Perhaps you've seen it in the news lately, the increasing problem of bullying at schools. Tragically, students are beginning to take matters into their own hands, committing suicide to stop the abuse. How do eleven to fifteen-year-olds get to this point?

It's hard to face. Bullying is not just a public school issue; it's a universal issue. Unfortunately, Christian schools are not immune. In a study by the National Center for Education Statistics, differences were not detected between public and private school students' reports of being bullied at school.

Bullying can seriously affect the emotional, physical, and academic well-being of students and often astonishingly starts in children as young as kindergarten age. Verbal harassment, threats, and physical violence should never be tolerated by teachers, by parents, or by students. Why does it take a tragedy to effect changes that could help today?

According the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Stop Bullying Now! website, these are a few steps to help address bullying at your school.

Step 1: Evaluate bullying at your school.

Before you even begin implementing a program, you should assess what level of bullying is occurring at your school. To do this, start by creating a bully-prevention committee composed of teachers, parents, students, counselors, and staff member.

Design and administer an anonymous student questionnaire (try one-on-one interviews with younger grades), and talk with your staff about their perceptions of bullying occurring at your school. Also, be open with parents and hold regular parent/teacher meetings to discuss methods to help prevent bullying. Clear and honest communication will help all involved.

Step 2: Research bullying prevention programs.

Take a look at what's out there. Don't jump to conclusions and assume one program is the best for your school without taking a look at everything. Also consider the context of how the program would work. Would it fit your school situation practically and efficiently?

Get in touch with other schools who've implemented programs as see what has worked for them and what hasn't. Get feedback or interviews with other school administrators on what they have tried.

Don't forget to assess your current prevention methods. Do current methods even work? Ask yourself how you could improve upon current measures. Share information you've learned and researched with staff members. Then choose the program that best fits your school together as a team.

Step 3: Address bullying even if you have limited resources.

Are you a small school on a tight budget, or do you lack the resources to improve monitoring or to hire extra personnel? Why not train current staff to help by providing an in-service training on bullying prevention? Give clear rules and make sure to distribute them to all school staff, students, and parents. You could even create a plaque or hall location for rules, along with posting them on your website for parents.

Read questionnaires and increase monitoring or supervision of areas noted as "bullying locations" at your school, like a playgrounds, libraries, or gyms. Create a confidential system so students or parents can anonymously report issues without fear of reproach. Remember to listen to parents' concerns with genuine interest and be willing to take the difficult actions needed to correct issues before they spread. Tolerance of bullying sends the message to parents and students that your school doesn't care. 

Protect your school from legal implications by having all the proper procedures and policies in place to handle situations that arise. Most importantly, protect the students. Try implementing a buddy system by teaming up two classmates to always walk together, or delegate staff to become hallway monitors.

When the situations do arise where professional help is needed, make referrals to counseling services. Always encourage teachers to take immediate action when they observe bullying, to discuss it in class, and to add prevention themes to their curriculum.

Resources

Find helpful information (like the ideas above) for educators, teachers, parents, students, and more at United States Department of Health and Human Services.

To effect a real change, your school must have the support of the entire school community and maintain procedures constantly to help teach children the importance of respecting others and reflecting true Christian character.

Does your Christian school have a bullying prevention program in place? Share your successful methods with other Christian schools and leave a comment below!