Bullying Prevention

Whenever a student or parent has a concern or question about bullying, please report it to school officials immediately so we can help. Wynantskill UFSD is committed to providing a safe, welcoming and caring environment for all students where they can learn and grow.

 

What Is Bullying?

The Dignity for All Students Act (DASA) defines bullying or harassment as the creation of a hostile environment by conduct or by threats, intimidation or abuse, including cyberbullying, that (a) has or would have the effect of unreasonably and substantially interfering with a student’s educational performance, opportunities or benefits, or mental, emotional or physical well-being; (b) reasonably causes or would reasonably be expected to cause a student to fear for his or her physical safety; (c) reasonably causes or would reasonably be expected to cause physical injury or emotional harm to a student; or (d) occurs off school property and creates or would foreseeably create a risk of substantial disruption within the school environment, where it is foreseeable that the conduct, threats, intimidation or abuse might reach school property.

The harassing behavior may be based on any characteristic, including but not limited to a person’s actual or perceived race, color, weight, national origin, ethnic group, religion, religious practice, disability, sex, sexual orientation, or gender (including gender identity and expression).

If a student feels like they are being bullied or harassed, or a parent feels their student is being bullied or harassed, please contact one of our DASA Coordinators immediately so we can help.

 

Dignity for All Students Building Coordinators

Shannon Toomey, Principal
518-283-4600 ext. 201

Amy Murphy, School Counselor
518-283-4600 ext. 102

 

Resources

STOPit Solutions: Help Us Report Bullying

We are pleased to announce that our school has enrolled with STOPit, by STOPit Solutions 

STOPit is an online reporting tool designed to deter and mitigate bullying, cyber abuse, and other inappropriate behaviors, consisting of an app and a back-end incident management system for school administrators.

Our students will have access to the STOPit web app, which has two simple but powerful features. Specifically, the program educates students to:  

  • Recognize the signs of at-risk behaviors  
  • Take every sign and signal seriously 
  • Report it anonymously through STOPit App/Web or 24/7 Incident Response Center  
  • Submit photo or video evidence (App/Web Only) 
  • Alert designated administrators to issues and risks early, before they escalate

No personal information is needed to use STOPit. The only way personally identifiable information will be accessible through STOPit is if a requester voluntarily includes it within the content of a request or message. 

Both our school and STOPit are committed to protecting the privacy of student data. STOPit is a signatory to the Student Privacy Pledge, spearheaded by the Future of Privacy Forum and the Software & Information Industry Association. You may review STOPit’s Privacy Policy for details, including more information on how anonymous reporting works. 

Students have the power to help put an end to harmful and inappropriate behavior they see online through social media and other means. They can use STOPit to reach out for help if they or a peer are facing a personal crisis or experiencing bullying, abuse, or are otherwise in need of assistance. Our goal with STOPit is to create safer, kinder, school communities both online and off. 

A shortcut has been created on each student’s Chromebook and have been informed on how this program works. They are more than welcome to reach out to a teacher with any questions or issues with 

We encourage you to download the STOPit app and search for your students school using the directory.  You can privately ask for help for your student, family, others you care about, or even acquaintances who appear to need help. For a video on how to use STOPit, go to: Student Training Video.  

Together, we can make sure everyone in our community gets what they need to thrive. Thank you! 

Wynantskill UFSD