BETHEL — MSAD 44 school board administrators addressed bullying policies in their schools. Using a detailed PowerPoint presentation school principals and deans read the definition, explained the policy, and the steps they take when a bullying complaint is made.

Telstar Principal Mark Kenney, explained that they use the state policy definition of bullying. They take each report and compare it directly to the definition.

In the elementary schools they aim for prevention. Jess Wilkey, principal of Woodstock Elementary, talked about Second Step, a social/emotional curriculum that she and her teachers are using for the first year. She said the weekly lessons start with learning skills, then move quickly into responsibility and empathy.

“I’m on a unit right now with empathy. Kids are learning about their own feelings, but also the feelings of others. How their actions impact others. How they can be a good friend.” Tanya Arsenault, principal of Crescent Park School, agreed that teachers like the curriculum and look forward to seeing how the learned skills will progress through the grades. CPS has used it school-wide as well as in the classrooms.

Kenney said in the upper grades they use workshops, consistent practices, vocabulary, and talking circles regularly. A color-labeled chart helps students identify their anger level. He said they are trying to, “make sure we have a strong advisory program so every student feels like they have one adult in the building they can trust and go to.”

In the end we all want the kids to feel safe and welcome. We want them here and we want them to want to be here. Sometimes the biggest hurdle is to get them through the front door. It’s hard to have an impact if they are not here with us,” said Kenney.

The flow chart is the road map used by all of the teachers and administrations. Explaining the steps, Lindsay Leutje, Telstar middle school dean of students said, “the top priority is safety,” Both the victim and the student who caused the harm are interviewed (sometimes more than two are involved), along with parents. “It’s safety for both parties,”  Punishment is part of the process, but is nuanced, with an activity taken away at one end of the spectrum and expulsion at the other. “The third piece is restoration, repair of harm, which begins with taking responsibility,” she said.

“These are kids. These kids are learning, it’s our job to teach. Right now there is a lot of language they don’t understand.” said John Eliot, dean of students at Telstar High School.

Both Leutje and Eliot stressed the time involved in each investigation, holding up the thick packets of paperwork that represent each one. Eliot said, every rumor is investigated, however, there are opportunities for informal resolutions along the way.

“We have seven hours a day. Our reach is only so far, we can’t control what goes on in their world outside the school day.” said Kenney holding up his phone, “We are told we are responsible 24/7 with every kid in our school. That only works when we have a partnership with parents… But the challenge comes in when you look at said numbers on a state web site and then you do a bunch of labeling and assuming. That’s when it gets to be dangerous.”

Eliot followed Kenney, explaining that cyber bullying sometimes happens at home late at night, but the next day arrives at school when the insulted student says, ‘Look what they did, I don’t think I can go to class today. It’s affecting my day.’ “My policy” said Eliot, “is that I call that parents immediately … help me help your kid,” he said.

Both Kenney and Eliot explained the importance of teaching students to be active bystanders, someone who comes to the aid of another. Recently Eliot had to get a lawyer involved when an erroneous Instagram page called ‘exposing Telstar’ was posted. “My students found out and infiltrated the group and my students got that site shut down. Because they said that it was wrong.”

Just remember that we’ve got a lot of good kids that are doing exactly what they need to be doing and are good people,” said Eliot.

Parent, Destiny Hughes, of Woodstock, asked if there was a way to get this information out to parents, “I hear a lot of fear,” she said.

Leutje and Eliot agreed that a informational session with parents would be a good idea.

Other business

School superintendent, David Murphy said, ” We have been able to shake the trees. We were able to get enough students qualified as disadvantaged. As a result we will be receiving an additional $453,000. Our budget is going to be up, a lot … Our total amount of funding that we are anticipating getting will be in the range of about $900,000. That’s up from $518,000 last year.”

Murphy read the names of people who received Teacher of the Year nominations. “A couple of these aren’t even eligible because they haven’t been teaching long enough, but I’m still going to read their name off because it says something that they were nominated.” The nominated teachers are: Gina Lavoie, CPS; Chris Bellami, Telstar Middle School; Kathy Conrad, CPS; Samantha Grasso, WES; Peter Hedden, TMS; Duchess Killam, TMS; Amy Lilly, TMS; Kara Kimball TMS; Kristin Meader, CPS; Melissa Postin, THS; Gina Welch CPS and Brenda Wight, CPS.

Murphy next read the names of colleges where nine seniors who have participated in the North Star program have been accepted. One has been offered a $26,000 college scholarship. Two other students are undecided and one is accepting a work position following graduation.

Following an executive session with the school board, Murphy said the discussion at the private meeting centered on Bethel Early Learning Center which is scheduled to close Feb. 24. Murphy said, they [the school district] is hoping to take it over. “We are all of the feeling that if anybody can make it happen, it’s us,”  he said.

Related Stories