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Lexington City Schools is commemorating October as Bullying Prevention Month.
Throughout the month, K-8 students are hearing morning announcements about bullying and anti-bullying strategies. School counselors have planned learning activities to increase awareness and help students identify and prevent bullying, including poster contests, community-building, and classroom guidance lessons.
According to Lexington City Schools’ student conduct policy, and as defined in Virginia state code, “‘bullying’ means any aggressive and unwanted behavior that is intended to harm, intimidate, or humiliate the victim; involves a real or perceived power imbalance between the aggressor or aggressors and victim; and is repeated over time or causes severe emotional trauma. ‘Bullying’ includes cyber bullying. ‘Bullying’ does not include ordinary teasing, horseplay, argument or peer conflict.”
At Lexington schools, students who engage in bullying are subject to disciplinary action. Parents or guardians will be notified within 24 hours of the principal or principal’s designee learning of an allegation of bullying. The Lexington City Schools’ code of conduct is on the division website, at lexedu.org.
Lylburn Downing Middle School has a tip line on the school’s website, where people can report bullying incidents anonymously. The tip line is found at www.lexedu.org/schools/ldms/ anonymous-bullying-report-form.
Lexington City Schools Superintendent Rebecca Walters stressed to The News-Gazette that both Lylburn Downing and Waddell are committed to addressing reports of bullying, as well as educating and sharing with community members the specific definition of bullying.
“Bullying is not ordinary teasing, horseplay, argument or peer conflict,” she said. “I think emphasizing that … would be very helpful to the general public.”
