Polk County Schools chief takes action against bullying after student suicides

Patrick Griffin
Patrick Griffin
photo Polk County Director of Schools Dr. James Jones.
photo Jazmine Harris, center, is pictured with her two half siblings.

LEARN MORE ABOUT THE PROBLEM, SOLUTIONS

There are numerous resources online discussing bullying prevention tactics and programs, as well as sources of information on suicide prevention and grass-roots anti-bullying efforts. Some of them include: www.stopbullying.gov stopbullyingnowfoundation.org www.napab.org/Anti-Bullying-Club.html www.violencepreventionworks.org www.thebullyproject.com www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3696185

After two student suicides since March, Polk County Schools is taking action to combat bullying blamed for the lost lives.

Schools Director Dr. James Jones said the school system will implement programs, install a committee and protocols for dealing with bullying, initiate more training and hire a behaviorist for Copper Basin High School, which is at the center of the controversy.

Jones described the measures in an emailed response Tuesday to a local critic who has written the schools chief several times since the March 5 suicide of Copper Basin student Patrick Griffin. The 18-year-old senior's death, and that of 13-year-old Jazmine Kellie Harris on May 15, came amid allegations of ongoing bullying.

Former Bradley County resident Paul Moisan, who describes himself as "concerned for the future of Polk County" in correspondence with Jones, has asked since March for explanations about bullying policies, training, whether sexual orientation issues are being addressed and what actions the school system is taking to stem further tragedies.

Moisan, who now lives in Georgia, said he was bullied at Cleveland High School, where he graduated in 1983. He has questioned Cleveland City Schools leaders about policies on bullying and sexual orientation issues there in the last few years.

In the Polk County cases, Moisan said he wants to see school officials respond effectively to bullying and the Copper Basin community to heal. Moisan copied the Times Free Press on his correspondence with Jones.

"We have a committee being put in place this week whose entire function will be dealing with students who are bullied and students who bully," Jones replied to Moisan. "Our committee is spending most of the entire week working on plans, training, education and prevention of bullying and suicide."

photo Bullying report

Also, Jones promised that "[m]ore complete investigations will be administered by the committee [and a] complete protocol for what happens to a student who bullies is being put together now."

Jones said there would be swift action for bullies who abuse other students because of their sexual orientation.

"I would not want a gay or lesbian student to feel they would be harmed or threatened because of their sexual orientation," Jones said, adding that school leaders "need to further educate our faculty, staff and students on diversity."

Copper Basin High School also will employ a behaviorist "to talk with students who may be bullied or are considering suicide," Jones said.

"Our hope is for this person to help students and staff by having someone in place who students can talk to confidentially, who is professionally trained to help students directly with needs," he said.

The parents of the two dead students have said school system officials, including Jones, could have done much more to stop the bullying. Jazmine's mother, Angel Harris, said last week that officials failed to follow through on her complaints.

Jones has acknowledged that the Harris family had complained to school officials "more than once," though he has denied having similar conversations with the Griffin family and said after Patrick Griffin's death that bullying allegations couldn't be substantiated.

"We are far from perfect in our school system," Jones said in his first email to Moisan. "But I am willing, as the director, to implement further ideas on how to educate our students, faculty and staff on measures to improve the areas of bullying, cultural diversity and suicide prevention."

Moisan told Jones the promised actions "are a step in the right direction," but he's frustrated, he says, because school officials "haven't owned the problem 100 percent."

"From the top down, everyone should have been owning this event," he told the Times Free Press in an email. "They should have had grief counselors there the very next day. They should have jumped on their anti-bullying policy guidance manual on that day and started making revisions."

Moisan has suggested that bullying and suicide prevention become part of the curriculum, and he offered Jones and school staff suggestions, contacts and ideas for training. He urged officials to post anti-bullying policies online by the end of summer so parents can review them with their children, and to initiate a student-led anti-bullying club.

Jones told Moisan he has been in touch with school safety and counseling agencies and organizations in Cleveland, Tenn., and that he liked Moisan's ideas about a community outreach educational program.

Jones noted that suicide statistics among gay and lesbian teens are "staggering," and remarked that "God loves all of us, not just the ones that some people choose for God to love."

Moisan believes the correct path is an easy choice.

"If we're not willing to go the extra mile for the kids after this school year, perhaps it's time to re-evaluate our profession," he said.

Contact staff writer Ben Benton at bbenton@timesfreepress.com or twitter.com/BenBenton or www.facebook.com/ben.benton1 or 423-757-6569.

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