Letters to the Editor
Letter to the Editor | PSD and its Harassment, Intimidation and Bullying policy
I appreciated the article by Christina Henry in the October 28 Gig Harbor Now summarizing the study session presenting follow up of the PSD’s work on Harassment, Intimidation and Bullying.
I attended the session and reviewed the written materials that are now available on the district’s website. I spoke at the October school board meeting, and this letter reflects my comments.
At the study session a panel painted a positive picture of the progress made. There is now a clear and uniform HIB policy with consistent training, reporting mechanisms, response, investigation, and a discipline matrix. A new category for harassment – slurs – was added. Reporting can be done online or via a paper record. There is a toolkit available for staff with guidance on how to respond to incidents.
If the district is to claim success, what looks good on paper must go beyond lip service and be the lived experience of staff and students. Building trust is crucial and active listening is a critical first step in building trust.
After speaking with teachers, parents and students, I think there is room for growth.
The current plan for follow-up on HIB is through the Equity, Diversity and Inclusion team, which includes teacher representatives and administrators. There is no plan to include students and parents in this follow-up and that inclusion is crucial. I don’t think there is scheduled follow-up with the board, which is an important step to ensure that progress continues.
At the September board meeting Superintendent Bahr spoke enthusiastically about a parent advisory group meeting, which meets quarterly. Parents in that group described previous meetings as an experience when they heard material from the district which they were asked to share with other parents. There was little to no time for them to speak or ask questions. Many members felt that the district should either rename the group or, preferably, allow the group to live up to its name. (When she gave her report at the end of the board meeting Superintendent Krestin Bahr referred to a parent ambassador group. It appears that the group has in fact been renamed rather than being allowed to live up to its name.)
Teachers have told me that they don’t have the tools or support they actually need to address behavioral problems in the classroom and that time for social emotional learning gets short shrift. I would strongly recommend that the district consider hiring Belong Partners, a Seattle-based organization that I believe could provide teachers, students and parents with the tools they need.
Sara Thompson
Retired Family Physician
Lakebay