Bullying is on the rise in schools across the country, and New York City is no exception. More than half of middle and high school students who responded to the most recent NYC School Survey said classmates bullied or harassed one another — the highest percentage in five years.
Two factors have contributed to the increase: the pervasiveness of social media and lingering stress from the pandemic. But no matter the reason, the surge in bullying has prompted educators to address the issue more urgently.
UFT Vice President for Middle Schools Richard Mantell says bullying can have a devastating impact on those targeted, leading to mental health issues, self-harm or violence. It can also have an impact on “the climate and culture of a school, which affects everyone,” he said. When schools make bullying a topic of discussion, he said, “it can be a game-changer.”
The UFT has long been a leader in anti-bullying efforts through Building Respect, Acceptance and Voice through Education (BRAVE), a program it designed and created with funding from the New York City Council.
BRAVE seeks to foster change by increasing awareness of bullying and bringing all stakeholders into the conversation about how to combat it.
“Once everyone starts speaking the same lingo, the narrative changes,” said Nicholas Cruz, the program’s director.
Mental health counselors are available for students, staff and parents 24 hours a day, seven days a week via the BRAVE hotline at 917-727-1908 or by texting BRAVE to 43961. The BRAVE program has an online chat feature as well as downloadable posters, curriculum materials and resources for educators. Each spring, BRAVE sponsors an anti-bullying video contest for middle and high school students.
UFT members can request a BRAVE-run anti-bullying workshop at their school for students, parents or staff by submitting an online request form. The student workshops are held in the classroom to enable “conversations with students and get them to be able to have conversations among themselves,” said Corey Taylor, a veteran city teacher who conducts these workshops.
Students learn to identify bullying behaviors, which provides them with language to effectively communicate to adults if they are being bullied. They also learn how witnesses to bullying can safely support students and not be silent bystanders. They can intervene, distract or tell an adult, Taylor said. He also encourages students to show their support by checking in on the person being bullied and asking if they are OK.
After the workshop ends, Taylor said, teachers “have a wonderful opportunity to keep that conversation going.”
The workshops can also be revelatory for the bullies themselves. “Once you know what characterizes a bully, you can stop that in yourself,” Taylor said.
Research has proven that education, awareness and prevention initiatives like these can make a difference.
Bullying starts in elementary school and continues into high school, but it hits its peak in middle school. At the UFT Middle Schools Division’s annual Anti-Bullying Conference, hundreds of middle school students, accompanied by teachers and school counselors, participate in workshops and role-playing activities to learn how to identify and prevent bullying and become anti-bullying ambassadors at their schools.
Alison Colchamiro, a school counselor at PS 199 in Queens, fosters a culture of respect and empathy through No Child Eats Alone, an annual schoolwide event held in concert with Respect for All Week. “The idea behind this program is to support all students in the idea of inclusion,” and to “celebrate diversity,” Colchamiro said.
At lunchtime, the school sets up booths where students write pledges to be kind and respectful. These pledges are posted on “kindness trees” that are displayed on the school’s walls. Everyone gets a “No Child Eats Alone” wristband.
The day is “positive and celebratory,” Colchamiro said, but the lessons run deep.
“The message is so rich and meaningful,” she said. “We want to be kind and loving and spread the word.”
Kayla McGoy, the United Community Schools director at Curtis HS on Staten Island, described how her school has implemented a successful behavior support program called Curtis PRIDE (for Punctuality, Respect, Integrity, Discipline and Effort), which rewards students for demonstrating these attributes. Students get cards that can be exchanged for snacks or school swag. Positive behaviors, when reinforced, influence the entire school culture, McGoy said.
Promoting values of inclusion and understanding, she said, can help students learn how to “speak up for themselves and others.”
Educators who are concerned about bullying at their schools have avenues to get additional guidance and help. Tanisha Franks, a UFT member representative and a Dignity for All Students Act (DASA) workshop facilitator, encourages school staff to ask their school’s professional development committee to organize a training session for staff on how to combat bullying.
“If people see something that their school needs to build muscle in,” Franks said, “they have a right and a voice” to get it addressed.
“Instead of putting out individual fires,” she said, the school-level PD committee, which was created as part of the DOE-UFT contract, can tackle the problem schoolwide.
Teachers juggle competing demands, but making the effort to integrate anti-bullying into the classroom helps create a safer and more productive learning environment for everyone.
“You can’t teach anything if the kids aren’t being kind to each other,” Franks said.