Lake of the Woods Democratic Club

Tracing the history of aggressive behavior from Ancient Sparta to modern-day Locust Grove, Alison Walden, school counselor at Locust Grove Middle School, assured those who attended the club’s May 16 meeting that Orange County Schools take bullying very seriously.

“We tell our students and our parents that if anything like that goes on, we want to know about it,” Ms. Walden said. “We feel we have a responsibility to our children to make sure they feel safe at school.”

She defined bullying as “unwanted, repeated aggressive behavior by a person or a group which makes a child feel powerless to defend himself or herself.” She explained that not all conflict is bullying and that children can’t be protected from all conflict, but that bullying is never appropriate.

Bullying is categorized into four categories, she said: physical, verbal, emotional and cyber.

The Orange County school division uses components of a bullying-prevention program called Olweus, named for Dr. Dan Olweus, a professor of psychology at the University of Bergen in Norway.

Among the preventative measures undertaken at Orange County Schools, she said, are student surveys about bullying, assembly programs on bullying, an “I Am Unafraid” bulletin board, video reminders during morning announcements, an anonymous box to report bullying at the school and a “Bullying Stops Here” link on the school’s Web site that permits students and parents to report incidents of bullying.

In addition, she said, faculty and staff at the school are trained regularly on how to handle complaints of bullying and every complaint is treated seriously and investigated.

As a result of the school system’s efforts, Ms. Walden said, the reported instances of bullying has been reduced by as much as 75 percent. In a student survey conducted in September 2013, 54 percent of students answered “no” to the question “Have you ever been the victim of bullying. Less than 1 percent said they had been bullied frequently.

Bullying — persistent, aggressive behavior among school aged children — has received considerable public attention recently after several high-profile cases resulted in the deaths of young victims.

The Lake of the Woods Democratic Club will examine this troubling social phenomenon at its meeting at 1:30 p.m. Thursday, May 16, in the lower level of the LOW Clubhouse.

Alison Walden, school counselor at Locust Grove Middle School, will talk about bullying in Orange County Schools and describe what is being done locally to address the issue.

The Orange County School Division uses components of a bullying-prevention program called Olweus for about five years. The program, which was developed by Dr. Dan Olweus, research professor of psychology at the University of Bergen in Norway, works to build positive relationships among students and involves all students, not just those who are being bullied or who are bullying others. The importance of support from parents and guardians, faculty and staff and members of the general public in preventing bullying is also addressed.

Orange County Schools’ Web site states “The staff of Orange County Public Schools is committed to creating a safe school environment, free of bullying and harassment.”

Ms. Walden, who lives in Charlottesville, has been a school counselor for 22 years and has been at Locust Grove Middle School since it opened. Prior to that she taught 6th and 4th grades at Prospect Heights School for 14 years.

She has four degrees, including a master’s degree and an educational specialist degree from the University of Virginia in Charlottesville and bachelor’s degrees from Virginia Tech in Blacksburg and Hollins University in Roanoke.

Ms. Walden is a sustaining member of the Junior League in Charlottesville, a member of the Martha Jefferson Hospital Foundation and is an elector of Grace Episcopal Church in Keswick.

Guests are welcome.

For more information, please follow the links below:

• Locust Grove Middle School
• Olweus Bullying Prevention Program
• stopbullying.gov
• Pacer’s National Bullying Prevention Center

Details to be announced.

Roundtable on issues of interest.