My Melanie Jacob
Journal Staff Writer
[email protected]
It's another step forward in the struggle against bullying. The Saskatchewan government has recently partnered with SaskTel to launch the anonymous anti-bullying online reporting tool for the I Am Stronger website.
"The online reporting tool is one portion of the website itself," said Tim Caleval, executive director of Student Achievement and Supports for the Ministry of Education. "It's another resource to help deal with challenging situations."
The I Am Stronger website is an online resource available for anyone who wants to learn about how to deal with bullying, gain some support, or learn how to support others. Individuals can go on and post their experiences or get in touch with people who can help.
The new reporting tool has been integrated with the website to allow students to report any incidences of bullying, even anonymously. Students can access it from a computer or through their mobile phones and the only information they need to include is their city, school, and what happened. At that point, an alert is sent to the appropriate people.
"Every school division has a primary and secondary contact person. A notification goes to the primary contact first and once they receive it, they can go in and access the details," said Caleval. "They can take action further than what's happened since the incident."
Unfortunately, while this new option provides another avenue of information for administrators and parents, it's not a solve-all solution. Due to the anonymous nature of the tool, administrators will have to deal with the issue as best they can based on the details they receive from the report. Without the names of both parties, conflict resolution becomes more difficult.
"School divisions have been dealing with student behaviour since schools were formed so divisions continue to develop process to deal with the challenges around bullying," said Caleval. "This is just another way to get more information."
The tool is modeled after the ERASE tool in B.C., which generated approximately 300 reports within the first 10 months after becoming operational. So far, it has helped to address school fights and suicide attempts.
"We're building off the good work that B.C. has done," said Caleval. "We've got several partners that have come together to support this. SaskTel is hosting it, as is the Kids Help Phone."
SaskTel is spearheading the iamstronger.ca website as a way to take responsibility for the potential damage caused by people who misuse their services. While they do have other areas of focus in terms of social outreach, this will be their leading cause to focus their efforts on.
"We feel the devices and services if used inappropriately can contribute to online bullying," said Michelle Englot, director of external communications for SaskTel. "This is going to be our primary social cause where we encourage our employees to get involved as well."
With regards to the government's side of the partnership, the online reporting initiative is just another part of Saskatchewan's Action Plan to Address bullying and Cyberbullying. Some of the other elements of this plan include the annual Student First Anti-Bullying Forum and the Kids Help Phone.
"We're looking at ways to address the issue in schools and communities," said Caleval. "We have this detailed plan that's been put in place. The partnership is one component of that as well as the online reporting tool."
