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Goal 2: Progress Updates


Read the current year Strategy 2 updates below, or read previous updates in the accordions labeled by year.

Report 2: February 10, 2025

The Strategy 2 committee met on December 12, 2024 for our second meeting. Our primary focus was on
bullying training for staff and students. Questions that guided our meeting are the following:

1. What methods are promoted in your buildings to report bullying behaviors?

High School

  • See Something, Say Something
  • Staff volunteers to go with the student to report an incident for support
  • skyward reports

Students at the high school generally feel comfortable talking with adults about bullying. They are also open to meeting with the administration and having their educator/trusted adult go with them. Clubs and activities also help to promote that trusted adult relationship. High school should also implement bullying lessons for students.

Middle School

There is a Google form at Derby Middle School that students and staff can fill out; this would be helpful for all classified staff.

Elementary

  • Bullying lessons where they learn precisely what bullying is
  • paper forms provided in classrooms for students to fill out
  • anonymous reporting box in classrooms

2. Ideas for more effective communication with staff and students on bullying:

  • Need more education for students/ staff on unkind behavior vs. bullying
  • Careful language when discussing specific incidents
  • Open communication with students/staff/families
  • Trusted adults for students

High School

More information could be provided about the specific roles/contacts for administration (i.e., who is the point person for different issues). We already have internal documents for staff about this: repackage them for everyone so that the chain of command is followed and communication is much more transparent for all parties involved (would also be helpful for middle school).

Middle School

There is a google form that students and staff can fill out when a bullying incident occurs. All staff have access to the google document that keeps track of these incidents.

Elementary

Some classes have a box that students can drop a message into to report an incident anonymously. Most incidents are reported directly to a trusted adult. From feedback, we have found that reporting the incident directly to an adult makes them feel safe and heard.

3. What methods are being promoted to parents to report bullying behaviors?

All levels (high school, middle school, elementary) reported similar methods of promoting the report of bullying behaviors to parents. Site councils discuss how to report bullying, but they could use other methods to report it to more parents, such as Back-to-School meetings, conferences, and social media messaging that expresses open communication between parents/teachers regarding bullying. More parents are aware of the See Something Say Something app due to the question implemented in the Strategy 2 Climate, Culture, and Equity parent survey.

4. What proactive approaches have occurred to communicate this year that bullying is not tolerated in school?

High School

Intercom announcements and communication to parents about zero tolerance of bullying is in place. There is an app called See Something, Say Something that is accessible to all students if they wish to report inappropriate behaviors. Examples from other students include: Be like Boston.

Middle School

Social work services highly connect the Character Strong traits to the sessions with students. We work heavily on relationship building- which involves kindness, forgiveness, patience, respect, selflessness and honesty. We also work hard on committing and engaging in their education and being present when they are here. We talk about character strong traits in small group sessions to help with social skills, and offer opportunities to role play in order to be ready for real life scenarios. This reminds students to implement positive relationships and uplift one another.

Elementary

Character Strong contains lessons that are directly related to anti-bullying. Staff have conversations with students and parents when bullying occurs. Schools place no bullying posters throughout the buildings so students have a visual of the 0 tolerance policy on bullying.

5. Positive Takeaways:

District-Wide

Our social-emotional curriculum Character Strong professional development was provided district-wide,
so everyone is proactive about building relationships and allows all staff to be mindful of how students
treat one another.

High School

Derby High School’s Diversity Club actively promoted October as Bullying Prevention and Awareness
Month by having a friendship bracelet table and anti-bullying slogans on the bracelets. They also used
Character Strong anti-bullying posters which were displayed during December for International Day of
Disability Awareness.

Middle School

Character Strong initiatives have been used at the middle school level to promote kindness through
organizations such as Student Council (STUCO) and Students Against Destructive Decisions.

Elementary School

Elementary used positive sticky notes of affirmation. At schools, they discuss the difference between bullying and tattling, and who to talk to. Character Strong announcements in the morning have a positive impact. When problems arise, they are addressed via the announcements as a whole. During the school day, administrators have heard students talking about right from wrong, and being kind to one another. Students are coming up with ideas on their own to help others feel they are in a positive environment.

Overall, there has been a positive impact on schools and knowledge of bullying behaviors. With a strong social-emotional learning curriculum such as Character Strong, we are now in front of the bullying situation. We are learning not how to react, but how to respond.

Report 1: November 25, 2024

During the September 3, 2024 Strategy 2 Committee meeting, introductions were made and the approval of meeting norms to be carried over from last year was confirmed. The committee looked at the definition between climate and culture to guide our conversation this year: 

The main difference between school culture and climate is that the culture is the values and beliefs behind the school; it is the building's mission statement or overall feel. A school's climate reflects directly on the students and their relationships with the teachers and staff and can vary daily.

We then viewed and discussed the items that are coming up:

  • Beginning annually in November of 2024, feedback from the administration and council will be provided with results discussed at a school board meeting. It will include general feedback/best practices from each school’s culture committee and the district survey results, including parent/caregiver and student participation, gathered each October.
  • During Fall Parent/Teacher Conferences the district administered an annual school culture survey for each individual school. These were made available via Skylert email and on devices available at the school during Conferences. This measured the overall culture and climate at each school and gathered anonymous feedback from students and parents/caregivers about ways we could improve the culture and climate of each school. Sending the survey in October provided students and parents/caregivers the opportunity to become more familiar with their school. The survey at the elementary level was given to grades 3-5.
    • Surveys were ready at Elementary Schools for Parent/Teacher Conferences October 22 and October 24, 2024 for parents to view and sign permission slips.
    • Middle School/High School: start early, specific classes will give the survey, and a timeline has been created.
    • The week of October 28, 2024 the survey was given.
    • The survey is also available in Spanish.
    • Communicate with principals on how the survey will be viewed by parents at Parent/Teacher Conferences and get permission slips signed.

The Strategy 2 Committee looked ahead at subject matter that we will be discussing at our future meetings.

Diversity Training for Staff: Bring back expectations from the district guidelines.

Bullying Training:

  • Character Strong bullying prevention lessons for students
  • Staff Training

Discipline Trends (Skyward the last five years)

  • We are currently asking what type of data would we use to gather discipline information.

Previous Strategy 2 Reports By Year