Northern Lehigh School District is taking an all-out approach to counter bullying at every education level.

Here’s a look at the schools:

Peters Elementary

Peters Elementary Principal James Schnyderite discussed schoolwide positive behavior support program as a framework for anti-bullying.

Schnyderite said in Tier I, they teach students expected behaviors to all students in the school based on its core principles, in that they are expected to be responsible, be respectful, be safe, and be proud.

He said they also provide a framework for continued support of positive behavior, which includes rewarding good behavior; reteaching their expectations to students who exhibit challenging behaviors; and providing support to students who consistently demonstrate challenging behaviors.

“We teach behavior, we reward good behavior, and we provide support for students who are challenged with learning that behavior the first time in order to help them improve,” Schnyderite said. “To me, the best thing about our School Wide Positive Behavior and Support framework is that it is a proactive approach to managing behaviors.”

Slatington Elementary

Slatington Elementary Principal Todd Breiner discussed response to reports of bullying.

Breiner said Level 1 infractions are communicated with the principal through filling out an office disciplinary referral, but are handled by the teacher, while Level 2 infractions are handled by the principal and/or school counselor.

“We’ve seen an overall increase in behavioral referrals this year, both Level I and Level II, specifically to Slatington Elementary, where we’ve seen about three times the average compared to the average of the three years prior to the pandemic happening,” Breiner said. “The most challenging areas, they haven’t changed; still the classroom, still buses, still the cafeteria, and still recess.”

Breiner said that due to recent circumstances, including the pandemic, working through normal social challenges with students has changed and has been more difficult than in previous years.

“There’s a lot of variables that go into this,” he said. “And a lot of factors around this; some of them have been around forever, some of them are new, and some of them have been exasperated because of the current situation.”

Northern Lehigh Middle School

Northern Lehigh Middle School Principal David Hauser discussed what he’s seeing.

“Social media is huge, once you hit those preteen and teen years,” “Hauser said. “Ninety percent of the student conflicts, bullying, harassment, whatever word we put on it, 90% involves social media in some way.”

Hauser added there are ways for parents and families to help.

“Please know what your children are doing on social media,” he said. “Have their passwords, know how to navigate it.”

Hauser said foul language with direct, personal statements is the most common form of conflict/bullying according to student and faculty reports, about 80%.

He added there are very few instances of physical altercation; rapid escalation is more common now than in prior years; and there have been several reports of physical altercations after school hours.

“We also have had several reports of physical altercations that are occurring after school hours off of school property; those are hard to manage because the ramifications come into school, but school doesn’t always have the authority to go and enforce upon those, and that’s where we need assistance of outside agencies, for example notifying local police departments, if needed,“ he said. “We do see a need amongst our student body in general for empathy building; understanding what others are thinking and feeling, and not just focused on ourselves.”

Northern Lehigh High School

Northern Lehigh High School Principal Robert Vlasaty noted they have seen a significant increase in peer conflicts with building, classroom, noninstructional areas, as well as reports of verbal, digital, and physical conflicts outside of school.

Vlasaty noted they have also seen an increase of verbal aggression toward staff as well.

He said that as of Dec. 15, they have had 197 referrals (nonattendance related). Of those, 30% of referrals are defiance/non-compliance, and added some of that could be attributed to inappropriate language also.

“I’m happy to say that the harassment has not been as high as I had feared,” Vlasaty said. “We have had some minor harassment and/or bullying reported, and as I said before, we look at both sides, we bring them in for some conflict resolution.”