Pub. 3 2013-2014 Issue 2

20 the role that they have in preventing bullying and stopping it if it happens to themselves or someone else. The skills taught in Second Step not only promote ELA’s culture of kindness to all students, but also inform students of what to do when there is a problem. For example, if a student witnesses a peer repeatedly re- ceiving threatening text messages, the student knows that it is his responsi- bility to support his peer and report the problem to an adult. Students are taught that when someone says something mean to them, they need to be assertive and tell that person to stop. If the mean words and actions do not stop, then students need to tell an adult. When they are physically hurt, they always need to tell an adult. When students show that they can be assertive in order to prevent others from continu- ously hurting their feelings or bod- ies, they are less likely to be bullied. The school counselor or the school psychologist teach many of the Sec- ond Step lessons. This has allowed students to know that there are addi- tional resources at school for support in resolving specific conflicts with the social skills that they are learning in school. Since students know the coun- selor and psychologist from a whole- class setting, students who meet with them at school are not stigmatized and instead, seem to be excited to have an adult help them develop skills for getting along well with peers. Another technique that ELA uses to prevent bullying is to have students closely monitored by adults. Teachers are in the hallway as the students ar- rive at school. Lunch and recess moni- tors are informed of student conflicts that could escalate so that they can increase their proximity to these stu- dents during these unstructured times. Since most bullying seems to happen when adults are not present, simply making adults more present decreases the risk of bullying. When students do threaten the safety of other students, their behav- ior is not only dealt with punitively, but also restoratively. If a student hurts another student, he or she is not only issued a punishment, but speaks with an administrator, school coun- selor, or school psychologist who dis- cusses the situation with the student in order to identify what can be done in similar situations in the future that will not result in undesirable conse- quences. For students who exhibit poor social behaviors that may briefly hurt another student’s feelings but do not threaten the safety or wellbeing of that student are typically dealt with using a restorative method. The stu- dent is taught about the harm that her actions caused her relationships, what she can do instead in similar situa- tions in the future, and what she can do to make amends with the person who she made uncomfortable. By using preventative strategies, ELA seems to be successful in its ef- forts to defeat bullying. With the skills and knowledge that our students have in regards to bullying, it is likely that they will continue to be leaders in preventing and terminating bullying even after junior high. CONTINUED FROM PAGE 19 Schoolhouse Development: Building the Future of Education American International School of Utah (AISU) Schoolhouse Development, LLC (801) 278-0800 www.schooldev.us √ SITE SELECTION √ FACILITY FINANCING √ SCHOOL CONSTRUCTION √ SCHOOL MARKETING & GROWTH √ SCHOOL OWNERSHIP Schoolhouse Development is a leading developer of charter school facil i ties throughout the southwestern United States with comprehensive experience in land acqu isi tion, construction, and facil i ty nancing. With over 40 years of combined charter school development experience, Schoolhouse Development has built over 30 new and renovated schools. These schools have over 25,000 students enrolled. Currently Schoolhouse Development is renovating the iconic 49 th Street Galleria to provide over 150,000 square feet of educational space for the American International School of Utah (AISU).