[v9147]

Are elementary, middle, and high schools in VT prone to bullying?

It may be an isolated incident but the cyber-bullying suicide in Essex but the is not the environment I would want my future kids to go through. And I know not every school is like that, I went to an alternative one that mixed college with hs (which had an accepting community) while my friends at the local regular school got the humanity crushed out of them.

So are there any good schools without much of that BS in Vermont, esp around Burlington?

[v9147]

Not trying to paint a negative picture of the state btw.. just trying to find out what its like in schools. I know most high schools everywhere are hell. Maybe people who went to schools in VT can comment, or ask your kids what its like, or talk about an alternative (like a middle college program)

[68vette]

There is bullying everywhere. Meaning every state has bullying issues. Vermont is no exception. The schools try to address the problem, but like anywhere, it is a next to impossible problem to control. The internet and texting make the problem worse than it was. Instead of harassment just during school, It's now a 24/7 problem. Most kids live with it and typically say nothing.

[v9147]

True, but the high school I went to had almost no bullying. The whole ganging up on people and social status garbage was just not an issue, but at another in town in was a huge issue. It just depends on the kids that go there and the school culture.

Vermont seems to be full of tolerant and friendly people, so I don't see why students would be intolerant and I hope that there is a high school or alternative that has an accepting community for kids instead of the popularity rat race found in plastic suburban America.

[OhBeeHave]

Originally Posted by v9147

True, but the high school I went to had almost no bullying. The whole ganging up on people and social status garbage was just not an issue, but at another in town in was a huge issue. It just depends on the kids that go there and the school culture.

Vermont seems to be full of tolerant and friendly people, so I don't see why students would be intolerant and I hope that there is a high school or alternative that has an accepting community for kids instead of the popularity rat race found in plastic suburban America.

To a certain extent this is human nature. I certainly do not condone bullying as I had been the bullied growing up. Wherever there are perceived differences the potential is there -- whether the victim is weak, shy, poor, brainy, unathletic, missing a parent, a different ethnicity, a different race, relocated to the area, etc.

I've seen the teen social strata at work in Bellows Falls. I've seen it back on LI where my children attend school. From firsthand experience I know it is something which happens, but that as parents, we have to teach our children to accept others and respect their differences as well as teach them to be upfront with us and teachers if they should become a bully's target.

Texting and Internet make it much easier for more students to join in the fray. Those who might not have physically harmed a victim find it far easier to post nasty missives for all to see.

OP, I hope you find a district where bullying is non existent. Best of luck to you.

[68vette]

Ohbeehave it the nail on the head. Vermont is really not very different than anywhere else. The kids have the same social stresses. What is popular in New York City or anywhere for that matter is just as popular here. Bullying and the like that is passed down from the previous generation or from music or media are all exposures our kids have to deal with.
Please don't take offence to this, none is meant. People have this fantasy that Vermont is this utopia that has very few problems the rest of the country suffers from. While it is a great place to raise a family. Many of the problems other states experience, we deal with as well. The reason Vermont and states like Montana are ranked better than many other states is because our populations are so small. Things just happen on a smaller scale. A good example of this was an article that was written on a year where murders were high by Vermont standards. They looked at murders per population and the murder rate in Vermont was per populace higher than New York City.

[v9147]

Maybe the Vermont Commons School would be a good environment?

[68vette]

I did some research on the subject and came up with several intresting facts. The DOE (Vt Dept. of Education) data is flawed and inaccurate according to a report of the study committee HARASSMENT, BULLYING AND CYBERBULLYING OF STUDENTS IN VERMONT SCHOOLS presented to the House and Senate Committees on Education and Judicary. DOE staff report that every year they receive harassment and hazing data from every school, and that many schools submit forms stating they had zero (0) harassment complaints. more than a quarter of Vermont's schools -submitted forms with 0 complaints received.
This is data from the VYRBS:
According to the Vermont Youth Risk Behavior Survey, 17% of all 8th -12th grade students reported being bullied at least once in the last 30 days. 4% of all 8th -12th graders reported that they did not go to school on at least one of the past 30 days because they felt unsafe either at school, or on the way to, or from school. When the data is disaggregated by self-identified sexual orientation, race, grade level, or sex, it becomes clear that certain groups of students are being bullied at higher rates than other groups of students.
Of the students who self-identified as gay, lesbian, bi-sexual, transgendered or not sure /questlonlnq (GLBTQ), nearly one in three (31 %) reported they had been bullied at least once in the last 30 days, a rate twice that (15%) of students who self-identified as heterosexual. Students who self-identify as GLBTQ reported rates five (5) times higher than their heterosexual peers did in terms not going to school at least once in the past 30 days because they felt unsafe either at school or on their way to or from school, 15% of GLBTQ students compared to 3% of students who self-identified as heterosexual.
When the YRBS data is disaggregated by race, it shows that 24% of students of racial or ethnic minority groups reported being bullied in the last 30 days, compared to 16% of white, non-Hispanic students. Likewise, 12% of students of color compared to 3% of white, non-Hispanic students reported not going to school at least once in the past 30 days because they felt unsafe either at school, or on the way to, or from school. This measure of "not feeling safe" is 4 times higher for students of color than for white, non-Hispanic students.
Eighth grade students were the grade-level group reporting the highest rates of being bullied in the last 30 days, at 23%. This data is consistent with anecdotal information indicating that middle school students are more likely to both engage in, and become the targets, of bullying than either elementary or high school students. The Youth Risk Behavior Survey does not currently collect any information about internet use and cyberbullying.
I didn't look into other states, but I imagine the issue is about the same. The state has laws that are in place, but how many kids will not bully someone because of a law? I don't think many kids that bully other kids will think twice about a law. The proof is in the numbers (Vermont Youth Risk Behavior Survey).

[companykeeper]

I took my daughter out of Williston Central School when she was in 5th grade because her teacher bullied her for half a year. He's dead now, and she says what goes around, comes around.

Kids bully everywhere. The trick is, toughen up your own so it doesn't get to them too much. It's easier to prepare YOUR kids than to try to control someone elses. Mine is a tough little cookie, but when it's the teacher going after a 9 year old, and the kids in the classroom follow suit, there isn't anywhere to turn.

[v9147]

Originally Posted by companykeeper

I took my daughter out of Williston Central School when she was in 5th grade because her teacher bullied her for half a year. He's dead now, and she says what goes around, comes around.

Kids bully everywhere. The trick is, toughen up your own so it doesn't get to them too much. It's easier to prepare YOUR kids than to try to control someone elses. Mine is a tough little cookie, but when it's the teacher going after a 9 year old, and the kids in the classroom follow suit, there isn't anywhere to turn.

I had a teacher in 9th grade who really hated me and whenever I had to go to his class I felt sick, it must really be bad for a 9 year old.

Would you say that your town is friendly and accepting in general though? Did you find a good school?