Sarah Rennie – LJI reporter
The New Frontiers School Board (NFSB) takes bullying very seriously.
NFSB assistant director general Joyce Donohue is leading a task force initiated at the end of the last school year in response to mounting concerns over an increase in incidents of bullying and violence within NFSB schools and centres. The committee includes a cross section of around 13 individuals including staff members, teachers, caretakers, principals, and special education consultants.
Donohue says the sole role of the task force is to prepare a report summarizing the strategies, tools and resources that those sitting on the task force as well as community members bring forward to address the issue. The report, which will include recommendations on a set of concrete measures that could help reduce bullying and violence within the system, is to be delivered to NFSB director general Mike Helm at the end of this school year.
She says a lot of effort is being concentrated at the ministry level, but the NFSB wanted to create its own plan and strategies that would be made for and by the New Frontiers community. “We got ahead of the curve,” she says.
The task force has met several times for roundtable discussions and work sessions. Donohue says they are now looking to receive feedback from the broader school community. An interactive ThoughtExchange survey was launched last week that asks participants to recommend strategies, tools, or resources to prevent bullying and violence. As of February 10, at least 92 individuals contributed to the survey, which allows participants to rate different thoughts allowing key concerns and issues to emerge.
“We want the community to feel engaged in this and to help us find solutions because we don’t want to pretend that we have all the answers,” says Donohue.
The survey will remain open until after March break to allow parents and community members time to contribute their ideas. There will also be two public consultations including one at Chateauguay Valley Regional High School on February 13 at 7 p.m., and another at Howard S. Billings High School in Chateauguay on February 20.
“This is really us putting ourselves, putting ourselves out there to get something concrete written up so that we can really look at this issue strategically and move forward with it,” says Helm. “There has been a tremendous amount of work that has already been put into this. People are really engaged, and they want to make a difference and to help our students,” he adds.
“It is something that concerns everyone and we want to be able to have a response on behalf of everyone,” says Donohue. “We want to build something from the ground up. Just having these discussions builds awareness, and that alone is worthwhile,” she notes.
The ThoughtExchange survey can be accessed via the NFSB Facebook page, as well as online at: my.thoughtexchange.com/scroll/465409602.