Bullying via social media is more prominent now than ever before, Anti-bullying Coordinator Stephen Cappello says
Every district in New Jersey is required to have an anti-bullying coordinator. At Cinnaminson Township Public Schools, that coordinator is Stephen Cappello, a former principal at Howard Yocum Elementary School in Maple Shade who joined the Cinnaminson school district seven months ago.
Cappello’s responsibility as the district-wide coordinator is to oversee the activity of the anti-bullying specialists in each school. He reviews all reports and accusations of bullying and serves as a liaison between the anti-bullying specialists and the Board of Education regarding incidents of harassment, intimidation and bullying.
Harassment, intimidation and bullying — otherwise known as “HIB” — is a term used by the state that encompasses any gesture, any physical, verbal or written act, or any electronic communication that is reasonably perceived as being motivated by a characteristic such as race, gender, sexual orientation or disability — among other characteristics. Schools frequently use the term “bullying” interchangeably with HIB.
“We take every conflict and incident very seriously. They’re investigated whether or not they rise to the level of HIB,” Cappello said.
Since incidents have to meet certain stipulations to qualify as harassment, intimidation and bullying, not every occurrence that looks like bullying can be qualified as such.
One of the biggest anti-bullying tactics in Cinnaminson Township Public Schools is the Week of Respect that takes place in October. During the Week of Respect, students have fun with different themes — such as “team up against bullying day” where students wear their favorite sports team’s jersey — while also learning about the harm of bullying. Additionally, teachers include lessons on bullying into their reading and writing curriculum.
This year, the Week of Respect was also Violence Awareness Week. The district brought in prosecutors to talk to students about safe dating.
The district also conducts anonymous student surveys on bullying that are meant to combat the issue of bullying being underreported and therefore underestimated.
“By checking in on our students, we get a more clear picture on whether or not they feel safe at school and, if they do see bullying, whether they know how to report it,” Cappello said.
Cappello says in addition to the surveys, the district is aiming to make sure students know whom they can go to if they witness or become a part of a bullying incident.
Each year, every district must submit a HIB self-assessment score to the state. This score is meant to evaluate how much effort the district is putting into preventing and stopping bullying. The maximum score is a 78. Last year, New Albany Elementary School scored a 70, Eleanor Rush Intermediate School scored a 72, Cinnaminson Middle School scored a 74, and Cinnaminson High School scored a 75.
Cappello says while bullying is present in all grade levels, it tends to be more involved as students get older.
“In the lower elementary school, you may have an incident of teasing where the kids are not even aware that what they’re doing is actually bullying,” Cappello said. “At the high school level, it can be more intentional and more severe.”
One reason bullying can be more severe in older grade levels is the use of social media. Cappello says despite bullying reports going down overall, the district has seen an increased number of reports of bullying via social media.
“Social media creates an atmosphere where people perceive that they have a lower level of accountability,” Cappello said. “Because there isn’t face-to-face communication, there comes a perception that they’re less hurtful. The things you say online has the same impact as if you were to say them to someone’s face.”
Cappello added students often bully other students because of their own insecurities or problems they’re facing in their home life.
In 2017, the district’s anti-bullying specialists, who are also counselors, will be garnering additional training through the state and through the New Jersey Principals and Supervisors Association. Cappello would also like to have a HIB professional development workshop that incorporates all staff.
Cappello encourages parents who suspect their child may be either a bully or a victim of bullying to report incidents to the district, even if they’re not sure if they qualify as bullying. Cappello also wants parents to talk to their children as a bullying prevention mechanism.
