Inconsistencies in Bullying Data

Bullying, according to state law, is any electronic, written, verbal or physical act directed at another student that is “severe, persistent or pervasive” and interferes with a students’ education, creates a threatening environment or is substantially disruptive to the school setting.  A great deal of attention has been paid to bullying in recent years and it seems as though almost every school district has some kind of ‘anti-bullying’ campaign or policy in place. In PA the state releases a “Safe Schools” report each year which lists the number of documented incidents of bullying (and other disciplinary infractions) within each school district. But what does this data really tell us? ....and is it accurate?

Angie Mason, an Education Reporter for the York Daily Record points out that inconsistencies in reporting ‘bullying incidents’ make it very difficult to know just how much bullying is actually going on within schools.  Mason points out that since there is no exact protocol for ‘reporting’ an incident between two students, schools will often handle these situations differently. Some schools may choose to issue ‘warnings’ or refer students to guidance counselors first, while other schools will immediately issue ‘discipline referrals’ to students who are accused of bullying. If a discipline referral is not issued, a report of the bullying incident is never made, thus the inconsistency in the reported data.

Many school districts in York County have reported ‘zero bullying incidents’ at least once in the past five years. Though we know, and school district officials admit, just because these incidents are not reported, does not mean they are not happening.  Unfortunately, the state looks at the data that is reported each year to determine where assistance and training opportunities should be made available throughout the state. If we do not report incidents when they are occurring, teachers, parents and students could be missing out on some valuable ‘anti-bullying’ programs and resources.

  

One such program that several schools in York County have adopted recently is the Olweus Bullying Prevention program. The program includes regular classroom meetings where discussions happen about topics such as gossiping, ‘snitching’ and the internet or ‘cyber bullying’. Students and teachers alike both agree that the program is an excellent way for kids to talk about problems within the school and make connections with their peers. In addition to regular classroom meetings and chat sessions, schools also welcome guest speakers. John Halligan, whose son committed suicide in 2003 after enduring relentless bullying, was asked to speak to students at Dover Intermediate School.  Though we may never know of each and every incident of bullying that happens in our schools, I cannot think of ANY student that wouldn’t benefit from a program like this.

Read more on this topic in an article by the York Daily Record's Angie Mason.
York Daily Record- Bullying Inconsistencies

3rd Grade Reading Levels, Poverty and Graduation Rates

In a study from 2011, researchers found that students who are not reading proficiently by the critical 3^rd grade milestone are 4 times less likely to graduate than students who are better readers. According to this study, if a child is not proficient in reading AND is “poor”, that child is 13 times less likely to graduate than their more affluent and proficient peers.  For the purposes of this study, ”poor”  is defined  by tracts of the U.S. Census  where more than 30 percent of households have incomes below the federal poverty threshold, or $22,314 a year for a family of four in 2010.

 As if that’s not bad enough, as an expansion to this study, researchers have now added a 3^rd component to the equation.  If a child is not a proficient reader by the 3^rd grade, is economically disadvantaged AND comes from a ”poor” neighborhood, they are 17 times less likely to graduate then their peers without these disadvantages.

It may seem obvious, but if we take a closer look we can see why living in a high poverty neighborhood plays such a large role in determining student’s success. We know that children who come from these neighborhoods often lack access to good health care, move frequently in and out of substandard housing units and go without proper nutrition and sleep. In addition to these factors, they must contend with street crime, limited public transportation and substandard schools.

Researchers are in agreement:  if we want kids to break the cycle of poverty and graduate from high school, we MUST be sure that they are reading on grade level by the 3^rd grade.  More than 160 cities are working with the ‘Campaign for Grade –Level  Reading’  with plans to address the problems of poverty and to increase the number of children who are reading on grade level.  As part of the ‘All-America City Grade-Level Reading Network’ cities are creating plans of action that will tackle the 3 most critical problems that keep kids from reading on grade level; school attendance, school readiness and summer learning.

"Neighborhoods matter," said Donald J. Hernandez, a Hunter College sociology professor who conducted the research. "We need to think about effective policies that reduce poverty and increase reading skills for all children, including strategies that align early education with grades K-3rd and workforce development for parents that lead to secure jobs with middle-class incomes for families. Such policies would not only help individual children and families, but also reduce neighborhood poverty rates and, hence, the toxic effects of concentrated poverty."

For more information on the about this research please visit The Annie E. Casey Foundation at www.aecf.org. For more information about the Campaign for Grade-Level Reading and the All-America City Grade-Level Reading Network please visit www.gradelevelreading.net

The Importance of Early Warning Signs

There are some very sobering education statistics out in recent years that simply cannot be ignored.  For example, did you know a sixth-grader who is failing Math has only a 1 in 5 chance of graduating high school? Robert Balfanz, a Johns Hopkins University researcher has created system of evaluating such data and determining the outcome for the youth involved.  Balfanz is just one of many researchers that have painstakingly studied the data surrounding struggling youth in this country.

Through researchers like Balfanz, we now know that a middle-school aged student who is failing English has only a 1 in 8 chance of graduating high school. We know that as that same student progresses, he will begin to ‘tune out’ school, develop discipline problems and become truant.  We also know that a truant high school student with already present academic and disciplinary issues, has only a 1 in 10 chance of graduating. So how do we stop this and where do we start?

The short answer? Early Intervention.  Identifying struggling students and intervening as quickly as possible is such a big part of this equation. Through intensive educational research we are able to now identify potential drop-outs way before high school and often times, well before middle school.  Additionally, we can offer services to these students to help combat the core reasons WHY they are failing, truant or both.

York County has incorporated the following list of early warning indicators as part of it’s Attendance Protocol:

-School districts will designate an individual responsible for recording the following Early Warning Indicators in third, sixth and ninth grades:

• Number of students in each respective grade with four or more unlawful absences
• Number of students in each respective grade with three or more office referrals
• Number of students in each respective grade with a 65% or lower in English
• Number of students in each respective grade with a 65% or lower in math

(Any student who has just one of these indicators is at risk of dropping out)

Find more information on the importance of early warning signs, educational research and reform at DROPOUT NATION a blog written by RiShawn Biddle, a former editorialist for the Indianapolis Star.