Response to cyberbullying

Recently Bay Trail administrators encountered a situation where there was cyberbullying taking place outside of school via Facebook that spread into school. As a school, cyberbullying that takes place outside of school is a challenging issue. Over the last two years, a few parents have contacted me to inform me of a situation where their child has been subject to cyberbullying. My response has been that the school cannot assign disciplinary consequences to matters occurring outside the school. As parents, they have a right to contact the police if they feel harassment is taking place. Parents also can call the parent of the child who is posting these comments to discuss the situation. It is critical that parents of middle school students monitor online activity of their child. Please check internet accounts to make sure use is appropriate.

The BT admin. team discussed the most recent incident and was proactive in addressing with the students. Principal Buddington met with all grade levels the week before break in the auditorium to discuss the topic of cyberbullying. Students were respectful and listened intently. When asked about the number of students with online accounts such as Facebook, almost every hand went up. Given technology is such a large part of our lives, we need to teach how to use it responsibly. Schools play a role as do parents in this education.