January 2008 — News
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Catching Bullying in the Web
Developed in reaction to the Columbine shootings, the suite costs the average school district about $5,000 to $10,000, according to Tom Strasburger, PublicSchoolWORKS' vice president, who sees the combination of anonymous reporting and the Web as a viable option for students and parents who need a safe avenue for reporting incidents.
"There will always be 10 people who know what's going on, but how do school districts make sure that at least one of them says something about it?" Strasburger asked. "There's a growing need to pull information from people who are most likely to know and who can provide that information and prevent catastrophe."
The solution doesn't solve all problems associated with incident reporting, said Gilliland, who has had to deal with students who decided to mess around with the system and file false reports about their classmates. "We also had reports come in from students who weren't even enrolled in our district," said Gilliland. Overall, she said the system was a good investment for the school, which can more efficiently keep a finger on the pulse of its student community.
"Not everyone feels comfortable coming forward, and this provides a good avenue for concerned parents and students to be heard in an anonymous way," said Gilliland. "From there, it's our responsibility to handle the situation."
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About the author: Bridget McCrea is a business and technology writer in Clearwater, FL. She can be reached at bridgetmc@earthlink.net.
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