Most Students Feel 'Safe' at School, District 202 Bullying Survey Shows

The first survey results from Plainfield School District 202’s recently formed bullying task force show that the overwhelming majority of students feel safe at school, but some bullying does occur.

On Wednesday, district officials released the first set of data collected from about 14,000 students ranging in age from third grade through high school about their experiences with bullying. The survey is designed to give administrators a better idea of how secure children feel and what types of bullying occurs at the schools.

The bullying task force was formed last fall to gather information, look into the schools’ current intervention policies, discuss the legal ramifications of how the district responds to bullying and research the emerging trend of cyber bullying, in which the Internet and social networking technology are used to hurt or embarrass others.

Surprisingly, district officials said cyber bullying is not the most common type of bullying at the high school level, despite ever-increasing technology and social networking sites.

Only about 12 percent of high school students felt as though they were bullied over the Internet, according to the survey results.

“We expected to see a higher percentage at the high school or middle school, but we are not,” said Sharon Gronemeyer, the district’s assistant superintendent for student services.

Instead, name calling is the most popular type of bullying that high school students reported, and more students said they were called names because of their size than because of their gender, religion, disabilities, economic situation or sexual orientation, results show.

A person’s race or color is the second most popular reason students bully others in high school, district data shows.

Gronemeyer said that even though each of the district’s four high schools are unique, the data was similar among them, with between 80 percent and 86 percent of high school students saying they had not been bullied.

In middle school, the data was pleasantly surprising to district officials.

Research typically shows that in middle school there is a heightened level of bullying as students experience social and emotional changes, Gronemeyer said. However, survey results show that about 94 percent of the students in middle school consistently feel safe, a number that was much higher than expected, she said.

The survey results indicate that the middle school staff is being very vigilant in addressing bullying, she said.

Middle school students reported being bullied for their appearance, including their weight and types of clothes they wear, more than anything else, Gronemeyer said.

At the elementary school level, 97 percent of students from third grade to fifth grade reported never been bullied, data shows. Younger students were not asked to take the survey because they likely could not comprehend the true concept of bullying and their answers could skew data results, Gronemeyer said.

Elementary students are more likely to get physical and push another student, which is consistent with the discipline reports at the elementary schools, she said.

While about 96 percent of elementary students surveyed reported feeling safe in the classroom, about 69 percent of elementary students felt safe in the lunchroom, according to the survey results. About 86 percent of students felt they were safe going to and from school.

The initial data is encouraging to district officials, but they are still concerned that some students are not reporting bullying because they are too frightened or embarrassed.

District officials also want to end the culture of silence when it comes to bullying, saying that when bystanders don’t step in and help the victim, then they are actually supporting the bully.

Influencing the bystanders is one goal of the bullying task force, Gronemeyer said.

“It is a cultural change,” she said.

The bullying task force next plans to survey staff members to understand their knowledge and perception of bullying.