In the next 7 minutes, a child in the U.S. will be bullied. It may be the son or daughter of someone you know. Worse, it may be your own. Meanwhile, only four out of 100 adults will step in to stop it. And only 11 percent of the child’s peers might do the same. The rest — 85 percent — will do nothing. Most bullying occurs on playgrounds or somewhere out of adult supervision. The effects of bullying are profound and have a major psychological impact on the bullied student and often causes learning problems in the classroom

We all know that bullying is a substantial problem in our Pocatello community, in the State of Idaho, and Nation-wide. Our children are telling us by the results of sobering statistics, but are we listening? Ignorance in our community cannot go on anymore and we cannot ignore it, nor can we rely on programs that are currently being funded by grants that may have helped in the past, but aren’t anymore. Trying a NEW approach is what I am suggesting.

I am writing this proposal because bullying has happen to my children. I am one of the 4 percent of adults that wants to step up and help make a contribution for change. By wanting to help stop the bullying that goes on in our schools, online, and in our community, I am here suggesting a simple, yet powerful solution – KINDNESS! Why Kindness? To be honest, I never knew anything about bullying before my initial experience. So, I didn’t know what exactly bullying was, what the steps were to report it, or how to help my child. I went through my own personal experience to figure out my own solution.  If we are all coming together with the same exact answer – Kindness; then let’s do something about it!

We (parents, administration, local leaders, teachers, all adults) are the examples for change. Only WE can encourage our community to be Models of Kindness, in hopes to spark a change in our children, community, and schools. Supporting this proposal will help in our efforts to prevent bullying, build a more unified community, and create a better learning environment for our children.

Through my research, I have also learned that 75% of special needs kids are bullied in school.  I am also an advocate for kids with special needs. I want to be a voice for ANY CHILD experiencing bullying. Research has also taught me that us parents can request to write a bullying prevention plan for our child in their individual IEP’s. I think that would be a great idea and recommendation to parents to do this for our children that may not fully understand if they are being bullied and need extra support from their peers.

“We” are the change! And “We” can stand together and make the change for our children! Sometimes we all just need a reminder that the solution is not so complex, it’s simple, everyone in our community can contribute Kindness and it can cause a Change of Heart beginning a ripple effect, and I am expecting it to grow into a TIDAL WAVE!

Bullying Statistics

Pocatello Sobering Statistics:

Last year in District 25, two teens committed suicide within a one-month span. Both families said the teens were bullied at school.

Beginning in December 2014, the Idaho Suicide Prevention Hotline is now taking calls 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The hotline was launched in 2012, but was closed on weekends and late nights. After-hour calls were fielded to other crisis lines, often in Portland, Ore.
When the hotline first opened in 2012, it wasn’t unusual for the hotline to go days without a single phone call, but the hotline receives now 10 to 20 calls per day. The number of hotline volunteers also increased from 18 to 60 volunteers. In hopes in the future to increase it to 80 volunteers.

In 2011, The Center for Preventing Hate, released a disturbing report regarding bullying and harassment among Pocatello’s high school students. The report found, among other things, common slurs like “whore” and “fag” along with more extreme ones like “ni–er” and “c-nt” are reportedly used daily.

In 2013, Idaho was the fourth highest suicide rate in the nation. Studies have shown that those who have been bullied and or harassed at school can be affected by the actions well into their adult years.
Idaho’s Sobering Statistics:

Idaho’s school suicide rate is 49 percent above the national average. According to State Department of Education figures, one in 10 students have either switched schools or dropped out due to bullying; one of seven students has seriously considered suicide, and one in 14 students has attempted to take his or her own life.

Last year, Idaho ranked among the top 10 states for teen suicides and overall suicides. Because of the state’s rural geography, many students and families face barriers in accessing prevention- and mental health services. Law enforcement has assumed the role of mental health provider due to cutbacks in funding for mental health services.

Thank you to our Governor Butch Otter and the State of Idaho for passing the Anti-Bullying Bill on April 6th, 2015 and for recognizing that bullying is a huge issue in our state.
Negative Effects Caused by Bullying:

For schools, the financial burden caused by bullying is not to be ignored, either. According to a National Association of Secondary School Principals report, the average public school can incur more than $2.3 million in lost funding and expenses as a result of suspensions, expulsions, vandalism, alternative placement and lower attendance.

The Association for Psychological Science recently found that those who are bullies, victims or both are more likely to experience poverty, academic failure and job termination in their adulthood. In addition, they are more likely to commit crime and abuse drugs and alcohol.