:: Work to create a safe, caring, connected and responsive school climate – it can save lives

As an educator, you play a central role in creating an environment that is safe, supportive, and engaging for all students. A pro-upstander method of bully prevention is critical to achieving this goal.

Historically, K-12 bully prevention efforts have focused exclusively on the bully and/or the victim. These efforts have had little impact on actually preventing bullying and now bully-victim behavior is a serious public health problem. The growing body of research all underscores the same thing: bully-victim behavior is toxic; it undermines K-12 student’s capacity to develop and learn in healthy ways. (In fact, when students bully and/or are victimized over time it dramatically increases the likelihood that they will develop significant psychosocial problems.)

Effective bully prevention efforts are ones that actually protect children and adults from harm. To do this, schools need to adapt the pro-upstander method of bully prevention by doing these three things:

1. Create a climate where students feel inclined to share information about potential threats When we see bully-victim behavior, we make a conscious or unrecognized choice to be a passive bystander or act as an upstander who says “no” to bullying. In addition to addressing the needs of the bully and victim, make sure your school recognizes the situation of the witness.
2. Empower your students to say NO.
3. Promote upstander behavior. Empower your students with the responsibility to stand up for what is right and to address what is wrong. Provide them with examples of upstander behavior and support them.

On a daily basis in schools across America, passive bystander behavior is enabling bully-victim behavior to occur. When we transform K-12 schools from a culture of student and adult passive bystanders into a community where everyone is attuned to the importance of promoting upstander behavior, we will significantly reduce bully-victim behavior. Now is the time to work together to make a difference.