A safe and supportive school climate can prevent bullying. Everyone must work together to create climates where all people are respected and bullying is not acceptable. The best way to address bullying is to stop it before it begins. School and classroom rules should be followed and appropriate behavior should be displayed as outlined in the LCSD Code of Conduct. Parents are asked to closely monitor their children’s social media accounts and activities since cyberbullying is becoming more prevalent. Parents will be contacted by a building administrator if their children are involved in bullying others. Anyone can become an upstander if they witness bullying. Upstanders can make a big difference for someone who is being bullied by reporting what they witness to a trusted adult.

CONFLICT: A disagreement or argument 

• Equal power between the students
• Happens occasionally
• Shows remorse 
• Modifies behavior when they have hurt
• Demonstrates ability to self-monitor
• Equal emotional reactions 

BULLYING: Unwanted, aggressive behavior that involves real or perceived power imbalance

• Imbalance of power 
• Repeated 
• No remorse or blames the victim
• Does not modify behavior ever
• Does not self-monitor
• Little emotional reaction from bully

For a behavior to be considering bullying:

• The words/action must be REPEATED.
• The words/actions must be INTENTIONAL.
• Emotional or physical harm must have been caused.
• The words/actions must evidence some type of POWER IMBALANCE.