Cyberbullying has become a hot topic with the schools these days and no one is sitting on their hands. The provincial government recently released the Saskatchewan Action Plan to Address Bullying and Cyberbullying.
"We want to pull folks from all school divisions together to undertake work that will look at policies, procedures, legislation, and update work we have in our province," said Tim Caleval, executive director of student achievement and supports branch in Saskatchewan.
Jennifer Campeau, the Member of the Legislative Assembly for Saskatoon Fairview, undertook the action plan report in February of last year. After doing research and holding public consultations, she was able to compile her recommendations into this report by November.
The report itself consists of six key elements: updating policies and procedures in the education sector, developing an anonymous online reporting tool, assessing upcoming legislation with regards to bullying, and providing a website resource with anti-bullying tools for students. It also made recommendations for encouraging students to develop appropriate online behaviour and engaging youth in creating solutions for bullying.
"When I look at the four themes, the government seems to be looking towards aligning our priorities and we're certainly planning our end towards that," said Crandall Hrynkiw, superintendent of schools with the Horizon School Division.
"Ongoing work is being done through different programs to foster that positive relationship between students and community."
Thus, the school divisions will be trying to align their priorities with those laid out in the report. However, until a meeting of all school division and government representatives, the schools can only continue working with the resources they have.
According to Caleval, they are currently working on developing the online resource, which would provide an anonymous reporting tool. From that website, students and teachers will also be able to access additional information.
"This website will support what schools already have in place," said Caleval. "It'll be a one stop shop for students, teachers, and any other educational sector partner."
The next step will be policy review. With the addition of revised legislation to assist with online bullying, schools may be able to make more progress addressing all forms and mediums of bullying.
