Parents of local safe school ambassadors meet to learn how they can help prevent bullying

By Wendy Gragg Tribune-Herald staff writer

Tuesday March 2, 2010
 
 

Waco Independent School District enlisted a group of parents Monday night to stand up against bullying, a charge given to their children, with student leaders at every Waco middle and high school.

Parents of safe school ambassadors, students trained to discourage bullying and mistreatment on their own campuses, attended a meeting at Waco High School’s Performing Arts Center to learn the task their children have taken on and how they can help.

“I think it’s important our parents are aware of the issues we see in the schools,” said Liz Harris, Waco Independent School District director of student services. “They need to have knowledge of the responsibility we’ve asked these students to step up and assume.”

Ambassadors are tasked with doing anything from being a friend to students who have been excluded by everyone else to intervening to stop a potential fight.

Roughly 35 students in every middle and high school in Waco underwent ambassador training to learn the skills to make their schools nicer places.

In Waco ISD, Safe School Ambassador training is part of a larger initiative called Project Protect, which helps schools prevent, prepare for, respond to and recover from targeted acts of violence.

Sarah Behm, with Community Matters, the company that created Safe Schools in 1999 as a response to the shooting at Columbine High School, clued the parents in to what their children are doing as ambassadors.

She also laid out facts regarding bullying in schools today.

Behm quoted National Education Association statistics that state 160,000 students stay home from school every day in the U.S. because of bullying.

Behm focused on cyber-bullying and “electronic aggression,” via text messages and the Internet.

“Parents, what can you do? Get involved, be an advocate,” Behm said. “You guys, by being here tonight, are doing just that.”

She told parents to talk with their children and teach and model acceptance at home.

Tammy Manning said she was glad her 16-year-old daughter, Raven Bridgewater, was chosen to be a safe school ambassador at University High School.

Bullying and fights have been going on since Manning was in high school, she said, and she’s glad to see something being done about it now.

wgragg@wacotrib.com

757-6901

 

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Mar. 05, 2010, 3:40PM

(Report Comment)

See here: http://www.kwtx.com/home/headlines/83957812.html http://www.wacotrib.com/news/crime/84007112.html Basically, it was thugs bused in.

 

Mar. 04, 2010, 12:16PM

(Report Comment)

Concerned - I don't think the Trib reported that assault here. Can you please give us more details as to what happened? A link would be nice too..

 

Mar. 03, 2010, 9:57PM

(Report Comment)

Good to see action being taken in the schools. Good move WISD! After reading about the 3 Midway high school students sexually assaulting the young girl, I hope they too plan to do something!

 

Mar. 03, 2010, 1:21PM

(Report Comment)

Stop busing thugs to the burbs. NC did it, we can now too! http://www.wral.com/news/education/story/7150967/

 

Mar. 02, 2010, 6:51PM

(Report Comment)

Here is the attitude of new parents. I know of a lady who had her grandson taken away by CPS because the mother and baby tested positive for drugs. Reply from the "baby-daddy". "He done failed his first drug test! he gonna be a thug just like me". Your trained "ambassadors" are going to get the snot beat out them by this kid.

 

Mar. 02, 2010, 4:25PM

(Report Comment)

I agree, maybe they should ask Chris Borland for some tips, instead of arresting him for doing a great job. What a farce. Been a decade since Columbine because these liberal school admins are still playing pattycakes with thug-bred bullies.

 

Mar. 02, 2010, 3:47PM

(Report Comment)

start giving the parents fines if their child is a bully...some parents don't talk to their children and let them no it is wrong...

 

Mar. 02, 2010, 3:29PM

(Report Comment)

I also think charges should be able to be filed against the parents as well as the bully.

 

Mar. 02, 2010, 1:39PM

(Report Comment)

I think the La Vega principal had it right all along...

 

Mar. 02, 2010, 1:18PM

(Report Comment)

Why is this only being implemented in middle and high school? These bullies start in elementary school and have their skills perfected by the time they advance to the higher grades. My child is in elementary school and has been the subject of bullying for the last 3 years. I get the same textbook responses from admin, which make me feel like we have to prove to them that the bullying is occurring. It seems like bullies are protected because "how dare they be deprived of their education" even tough my child is suffering due to their cruelty? They are sent to ISS REPEATEDLY and then are allowed to come back into the same environment, the difference being that they know who "ratted" them out...I don't understand why schools feel the need to treat these social degenerates as equals when they go to school for the pleasure of disrupting the learning environment. The parents of these bullies need to be in tune with their kid’s behavior and not take it lightly; they wouldn’t like it if the tables were reversed. We’ve instructed our child to protect them self and dare the administration to try to assign punishment if the situation ever arises since they have fully aware of the chaos they help to foster.

 

Mar. 02, 2010, 11:10AM

(Report Comment)

How about stop busing in boys from da hood into da burbs?

 

Mar. 02, 2010, 10:40AM

(Report Comment)

Mec is right. Just take remove the bullies from the school. Administrators need to stand up and do their job instead of giving parents a bunch of rhetoric and rehearsed replies. That's why they get paid the big bucks and get the corner office. School is no place for riff raff...At the same time, I'm not a fan of having any program where it may seem like a group of students is policing other students.

 

Mar. 02, 2010, 8:01AM

(Report Comment)

I have had way to much experience with this kind of thing. I could write a massive article about it, but know nothing changes the way things are. My dad worked in the oil field so I moved a whole lot, sometimes each semester or more. Mom taught ISD for more years than I went before retiring to much more relaxing college teaching. I know what works and good ways to stop it in schools, but funding and principals not allowing kids to fight it out and stand up to the bully who knows how to do it behind their backs (and heaven forbid they admit there doing anything wrong). They are as much a part of the problem as the bullies are by trying to cover these problems up until they can pass them on to another school or they get of age so they can legally refuse them. It makes you extremely frustrated as a parent, even when your the one that they call to come arrest the bully when he finally is caught... they still lie to you about the problem when you go up to deal with it regarding your own kid. It's good they are talking about it, but laws regarding the treatment of kids and what schools can do with bullies has to drastically change before this is any more than group therapy to make people feel better by talking about it. Everyone knows the principals hands are tied, but don't be a butt and be part of the problem and SURE as hell don't lie about it going on. If a kid stands up to a bully, LET IT GO. Punishing the kid who kicks the bully's butt is the same thing as arresting a victim of rape for shooting her attacker. These bullies are taking the best part of our kids lives and crushing it, many that are bullied are left with scars if they never stand up to it.

 

Mar. 02, 2010, 7:11AM

(Report Comment)

simply remove the bullys from the school system. If they are guilty of crimes, lock them up.

 





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