Elk Grove school program aims to put an end to campus bullying
Teaching kids how to defuse conflicts and respect others is goal

Sacramento Bee

Sunday, August 8, 2004

By Jocelyn Wiener -- Bee Staff Writer

Sometimes, popularity in middle school is little more than the luck of the draw.

Picture the scene at Sheldon High School last week. Halftime at a pretend basketball game. Twenty-three students mill about with playing cards taped to their backs. On the popularity pyramid, ace is high. Aces receive compliments and hugs. They hold hands with kings and queens.

Got a two, three or four? One word: loser.

"Every day it's kind of like everybody has a number on your back," said Kenny Marcus, a blond-haired seventh-grader. "You can't see it, but you pretty much know it."Click here for more...

Last Monday, a task force appointed to study race relations and student unity in the Elk Grove Unified School District unveiled its recommendations to the school board. High on the list: end bullying, draw in isolated youngsters and include student leaders in the process.

"Do I think there is going to be no bullying in the Elk Grove school district? Not a chance," said Rudolph "Barry" Loncke, a retired Sacramento Superior Court judge who served as chairman of the Task Force on Expectations for Student Unity.

"Do I think that kids who see the bullying could feel bad about it and try to stop it and get involved? Yeah, I think you could do that. ... It's a matter of a culture, and I think a culture can change," Loncke said.

Easier said than done, students know. They say typical weeks at T.R. Smedberg Middle School - Sheldon's next-door neighbor - include fights, name-calling, even weapons.

The task force got its start after two events shook the district in February - a 100-student fight at Elk Grove High School that took place along racial lines, and the arrest of two Laguna Creek High School students on charges of plotting to kill their classmates.

Enter last week's Safe School Ambassadors training, one of several district efforts aimed at teaching students how to defuse conflicts and cultivate respect for all students.

In room F-015, the Smedberg students cheerfully simulated the absence of such respect.

"I'm sorry, I've got to go," a boy told Fred Grayson, a seventh-grader with a cherubic grin. The boy moved on to some higher playing-card numbers, leaving Grayson and his two of clubs.

A teacher hugged Grayson, then backed away.

"What you got?"

"I don't know."

The teacher looked at Grayson's card.

"I don't want to hang out with you," the teacher said.

All of the students in the room have seen plenty of fighting and bullying. Many say they have experienced and participated in it themselves.

"When I'm the aggressor and I try to make fun of somebody, it's usually 'cause I'm mad and need to get that anger out," said Ekenna Anya-Gafu, who is in the seventh grade.

Several who are returning to the program for a second year of instruction have put their training to use.

"It's never possible to stop all of it," said Wilesha Bolton, an eighth-grader. "But it's possible to stop most of it."

Bolton said she remembered being picked on in elementary school. She understands why some kids harbor so much anger. Some learn it at home, she said, while others pick it up from others. A few weeks ago, she saw a close friend try to start a fight.

"I told him, 'No, not at this school, you're not going to fight,' " she said.

"So?" the boy said.

Bolton told him a fight would go on his record. He backed off.

David Gordon, the former Elk Grove superintendent who called for the task force, commended last Monday's report. But he cautioned that "there's no quick fix."

"I think the biggest obstacle is going to be apathy and not being able to engage students and parents and the community and staff in taking personal responsibility for their actions in making this better," said Gordon, who is now the superintendent of the Sacramento County Office of Education.

Students say they want to get involved - but haven't always known how.

The training offers them several tools: saying positive things to victims of put-downs; reasoning with people bent on fighting; reporting dangerous situations to adults.

Last year, Elk Grove Unified used the program at Sheldon, Florin and Franklin high schools, as well as at Smedberg and Toby Johnson middle schools. This year, district officials say they plan to expand it to all 20 middle and high schools.

Leanne Ward, a health and leadership teacher at Sheldon High School, coordinated Safe School Ambassadors last year. She said the school's overcrowded campus - Sheldon had nearly 3,300 students last year - makes the program a key to reaching marginalized students.

"You're not going to find them all, you just can't," she said. "We've got to use the resources on our campus, which is the other kids. And they are a powerful, powerful resource with the right training."

One of the program's main points is its emphasis on shared experience, something experts say is central for student unity.

"You can't just throw people in together and expect that everything's going to work," said Barbara McKenna, communications director for the Center for Research on Education, Diversity & Excellence at the University of California, Santa Cruz. "You have to create common ground. It's not just about proximity."

After the playing card activity, the 28 students and teachers lined up in the glaring sunlight, casting their truncated shadows onto the sidewalk. Those who agreed with prompts read by Chris Pack, the program director, crossed an invisible line.

"I enjoy rap music" - 25 crossed.

"I have a pet" - 19 crossed.

"I've been made fun of or teased for the size or shape of my body" - 26 crossed.

"I've called other people names that have hurt them" - everyone crossed.

"I've heard a student threaten to hurt or kill somebody" - 24 crossed.

"I have seen a gun or knife brought on campus to hurt somebody else" - 16 crossed.

"I believe everybody on campus has a right to feel safe" - 26 crossed.

©2002 Center for Research on Education, Diversity & Excellence. All rights reserved.