CLINTON, MS (Mississippi News Now) -
In just a few days the halls of Clinton Jr. High will be filled with students, and there are many preparations going on at the school. Assistant Superintendent Tim Martin also knows educators have to prepared for something that is out of their control, bullying.
"There's an unwritten code of silence, just about, and so getting kids to feel comfortable that they're not going to be ostracized if they come forward with some information, because we need to get the kids to understand we can't fix what we don't know," explains Martin.
He says jr. high is where the greatest concentration of bullying occurs and it's often on social media.
And that spills over at school, effecting a child's self-esteem.
"Education is the best way, showing kids that words mean things and that words have consequences when you put those out there. It's hard at their age sometimes to understand until it happens to them," says Martin.
The Clinton Jr. High Student Council also has an anti-bullying campaign. Handmade signs hang in the halls to remind students to team up and stop the abuse.
Educators and students also teamed up to have drop boxes placed inside the school where anonymous tips about bullying can be left behind.
"Administrators will check those boxes and they follow up on those leads," says Martin.
www.bullyingstatistics.org says 77 percent of students admit to being the victim of some type of bullying.
Martin says educators investigate each incident and try to prevent a problem before it spirals out of control.
Counselors also have anti bullying materials for students.
Each district has their own bullying policy in place.
Copyright 2012 WLBT. All rights reserved.
WLBT 3 - Fox 40
