Howard launches anti-bullying initiatives

Howard County Executive Ken Ulman and Howard County public schools Superintendent Renee Foose recently announced two new measures to prevent bullying before and after the school bell rings.

County residents now have access to an online reporting system to help track and respond to bullying incidents countywide. And 100 of the county’s buses have been equipped with cameras so school administrators can review bullying that happens on the road to and from school.

Both initiatives are part of the new “Stand Up HoCo” campaign, a countywide effort to ensure that bullying is addressed in all areas of Howard County life. Ulman said the county was the first in the nation to take on bullying at the community level.

“Bullying is everywhere and it’s real,” Ulman said at the program launch, held Oct. 25 at the Dancel Family Center Y in Ellicott City. “We recognize that no one can tackle this alone.”

The county worked with software company Sprigeo to develop a mobile and online reporting system for bullying incidents. The program was funded largely through $250,000 included in the county budget for bullying prevention.

Witnesses can submit reports of bullying to http:// hoco.sprigeo.com. The reports will be reviewed and sent to adults in charge at the site of the incident. Reports can be anonymously submitted.

Ulman said more than 250 county locations were in the system, and users can enter any locations that aren’t already there. Several county and community organizations are partnering with the county government for the initiative, including the Y of Central Maryland, the Howard County Library System, the Columbia Association, the Elkridge Youth Organization and Howard County Youth Programs.

“To truly combat this issue of bullying, it takes a village,” Ulman said. The Sprigeo program is “a way to report bullying wherever it happens.”

A county survey of more than 300 kids and 2,400 adults found that two-thirds of children surveyed report having been bullied. Half of those kids had been bullied within the past 30 days. And more than 80 percent of the children surveyed have witnessed another child being bullied.

Chris McComas, the mother of 15-yearold Glenelg High School sophomore Grace McComas, who took her life last year after enduring persistent cyberbullying, attended the launch.

District1County Council member Courtney Watson said Grace “is a force for good, a force for change and a force for transformation in this county.”