How to Assess Bullying at Your School by Angelina Pilon

1. How to Assess Bullying at Your School
by Angelina Pilon

2. Bullying is a serious offense that can lead to
students feeling very negatively about themselves
and the world at large, and one of the most
common environments for bullying is school. If
you are a school administrator or work in public
education, consider assessing your school for
bullying. Assessments can help you determine the
frequency and severity of bullying, while finding
out the efficacy of current policies and intervention
efforts.

3. Benefits to an assessment:
1. An assessment will try to illuminate what is really happening.
Adults and professionals frequently underestimate the rates of
bullying, as it most often occurs when adults are not present. A
survey or another anonymous measure will encourage students to
tell the truth about bullying.
2. An assessment will measure results and show the effectiveness
of current efforts. Multiple assessments can be used to show
results over time.
3. An assessment will show administrators what areas of bullying
they need to target by clarifying trends and types of bullying,
allowing intervention and prevention efforts to be accurately
shaped.

4. About the author: Angelina Pilon has been
involved in education as a teacher and
administrator for over twenty years. She has
spearheaded major efforts to combat bullying in
Canadian schools.