Battle Hill Elementary School

HIB is a common educational conflict that affect students and their families annually. According to the New Jersey Department of Education (2011) HIB is defined as:

 

"any gesture, any written, verbal or physical act, or any electronic communication, whether it be a single incident or a series of incidents, that: (1) is reasonably perceived as being motivated either by an actual or perceived characteristic, such as race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, or a mental, physical or sensory disability, or by any other distinguishing characteristic; (2) takes place on school property, at any school-sponsored function, or on a school bus; or off school grounds, as provided for in N.J.S.A. 18A:37-15.3; (3) substantially disrupts or interferes with the orderly operation of the school or the rights of other students; and ( 4) that a reasonable person should know, under the circumstances, will have the effect of physically or emotionally harming a student or damaging the student’s property, or placing a student in reasonable fear of physical or emotional harm to his person or damage to his property; or has the effect of insulting or demeaning any student or group of students; or creates a hostile educational environment for the student by interfering with a student’s education or by severely or pervasively causing physical or emotional harm to the student" (p. 9).

 

For more information about HIB from the New Jersey Department of Education, visit https://www.nj.gov/education/students/safety/behavior/hib/

 

HIB occurs in multiple forms. Though the continuum of bullying is expansive, the most common forms of HIB include the following: cyber, emotional, physical, psychological, and social (see, Table 1). Due to the forcefulness and crudeness of bullying, each form of bullying is equally harmful to the education and development of a student. The school and home have a responsibility to teach  children about the types of bullying.  

 

Types of Bullying 

 

 

Bullying prevention are systematic routines educators employ to minimize or to mitigate the act of bullying on or off school grounds. School personnel, along with the family and the community, should collaborate to develop comprehensive procedures on how to report, manage, and spread awareness about HIB. New Jersey mandates each school to establish practices such as programming, training, and reporting to boost awareness and response. 

 

An upstander is an individual who stops bullying when it happens unlike a bystander, who may watch or participate in the act of bullying. When HIB takes place, it is essential that students understand their role and responsibility. A student who observes bullying, should defuse the situation by stating "Bullying is not allowed at our school!" Then, immediately notify a trusted adult like a teacher or a parent. A synonymous catchphrase for such instances is "when you see something, say something!" Once informed, the adult, especially in the case of a teacher, must report the incident verbally and through writing to the Anti-Bullying Specialist (ABS) and/or the school principal right away. From this point, a formal investigation can begin. 

 

At-Home interventions are strategies that the family can teach or model to their child. Some strategies include the demonstration of prosocial communication, the use of diplomatic language, positive verbal and non-verbal skills, and/or conflict resolution attributes. Other strategies include regular talks with your child about their day or social-emotional discussions to understand your child's concerns and feelings. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) developed an application for mobile devices to assist families to starting conversations about HIB called KnowBullying. The application is free of charge and is a practical tool to connect families with the child. For more information see https://store.samhsa.gov/product/knowbullying.

 

For more information on HIB click here.

 

 

Battle Hill Elementary School understands the importance of recognizing student achievement and development. Several programs are facilitated throughout the school year to honor students: Students of the Month, Students of the Year, National Elementary Honor Society (NEHS), and Honor's Day (each are detailed below). Student Honors is a multi-honor system that recognizes student excellence in the categories of academics, leadership, and responsibility.

 

 

Section 504 was structured to ensure students with disabilities or with medical needs received equitable education. Interventions types cater to academics, behavior, attendance, and medical. To formulate interventions, a 504 Team which essentially configurates of a school principal, school nurse, teacher, school pyschologist, and the school counselor, who facilitates the meetings, collaborate to analyze the student's individualized needs and develop a plan based on these needs. 

 

Similiar to other referral services, the effectiveness of Section 504 stems from ongoing school-family collaboration, and if necessary, the involvement of the community, to extend resources and to enact shared-decision making. Cooperative relationships amongst stakeholders are paramount considering that interventions are interconnected responsibilities between the school and home. Thus, the act of shared-responsibility requires consistent communication and interaction between these institutions to propel the child to achievement.

 

Student referrals for Section 504 can be made by the school, home, or a professional member of the community, for example, a physician or a psychologist) in writing. For more information on 504, see the School Nurse's page.

Counseling is another method used to support students. While three types of counseling sessions are implemented: individual counseling, small-group counseling, and classroom lessons (see Table 1), a referral form is available for individual counseling. 

 

Counseling Types 

 

Individual Counseling	Small-Group Counseling	Classroom Lessons
One-on-one sessions that employ solution based counseling to address student conflicts such as learning, friendships, self-control, productivity, student leadership, and HIB to name a few. Referral forms are available to schedule individual counseling session.	Involve 2 or more but no more than 10 individuals in a session to discuss a variety of topics. Small-Group Counseling occurs throughout the year to discuss synonymous concerns or trends/issues that impact school aged students.	Whole group sessions are class (Pre-K to Grade 4) lessons wherein a variety of topics such as school culture, social-emotional, HIB, and character education subjects are emphasized. Classroom lessons are scheduled throughout the academic year .

 

New Jersey Department of Education. (2002). Resource Manual for Intervention and Referral Services. Retrieved from https://www.nj.gov/education/students/irs/manual.pdf