October 18 is UNITY DAY: Together against bullying. United for kindness, acceptance and inclusion.
Students are asked to wear orange.
According to the National Bullying Prevention Center:
“ORANGE provides a powerful, visually compelling expression of solidarity,” said Paula Goldberg, Executive Director of PACER Center. “When hundreds of individuals in a school or organization wear orange, the vibrant statement becomes a conversation starter, sending the unified message to kids to know that they are not alone.”
According to Dosomething.org– over 3.2 million students are victims of bullying each year. Approximately 160,000 teens skip school every day because of bullying. 17% of American students report being bullied 2 to 3 times a month or more within a school semester. Those statistics are much lower in Wylie ISD, but it’s a good reminder that students and parents must know how to report a bully or potentially harmful adult. I hope you can join me by wearing orange and help us keep our kids happy, healthy, safe and secure.
As an elementary student a LONG time ago, I walked home alone nearly every day. This enjoyable experience turned desperate when I faced with another boy who began hitting me from the urging of his big brother. This experience continued day in and out without resolution. It was a different time, and I chose not to tell anyone until long after it was over, but I remember it like it was yesterday. It was traumatic. I never want a student to experience this same fear or despair.
Our commitment in Wylie ISD is keeping our students emotionally and physically safe at school. After all, students who feel safe are engaged, happy, hopeful and academically successful. The biggest way to keep our kids safe is to teach our kids that being bullied is not okay and let someone know so we can help. We also want to inform parents, teachers and any other adults how to report a bully or any potentially harmful circumstance that may involve our students.
BULLYING
If a student feels like they have been a victim of bullying at school, please click here to read our definition of bullying. If it meets our requirements, please submit a bullying incident report. We formally investigate every report. Here is a link to the online form.
We take bullying very seriously. If a student has bullied another student, discipline measures will follow. Consequences can range from in-school suspension to removing a bully from their classroom. In some extreme cases, we will move a bully to a different campus.
CHILD WELFARE
Wylie ISD has the best teachers, principals, bus drivers, and parents on the planet. The first goal of a parent and/teacher, principal, etc. is to keep students safe. District employees are legally obligated to report concerns regarding the well-being of our students to child welfare. If you are concerned about the safety or welfare of a child, we ask you to report it by completing this online form.
Child Welfare Concern Report Form
This includes concerns about a teacher, parent, guardian or any other adult you feel has compromised the safety and security of a Wylie ISD student. This will launch a formal investigation by our district student services department that acts much the same way as our bully report.
Thanks for helping us make Wylie ISD a safe place for our kids to learn and grow. Please join me by wearing orange and letting others know that bullying is not okay. After all, that is the Wylie Way!
