Bloomington Oakland Elementary School Principal David LaFrance, a former Bloomington High School assistant principal, stresses "you see bullying all the way from the elementary school age to the high school age." All District 87 schools are "proactive" in raising awareness of bullying issues and prevention, via "positive behavior intervention systems, LaFrance said.
"Character education," focusing on appropriate behaviors, is an important part of the district's weekly curricula.
"Daily, we try to set incentives for kids who are doing the correct things to others and for others," LaFrance notes. At Oakland Elementary, students can earn "hoots" -- credits for positive actions that contribute to a better school environment -- that can be redeemed for special prizes or recognition or tickets toward a larger eventual reward.
But it can't end there, LaFrance emphasized. As adults, teachers, staff, and administrators must understand "how important it is how we treat each other." It's a message school officials are working to send home, where personal attitudes, prejudices, and behaviors are formed.
"Everything we do, we're modeling for the kids, we're modeling for other adults," LaFrance said. "It's not always when somebody's watching that we have to do the right thing."
Listen below to LaFrance's further thoughts on bullying prevention and how the dinner table is as important to that effort as classroom incentives.