Return to Headlines
Superintendent Bettencourt's remarks from Dec. 11 Board meeting
Note: Last week’s tragic loss of seventh-grader Ronin Shimizu has prompted community-wide reflection on how we work together to respond to bullying. At the Dec. 11 Board of Education meeting, Superintendent Deborah Bettencourt provided remarks about areas the District has already identified for improvement. She also proposed the formation of a task force that will explore long-term solutions, and a formal call for volunteers will come after Winter Break.
Below are Superintendent Bettencourt’s remarks:
Bullying is prevalent in our society. As a school district and community, we want – we need – a culture of compassion. There should be civility, tolerance, kindness, regardless of our differences, especially because of each person’s uniqueness.
Over the past week, we have been asking ourselves hard questions: Did we take the right steps in this specific case? Were they sufficient? We have been reviewing our own programs and procedures: Board policies, website information, student conduct code, parent handbook, the training of our staff, how our anti-bullying curriculum and programs are being implemented. Are consequences consistent Districtwide and progressive? Are we monitoring the implementation of our programs? How are we tracking the data on incidents?
We’ve held parent forums. This fall, in Rancho Cordova in partnership with the City. In previous years, in Folsom in conjunction with the Folsom Police Department.
We’ve started gathering additional resources and suggestions from our parents, staff, and community. Folks from across the country have reached out to offer specific curriculum or programs that have worked for them. We want to enrich and deepen our current programs. We’ll look at them all.
What I’ve found this week is that we have at least three areas of immediate attention and then a need for a longer, more sustained approach to fully integrate some changes into our district and community.
First: a clear definition of bullying to parents, students and staff. There is a difference between playground antics and childhood play and bullying. The Ed Code defines it, but we must define it.
Second: articulation between schools - elementary, middle and high schools - regarding both perpetrators AND victims. This will require a Districtwide (required) tracking system. While we track incidents by school, the info is not always transferred with the student when they change schools.
Third: More training, ongoing training, for all staff, from yard duty supervisors and bus drivers to teachers. But, also, more communication and resources for families. Discussion starters for conversations at home about bullying, standing up for victims, reporting to adults, to reinforce: “If you See Something, Say Something.”
We never want another death in this community. We want Ronin’s death to have a lasting impact on us as individuals, and as a community of educators, parents and caring adults. I’d like to propose a Districtwide, community-involved committee: Staff, parents, students, community members, other organizations, partners who provide community resources including: mental health organizations, social services, clergy, law enforcement, medical providers, city officials, private schools, service clubs, sports groups. There would be four subcommittees to work on these specific areas:
- Student-led discussions about what programs would be helpful
- Coordinating the Anti-bullying message with our Families
- Training and Staff Development for employees
- Administrative and Procedural Review, both at the school and district levels.
We are forever changed by this tragic event. Will you join us in this effort?