Yates works to make school a ‘no bully’ zone

Author: Tammy Lane • First Posted: Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Gallery (click any photo to view the gallery)
All the students at Yates Elementary learned this pledge, and everyone got a T-shirt during Bully Prevention Kickoff Week.

All the students at Yates Elementary learned this pledge, and everyone got a T-shirt during Bully Prevention Kickoff Week.

All the students at Yates Elementary learned this pledge, and everyone got a T-shirt during Bully Prevention Kickoff Week.Students danced the Wildcat Shuffle at the schoolwide assembly.Teachers presented skits in the gym. One staff member even dressed up as Dorothy from "The Wizard of Oz" since the year's theme at Yates is "Follow the yellow brick road" to success. She stressed that kids need courage, brains and heart to stand up to bullies.

With songs and cheers and lessons, Yates Elementary has kicked off a fourth year of promoting school as a bully-free zone.

A week of activities to start the year right included a lesson a day and a schoolwide assembly where students danced the Wildcat Shuffle and repeated the pledge: “Lend a hand. Take a stand. Yates will be bully free!”

Fifth-graders like Darren Soper have embraced the campaign, realizing that younger students look up to them. “We try to be role models in the hallway, and they copy us and do the right thing,” he said.

Classmate Emily Wilson said kids should know it’s OK to seek out an adult if someone’s in trouble or in danger of being hurt – physically, mentally or socially.

“The biggest lesson is between tattling and telling,” Emily said.

Students at Yates began last week learning the definition of bullying, watching a video and taking a survey so teachers could see what they already knew. The next day, the kids acted out various scenarios, rallied at the assembly and learned the pledge featured on their T-shirts.

The third day’s lesson focused on strategies and what to do about bullies. The final day, they reviewed the difference between bullying and an argument between equals, signed the no-bully pledge and took another survey to gauge their learning.

School social worker Amy Crump said feedback indicates students feel better since Yates implemented the program and made some tangible changes, such as increasing supervision in the common areas.

“We want the students to trust us and know we’re doing our best to make sure they’re safe and can freely learn and are comfortable,” she said.

Cool Cat, the school’s mascot, pops up monthly to revisit the topic. There’s also another assembly in January, with a poster contest and a writing contest.

“Most of the focus is on the bullies and bystanders because that’s where the change can really happen,” said Crump, who stressed that empowering bystanders is the program’s most effective element.

“If you can teach them there’s strength in numbers and get them to believe in that, then that’s a really powerful piece.”