confidentiality is governed by federal and state privacy laws. Any identifying information or disciplinary outcomes of other parties involved are not subject to disclosure.

Resources:

1. My child has been bullied. What can I do?
2. Caregiver-Child Bullying Talk 

You can also contact your school’s social emotional coach, school counselor, or school psychologist for additional resources and support.

Additional Resources:

1. A Comprehensive Approach to Bullying Prevention
2. Bullying 101 Guide for Middle & High School Students
3. Board Policy 5516 HARASSMENT AND OTHER PROHIBITED BEHAVIOR

While your school staff will do everything they can to prevent bullying through preventative strategies, we cannot control or engage with student behaviors outside of school. We are here to help problem solve, but cannot address student behavior outside of the educational environment or school-sponsored activities. We encourage you to reach out to the activity’s leaders, such as coaches, supervisors, before and after school teachers, care coordinators, and/or wraparound coordinators.