Anti-bullying campaign launched

SANDPOINT — A little dignity and respect goes a long way in creating a school district that helps every one of its students.

Crafting such an environment is the mission behind a new Lake Pend Oreille School District campaign, with the focus centering on promoting considerate behavior between students. The materials used to promote this goal vary based on grade level, but the ideas behind them are universal enough to apply from kindergarten to senior year.

“We want to use this campaign to address some of the problematic behavior we’ve been hearing about,” school district prevention specialist Tammy Palaniuk said.

The problem is a universal one among educational institutions. School officials everywhere face the problem of minimizing antisocial behavior among their students. While Palaniuk said Lake Pend Oreille School District doesn’t have a particularly severe bullying problem thanks to the rural location and smaller student body, it’s still something to take seriously.

For the past 10 years, Palaniuk has worked with school administrators to cut down on bullying and disrespect in the classroom. However, one frequent problem that arises is distinguishing between cases of protracted bullying and moments of individual harassment.

“It can be difficult to decipher true bullying from simply mean and rude behavior,” Palaniuk said.

“We wanted to address the problem by raising the overall level of good behavior.”

That was where the Dignity and Respect campaign came into play. Palaniuk began searching for a program structure that was both inexpensive and easy to implement in classrooms.

“Dignity and Respect fit all that criteria,” Palaniuk said.

The program is an easy one to fit into classroom activities no matter how busy the curriculum gets. Each week, staff and teachers introduce a new pro-social tip using posters, websites and other materials. These tips can be something as simple as promoting a smile or reminding students to be courteous in even the minor interactions of the day. Since the program provides a unified message across all schools, it also creates a sense of community throughout the district.

Dignity and Respect is not just for schools. It’s designed to be applicable to a variety of environments, whether they be offices, social clubs or agencies. Those interested in introducing such a program to their organization should call Palaniuk at tammy.palaniuk@lposd.org.

•••

Tips offer help to stop bullying

Tammy Palaniuk offers five approaches for students who experience bullying.

1. Ignore the bully.

2. Walk away.

3. Tell the bully to stop in an assertive tone.

4. Inform an adult of the problem.

5. Use humor to diffuse the situation.