Monitoring Meanness: Schools constantly battling cyberbullying

Jan. 29—Most of the bullying that takes place in schools these days takes place over social media and the Internet, and educators are consistently working to address the issue.

Even if a situation has taken place outside of school, and not on a school-issued device, educators often run interference and an investigation into the matter because it typically disrupts the school day.

Jennifer Luttrell, Owensboro High School principal, said that social media has been the root of many of the problems the school is seeing at this time.

"It is a big issue for us, and it's a very time-consuming issue for us," she said, adding that anytime cyberbullying or harassment is reported, it is investigated.

While social media is helpful in many ways for communities to communicate, it is also disruptive. It is also beneficial for proving some instances of bullying, especially when it comes to evidence, she said.

For instance, she said, before social media and smartphones, if a student was accused of bullying, it could become a "he-said-she-said" situation. Now there are screenshots, and clear paths that are outlined on the Internet that make instances easy to track.

"Many times a student or a parent or guardian has seen a screenshot," she said. "Screen shots help because we can actually see what is going on, and can formulate a plan with our school resource officer, and even contact the county attorney and get advice on how we need to proceed, if the situation calls for that."

The process for investigation starts with a tip or a report of the incident.

From there, the school and the SRO work out a plan for how to move forward and determine if the incident can be corroborated, and what level of punishment they should seek.

They have to be sensitive in how they pursue the investigation and the punishment to protect everyone involved, especially when they are dealing with minors, she said.

OPS, and many other school districts, also use the GoGuardian device management platform to help teachers and administrators monitor how students are using their school-issued devices.

Through that software, they are able to see what students are doing on their devices, where they go on the Internet, and with whom they are communicating.

Tim Roy, Burns Middle School assistant principal, also said cyberbullying is a big concern at the school level.

He has been an educator for 27 years, and in that time has seen a shift in bullying formats. When he first started, there was a lot of mediating occurring between physical altercations

with students.

Cyberbullying is now most prevalent, and is "an absolute game-changer," he said.

For one, the anonymity of the conflict.

"As we see on a variety of social media and comment sections, responders feel more and more empowered to say whatever is on their mind because they can do it without an actual face-to-face confrontation," he said. "As a result, there is no fear of immediate physical or verbal retribution."

Also, the lack of adult supervision on social media platforms and devices is a cause for concern, he said.

Without the oversight of adults, young people who may not be mature enough to make sound choices are left to their own devices, and often make rash, inappropriate decisions, he said.

Social media also has enabled wide-spread bullying. In the past, an altercation may have just involved one individual stealing another's lunch money. Now, comments and posts are shared continuously, with hundreds of students' and parents' eyes seeing them, Roy said.

Like OPS, when handling a bullying situation, Daviess County Public Schools has to first determine when and where the situation occurred.

Did it happen on school property, on a school device, within school hours? They also have to assess if a threat of physical aggression will occur on school property, and how much that will impact the learning environment of the school.

If a threat is made outside of school and off school property, outside of school hours, and on personal technology devices, and doesn't involve direct threats on school property, school administration typically doesn't get involved, Roy said.

"If it's clearly an off-campus situation, we will usually advise the victim or parent to contact local law enforcement or possibly even speak with our school resource officer," he said. "However, if the bullying occurs during school hours, is made on district property/technology, or is a direct threat of physical/verbal assault on school property, we will always address this."

Luttrell said it's important to use technology and social media as teaching tools. OHS works with students and their families to encourage good digital citizenship, and understanding that when something is posted online, over social media, it is there forever.

She said a lot of students don't quite realize that, even after they have deleted a post, picture, or comment, that doesn't mean it's completely erased.

The school district also works to educate parents in these matters, and she encourages families, parents, and guardians to have open policies with their children about cellphone usage. They should also be especially aware of how their student is using their technology devices.

For example, there are many applications that are designed to be hidden from parents or school administrators, and the school system works to educate about those as well.

"If students have access to social media accounts, it's important for parents to know what they have access to, and to have a process in place where they can look and monitor those accounts," Luttrell said. "If they hear or see something, let us know. We can't help if we don't know what's going on. We are here to keep students and staff safe, and the more information we have, the more proactive we can be."

Bobbie Hayse, bhayse@messenger-inquirer.com, 270-691-7315