Schools Offer Safe Way To Report Bullying
KOSCIUSKO COUNTY — A student walking down the hallway notices two classmates casually passing insults back and forth about a third person, who pretends to laugh but is clearly hurt.
The student has seen this before; in fact, it happens a lot to this person.
The student is faced with a choice. To intervene could mean falling victim as well. Yet, to walk away could mean passing up an opportunity to help. Not sure what to do, the student quietly retreats down the hall, pulls out a cell phone and leaves a message.
Later, the student learns by chance that, because of that message to the Safe Schools Hotline, the classmate and even the bullies received help they needed.
While the above scenario is hypothetical, many schools are taking steps to curb a problem that often goes unnoticed or unreported: Bullying. Area schools, like Tippecanoe Valley School Corporation and Warsaw Community Schools, have hotlines available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, that anybody can call and leave a message to report instances of bullying, threats or attempts of suicide, theft, vandalism and any other occurrence that may threaten the well-being of a student or school employee.
Both hotlines are anonymous, so the caller does not have to worry about being identified.
“All messages are kept confidential,” Tippecanoe Valley Middle School Assistant Principal, Cory Cooper, said.
Once a message is sent, a team of adults will receive notification. At TVSC, that team consists of school administrators and at Warsaw, it includes school officials and law enforcement personnel.
“It’s a really quick response,” Cooper said. “Immediately, we’re contacting each other.”
TVSC’s hotline also has a text option and WCS is looking into adding it with the next upgrade
Students, teachers, school staff, parents and community members can use the hotline any time they have any firsthand knowledge of a situation that puts someone at risk. Often, Cooper said, a student who is considering self-harm or suicide will reach out to someone he or she trusts.
“We tell students and parents that nothing is too minor to call the hotline,” WCS Chief Academic Officer, David Robertson, said. “If anyone is in any kind of danger at all, like a bullying situation or if somebody threatens to do something at school.”
A cell phone is something that nearly every student has handy, Cooper added, making school safety hotlines readily accessible.
“We want to make it as easy as possible,” Robertson said.
Robertson admitted that there have been some false tips reported, but overall that is something school officials feel they are willing to risk.
“We’re willing to deal with the occasional prank in order to provide a confidential way for people to get in contact with us,” he said.
Such occurrences, he added, have been rare thus far.
Bullying is a common occurrence in public schools nationwide. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 28 percent of students in grades 6-12 have reported being bullied and approximately 30 percent have admitted to bullying someone.
The number for Tippecanoe Valley School Corporation’s Safe Schools Hotline is (574) 387-3825.
The Warsaw Community Schools School Safety Hotline is (574) 371-5024.