From protecting the brand to protecting students
Anti-bullying report gives framework for public board to address growing problems
JUDITH BISHOP
The anticipated final report of the Safe Schools Bullying and Prevention and Intervention Review panel, “Building Healthy Relationships and an Inclusive Caring and Learning Environment,” was approved Jan. 25.
The report and recommendations are ambitious in scope. The panel members, Dr. Jean Clinton, Brenda Flaherty, and Dr. Gary Warner, state their purpose is to provide systemic recommendations that are relevant to other school boards, academics and governments. The report contains action plans for each of the 11 groupings of recommendations, as well as a literature survey and recommended antibul- lying programs.
It is clear HWDSB has a serious bullying problem. From the survey of students, parents and staff, to which 9,400 responded, and from 18 community and nine internal HWDSB consultations, attended in all by about 1,000 people, much data was gathered. There are disturbingly high rates of bullying: nearly 60 per cent of students reported being bullied sometimes, and 19.7 per cent frequently. Students who identify as gender-diverse, twospirited and LGBTQIA-plus were particularly vulnerable. Students were also bullied because of their race, ethnicity, newcomer status, disability, religion and Indigenous identity.
“The broken relationship and lack of trust between the board and members of the Black community” was noted.
The little adult supervision at recess was lamented. Interventions have been unsatisfactory: when students told someone about bullying, things got better about a third of the time, often nothing changed and for seven per cent of students things got worse. Open, consistent, and timely communication with parents was often missing. The need for extensive training and development of staff to prevent bullying was recognized. Policies and procedures were not consistently applied. There was distrust of current tracking of bullying data and statistics. Real partnerships and collaboration with students, parents, caregivers and community were valued by those consulted, but not fully developed by HWDSB. Finally, the panel repeatedly heard about the need to change the culture
in schools and throughout HWDSB. A culture of fear was reported “that normalized bullying between students, teachers, parents, guardians, caregivers and school administrators. Staff and students shared that they feared reprisal if they reported bullying or spoke up about systemic bullying.”
The panel’s vision for education is one that would develop “inclusive, caring schools and thriving compassionate citizens using a whole child approach to education,” and this informs their recommendations, contained in 11 groupings relating to students, parents, school, HWDSB organization, community and the province. They involve: removing “discriminatory biases and systemic barriers at all levels”; promoting “meaningful and representative input and involvement from key stakeholders” such as parents; understanding that “solutions must change the climate as well as institutional structures and processes, and not just deal with individual incidents”; communication that is “frequent, accessible, transparent, honest and open”; solutions should be long-term “with sustained implementation, accountability and continuous quality improvement”; and data should be “consistently used to inform decision-making.”
Most telling of all, the panel held that “it is important to develop and constantly monitor a widely shared institutional culture of care that places the well-being of all students
and staff at its core.” They recommend that HWDSB, together with all its stakeholders, establish “a set of core organizational values and operational principles that will ensure a culture of caring and respect.”
The panel recommends a bullying prevention and intervention lead, a student ombudsman, an external facilitator, a system-level steering committee to oversee recommendations, more adult supervision in school, and additional extensive staff in-service. The province is requested to return to dedicated Safe-School funding and provide the $1.2 million to $1.5 million HWDSB would require to finance this work.
If this report is fully implemented, it would result in a transformation of HWDSB that would be celebrated. There would be richer relationships with parents, students and community; a whole-school approach to bullying in student-centred schools; principals allowed to be leaders; “keep in lane” replaced with integrated and intersectional approaches; transparency and openness in data sharing and communications; and a culture of caring and respect.
To move HWDSB “from protecting the brand to protecting the student,” it will take senior people who really believe that students are at the centre of education.