Advocate: New bullying reporting website needed

One anti-bullying advocate wants the Hernando County School District to simplify its website and make the complaints available for all to see - just like the Hillsborough County School District.

Stacy Walsh, spokeswoman of Special Students of Hernando, said the district should copy Hillsborough's methods because the district's website offers a short, simple form that's easy to find on the district's website.

Making the form quick and easy to fill out and send electronically would go a long way to entice students, parents and teachers to report incidents, she said.

Even more enticing is that the records were made available on Tampa Bay's Online website - allowing everyone to see what is being reported in their schools, Walsh said.

Too often she said the public is unaware what goes on in schools, because in the past instances weren't reported to the state if school administrators don't consider them to be bullying. Details of what is going on in schools also aren't made public unless it warrants a police or sheriff's report.

But scouring through Hillsborough's reports, anyone can choose a school and read from parents, students and teachers what they say occurs, sometimes every day.

"My daughter was picked on by several girls at this school today. My daughter was teased and told she was fat and ugly and had an odor," One parent wrote whose daughter attends Armwood High School in Hillsborough County. "This happens everyday. She is to the point where she does not want to go back to school."

A student from Madison Middle School wrote, "Makes fun of kids including me, he called me fat. Please do not mention my name."

Reading through the reports, Walsh said it sheds light on what students go through everyday, whether the acts are considered bullying or not.

"And for those who are being bullied, I think that would put their voices out there and they can know they're not alone," Walsh said. "It opens it up so that everyone can realize what's going on in these schools because otherwise, no one ever knows."

Implementing the site

Hillsborough County implemented its new website last year and since then, Judith Rainone, director of Administration for Schools, said it has received positive reviews from children and parents.

She said a large button advertises the bully reporting site and that a person is finished submitting a complaint after filling in nine lines of information.

Before, Rainone said forms were available, but people seemed hesitant to fill them out. Students especially seemed hesitant to tell a teacher or counselor, for fear they'd face retribution.

Through the bullying site, however, she said names are kept confidential and it allows room for writing a detailed account of what's occurring.

It's not enough to just have a website, however. Rainone said it's necessary to have administrators ready to follow up with the complaints.

"A lot of work goes into this," Rainone said. "Yes, a smaller school district can implement this, but you have to have the organizational structure set up to follow through with the complaints."

Superintendent Bryan Blavatt said he likes Hillsborough's set-up and would like to see it implemented in Hernando County.

However, he said he would like to wait until after the district has implemented other anti-bullying initiatives - such as the after school counseling and administrative training.

This month teachers are also slated to spend time educating students on what bullying is. Toward the end of September, an anti-bullying week of events is also slated.

"I really think it's a good thing Hillsborough has going, but it's something that has to be coordinated - we can't just jump into it," Blavatt said. "You're talking about a huge complex issue and before we move on this, we're going to have to look at it internally first."

Meanwhile, Rainone said changes are ongoing statewide concerning how bullying is reported to the state.

Starting this year, school officials have to make an incident report every time a student is accused of bullying - whether it's found to be true or not.

During the first semester of using the new bullying website, Hillsborough administrators confirmed 41 of 199 reported incidents as bullying.

Now for all school districts, Rainone said state officials are interested to know more about similar instances where children are picked on.

"Now the state wants to know more about those unfounded bullying complaints as well, and that means just one more set of reports that administrators are going to have to keep," Rainone said. "I think that's the hardest part in dealing with bullying is that parents and students is that they don't care whether it's bullying or not - they just want what's going on to stop."