Several weeks ago, a link labeled “Report Bullying” appeared on the LHS website in the top right corner, and it leads to a form through which anyone can report an incident of bullying with complete anonymity.
However, the form warns simultaneously that “false reporting of an incident is against school policy and state law.” This begs the question, then: how can there be repercussions for false reporting if the reports themselves are anonymous? None of the administrators Drops of Ink contacted explicitly described the school’s course of action in the case of a false report. Instead, the administration is relying on factual reports to inform them of real incidents.
“[The bullying forms] are completely anonymous, as the point is for people to feel comfortable enough to share this information with the school,” said Mr. Eric Maroscher, an assistant principal at LHS whose name is listed on the form as someone to contact in the event of a bullying incident. “Lots of people want to do the right thing but are sometimes scared to come forward and do so. By a report being anonymous, this helps the Good Samaritan help out without the worry of their identity being known.”
The form’s appearance on the school website did not come about in response to or as a result of any specific incident between students at LHS. Rather, Mr. Maroscher said, this is the result of a new policy by the Illinois State Board of Education that requires all Illinois public schools to have a report bullying form on their website.
According to Mr. Maroscher, there is not enough information yet to determine how effective this form has been or will be. The administration, though, continues to affirm that the best way stop bullying is to prevent it before it happens.
“I think what [the administration at LHS does] the best is we have great relationships with kids and our teachers and our staffs. We’re involved and we’re connected with the kids, and I think the kids are really connected with the teachers,” said Mr. Sean Ferrell, a dean in the Q-Z LST. “The LSTs have great relationships with the kids. I think they know what’s going on in their personal lives. So I think the best formula for really making sure that you stop bullying or prevent it is to have a good school culture, have good relationships, and I think that’s just built by getting to know our kids, and I think we know our kids really well.”
Mr. Ferrell also commented that he thought the school’s interventions in bullying situations have been and continue to be effective.
Nevertheless, some amount of bullying surely still continues, said Mr. Ferrell, and the new form on the LHS website marks a new approach to dealing with bullying.
“Students in the past have either gone to their LSTs, had a friend go on their behalf, used the LHS suggestion boxes, have contacted the LSTs through e-mail or [voicemail],” recalled Mr. Maroscher. “Most reports are in person, as there is tremendous trust between students and members of their LST.”
