Bullying at Boothbay Region High School goes beyond being a disciplinary issue, it is a threat to student safety, mental health, and the learning environment we all share. I am calling on the BRHS administration to implement stricter, more meaningful consequences for bullying, including the use of a structured in-school suspension that promotes accountability rather than avoidance. 

As a student who has experienced bullying firsthand in the past, I know the impact it has on my peers every day; I know the harmful behavior that goes insufficiently addressed. If our school is truly committed to The Keel (the BRHS student handbook where the school’s commitment to eliminating bullying can be read) and ensuring that every student is safe, we must take action now. 

Under the header “Bullying/Harassment” in the BRHS Keel we find the following language: “The Board believes that bullying, including cyberbullying is detrimental to student well-being and to student learning and achievement. It interferes with the mission of the schools to educate students and disrupts the operations of the schools. Bullying affects not only students it targets but also those who participate in and observe such behavior.”

I have witnessed firsthand friends and peers being put down and mocked. This behavior wholeheartedly affects kids in the classrooms, hallways, and online spaces. When these behaviors are not addressed or are “swept to the side,” it sends a message to these bullies that harm will be tolerated. This has created an environment where students could feel anxious, distracted, and even unsafe coming to school. BRHS cannot claim to uphold respect and compassion if students are still experiencing repeated harassment without clear and consistent accountability.

Before writing this, I sent out a student survey, and gathered information regarding their thoughts and feelings about bullying in the building. In my survey, I asked this question: “What could the school do to reduce bullying?” One student replied, “Well, giving the kids who don't want to be at school a free vacation [out-of-school suspension] for bullying is not a very effective method.” This student’s response reveals why I believe we need an in-school-suspension protocol that we actually follow. A second student replied “I think the school could be more prompt to [sic] responding to student complaints. Oftentimes when a student reports an incident of bullying, they are given sympathy and nothing else happens.” I am not claiming that the administration ignores the problem of bullying, but, I do believe a number of the disciplinary actions we follow through with do not catch the offenders’ attention, which leads to repeated bullying. To clarify further, if consequences are imposed on a bully, then the victim will not be informed of the consequences due to privacy laws, so it might seem to the victim that nothing has been done.

In a recent email to Dr. Tricia Campbell, principal of BRHS, I asked the following question: “Is it possible that we could adopt in-school suspension for repeated offenses?” Here is her email response to me: “This is an excellent point for discussion. While we currently utilize out-of-school suspension for severe infractions, implementing a structured in-school suspension (ISS) model for repeated offenses is a strategy worth reviewing with our administrative team and the school board. It keeps students in a controlled, supervised academic environment while safely separating them from the general student population during the school day.”

In my experience, I have seen students be disciplined (for example, serving lunch detentions or out-of-school suspensions), only to come back to school and repeat the offenses. I think students will be less inclined to bully if they know their consequence will be sitting in a separate room away from peers, either completing outstanding work or sitting there doing nothing. This will be more effective because most students who commit bullying do not want to be at school anyways.

I understand that in order to implement in-school-suspension a supervisor would need to be hired to monitor the student during the school day. This would require the monitor being paid. That being said, if the school board emphasizes officially that bullying will not be tolerated in our schools, then they should take the time to consider budgeting for such a position. Furthermore, a hired ISS monitor could engage the student with academic remediation and behavioral reflection activities, instead of the student disengaging.

In conclusion, I am asking the CSD School Committee to budget for a qualified ISS monitor to be hired in order to reduce repeated acts of bullying at BRHS.