From the State Superintendent about Bullying Prevention

At Pennoyer school, our policies and handbooks have recently been updated to reflect current law and practices regarding bullying. We do not tolerate bullying and we work diligently with our students to support and maintain a safe, healthy, and bully-free environment. Acts of bullying are treated very seriously and taken care of by the staff and administration. Please direct any questions about bullying to our principal's office.

From the State Superintendent of Education, for your information:

Bullying Prevention

Coalition Working to Implement Task Force's Recommendations

Gov. Quinn signed the Illinois Prevent School Violence Act amendments just in time for the 2010-11 school year. Now, efforts are under way continuing to implement the act's important tenets, which include the first-ever definition of bullying in Illinois law, enumerated categories of students particularly vulnerable to bullying, and an expansion of the law's reach to include private, non-religious schools. For a copy of the act, go to http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/publicacts/96/PDF/096-0952.pdf.

The act created the Illinois School Bullying Prevention Task Force to examine bullying and ways to effectively prevent it. For a copy of the recommendations, go to http://www.isbe.net/SBPTF/pdf/sbptf_report_030111.pdf.

The Prevent School Violence Illinois coalition, a group of organizations across the state committed to effective bullying prevention and intervention, has taken up the work of implementing the task force's recommendations by raising awareness, connecting stakeholders, and providing expertise and resources. Drawing from the recommendations, the coalition recognizes:

• That bullying negatively affects every person within a school community and the climate of the school community itself;
• That bullying prevention is most effective when it accounts for the unique issues of a particular school community;
• That the impacts of systemic issues (e.g., racism, classism, religious bias, adultism, disability discrimination and homophobia) contribute to negative environments for youth and adults;
• That Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) is as important as math and English; and
• That overreliance on punitive school discipline detracts from a school community's ability to provide optimal conditions for learning and development and must be replaced by restorative measures.

For more about Prevent School Violence Illinois, contact Sarah Schriber at sarah@illinoissafeschools.org or (312) 368-9070, ext. 323.