"TAKING THE BULLY BY THE HORNS"

• During the school year approximately 375,000 students in 6th thru 12th grade were victimized (bullying & theft) at school.
• Schools reported bullying incidents on a weekly basis with the largest percentage occurring in middle schools (25%) followed by high schools (15%) and elementary (11%).
• 33% of middle schools reported student cyberbullying at least once a week.
• 29% of secondary/high schools reported cyberbullying at least once a week.
• 10% of elementary schools reported cyberbullying at least once a week.
• 77% of public schools recorded 1 or more incidences of violent crime and theft. (1.4 million incidents or 29 incidents per 1,000 students)
• 1 out of 4 students reported being bullied at school, with 6% more victims being female.
• 10% of school staff have been verbally threatened by bullies. 4% were physically attacked.
• 9% of students reported gang presence and hate-related words.
• 32% of school teachers agreed that student misbehavior interfered with their teaching.
• 5% of students reported avoiding places in school where they felt a bully might attack or harm them.
• 8% of students in grades 9-12 have been in a physical fight on school property. 11% male, 4% female.
• 3% of students have carried a weapon on school property.
• 7% of students were threatened or injured with a weapon on school property.
• 85% of bullying takes place in front of others. Don’t be a bystander!

“Cyberbullying” was defined for respondents as occurring when willful and repeated harm is inflicted through the use of computers, cell phones, or other electronic devices.

A hate crime is an offense motivated by the perpetrator’s bias against the victim based on ethnicity, religion, gender or disability.

Previous research has found that students who are bullied are more likely to experience depression and anxiety, have more health complaints, and skip or drop out of school.

The involvement of young bullying victims in recent suicides and school shootings has also heightened concerns regarding the public health implications of bullying.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, School Survey on Crime and Safety, National Center for Education Statistics.

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For more information please contact Kathy Noll kthynoll@aol.com