By Janice Podsada
Herald Writer
EDMONDS — The Snohomish County anti-bullying task force got a look Wednesday at a countywide report on bullying, which found that "the numbers of incidents of sexual or racial harassment are rising, especially in the eighth-grade or middle-school years."
The report contains information gleaned from national statistics and a survey of five Snohomish County school districts.
The task force, made up of a dozen county school administrators, teachers, child welfare and health district officials, plans to mount a major countywide anti-bullying campaign in the schools this spring. The report is a starting document for the group’s activities.
Although bullying tends to decrease by the time teen-agers reach high school, it nonetheless takes an emotional toll on youngsters, said Adrienne Anderson, coordinator with the state Department of Education’s safety and drug-free division.
Chery Drewel, who works with the King County chapter of Mothers Against Violence in America, said students who are bullied show high rates of depression. And depression is a factor that contributes to the high violence and suicide rates among teen-agers.
Nationally, one in four children reports having been bullied.
But bullying is difficult for schools and school administrators to measure and track. An agreed-upon definition of what constitutes bullying doesn’t exist, Anderson said.
"Some schools might track name-calling, and some might not," Anderson said.
One of the task force’s goals is to define bullying and its scope.
Members of the task force said the definition must include verbal harassment, such as taunting and unremitting teasing, but also being excluded by others.
"It isn’t just someone saying give me your lunch or I’ll hit you," said Joyce Sieminski, one of the report’s authors.
Drewel said the Snohomish County task force is unique.
"I have not heard of a task force being organized in any other county. Other counties are looking to you as a model. They can’t believe there is a county task force trying to get at this," Drewel said.
In the next two months, the task force plans to enlist students, teachers and parents at anti-violence seminars throughout the county to help coordinate the campaign. The task force is inviting the public to attend an all-day community summit, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, March 2, at Everett Community College.
The anti-bullying task force was formed last spring. Its initial role was to look at gay and lesbian harassment issues in the schools, but members quickly realized that bullying is a common occurrence among all youth.
You can call Herald Writer Janice Podsada at 425-339-3029 or send e-mail to podsada@heraldnet.com.
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