Great story and one that needed to be told. This has become a persistent and nationwide problem.

http://www.cops.usdoj.gov/pdf/e12011405.pdf

I give the county credit for not bowing PC and altering their suspension policy.

It seems that in today's world accountability has taken a back seat in many of the classrooms.

They can talk all they want but until school administrators step up nothing will change. When my kids went to PHMS all I heard at back to school night was how low the suspension rate was. All I heard from my kids was how teachers look the other way.

Hopefully now the administrators will now be 'on call' about bullying. The board needs to understand that these admins need added support to handle the bullying and harrassment policies with additional staff and police support.
When we had problems at DHS this past year the admin did handle the situation swiftly and with care :)

Have to agree as parent of teenager at DHS also, bullying among girls is out of control, not only in the school (yes the HIGH school) but on facebook, etc. Teachers/administrators look the other way, even when they are mad aware of the problem, all year we made statements, phonecalls, emails, meetings, it does not matter, nothing is done. The students run DHS, new admin is needed.

I am lucky enough, actually I was smart enough when this all started, my daughter had already been taking karate since she was 5, has always been taught not to use her skills except to defend herself, which unfortunately is what she spent ,MOST of her days at DHS doing instead of learning. Bullies don't stand a chance anymore. The admin wont do anything, violence just increases, you have to teach your kid to defend themselves if they are in an unsafe environment. I pulled her out.

As a parent whose child will enter BCPS in the fall, bullying is what terrifies me the most. My son is very sensitive, caring and a good kid, I'd hate to see his spirit destroyed by some cold, heartless, mean-kid bully.

Perhaps a new approach is in order? I found this article intriguing:
http://acestoohigh.com/2012/04/23/lincoln-high-school-in-walla-walla-wa-tries-new-approach-to-school-discipline-expulsions-drop-85/

This is also being discussed a lot in Howard County, where two kids have taken their own lives. Ray Rice was there over the weekend talking about it: http://columbia.patch.com/articles/ray-rice-moved-by-stories-of-bullying-b8ffd4b0#youtube_video-9848434.

Punishment for bullying activities needs to be more than a day's suspension where the student stays home to play video games, text, watch tv and generally enjoy themselves. How about school or community service? Won't work because the cost to administer is too great and the threat of lawsuits is probable. Parents of the bullies really don't care and they will not be inconvenienced by their child's aberrant behavior. Those that can afford it send their kids to private school where the standards of behavior are rigorously enforced. Public schools will continue to fail to teach and enforce social mores.

Can someone please explain to me why everyone is expecting the school to take care of the discipline? Why aren't the parents of these kids filing harassment charges, etc.? I would have never expected the school to handle a problem like that, I would have taken it to the police. Skip the middle man, the school can dish out whatever punishment they find appropriate after these kids have been charged.

The Board and BCPS administration should consider contacting Mr. Halligan to speak to students, faculty and administration in a mandatory lecture(s) in each councilmanic district. He is a very powerful presenter. http://www.ryanpatrickhalligan.org

It sounds like through suspensions and disciplinary action the adults are bullying the bullies. This will not change behaviors. Kids will be bullied, kids will bully, as parents we need to teach our children to have enough self esteem not to take their own life because people are picking on them.

Something else parents can do is encourage their kids to speak out if they are or someone they know is being bullied and provide them a tool to do it.

The new Report it app, Student / Home version, allows students and parents to establish an immediate call / notification process to report bullying to preset contacts, such as school, home and friends. The app also features help resources such as a national suicide prevention hotline and crisis counseling.

Don’t be bullied; don’t be a bystander. Be the difference - speak out if you or someone you know is being bullied or if you are witness to a bullying event.

App Store - Report it Student / Home Versionitunes.apple.com

I'm not sure why we expect children to not bully when they see adults doing so quite frequently. Look at our politicians; Martin O'Malley, among other things, punishes legislators that he doesn't like by redrawing their districts - how is that not bullying? His wife should be talking to him before she tries to fix the bullying in the schools!

Kevin Kamenetz is freezing out county council members who went against him - how is that not bullying/punishing?

Online commenters on political blogs of all stripes (conservative, liberal, straight, gay, white, black, whatever) make mean comments about those with whom they disagree - isn't that bullying?

A while back, the author of the Worthington Post wrote an article on being pro-choice and how she should be able to choose to have an abortion if she became pregnant. While I don't agree that abortion is the answer, I respect her right to choose and we had an interesting dialogue going on in the comments until some woman (I'd like to call her something else, but then that would be bullying) decided to butt in and yelll at me for not supporting the author. That article had others who vehementlly and sometimes meanly disagreed with the author and this same woman told them off (for lack of a better phrase) as well. There was a lot of what could be considered bullying on both sides in that article and precious little civil discourse/disagreement.

We adults need to stop bullying first before the kids will do so!

I have a son in the first grade at Lutherville Lab who is often on the receiving end of mean boys in his class. He is a very sensitive and sweet kid who does not like confrontation. I find it very difficult to teach him how to stand up to kids like that because he has such an innocence about him and I don't want him to become one of these mean boys. It would be nice if parents had more resources about how to teach kids how to stand up for themselves. I really worry about what is going to happen to him as he gets older.

This is just becoming a problem? I remember bullying in school 20 years ago. Just another life hurdle - handling a bully without it becoming a police/govt issue is a good skill to learn IMO.

It's very frustrating to see so many negative comments about the schools and teachers and administrators posted online. There has never been a time where there have been more intervention programs, counseling programs, extra activities provided by schools then now. Please look at your own words that blast teachers and administrators who go to work each day to help children and model the respect you wish to see.

In response to article on May 9: “Baltimore County Schools Crack Down on Bullying”

Recognizing the growing problem of bullying, whether on the playground or online, Jewish Community Services (JCS) Prevention Education health educators present programs at elementary, middle and high schools to raise awareness. They teach coping skills and alternative ways to resolve conflicts. When we ask teens what issue they most want to address in creating peer to peer prevention videos, they repeatedly choose bullying. Visit our website, www.ifIknew.org, to view a student-made video, “The Opposite of Bullying.” You can also read “Parent Talk” blogs at www.jcsbaltimore.org by JCS experts on bullying and cyberbullying. The more we know, the better we can work together to prevent bullying.

Howard Reznick, LCSW-C
Senior Manager
JCS Prevention Education

As a parent of Perry Hall Middle School I have to openly say that school is a joke when it comes to bullying. Nothing is done when a child is bullied except look the other way-teachers and administrators. The school needs a new principal. He hasn't a clue what goes on in that school. The victims of the bullying are treated bad and the bullies get away with everything. There are drugs being dealt in that school and nothing is being done about that either.

I agree with some of the comments above. There were efforts to put an end to bullying when I was in high school, but nothing ultimately changed. Without the help of faculty and supervisors I am not quite sure if this will work.

Bullying is getting way out of hand. Reports about bullying more than tripled in 4 years? And number of suspensions actually less? Sadly, many teenagers that have to deal with bullying end up taking their own lives because they can't live with the stress. This is not the type of school environment I would want to send any kid to.

When you have administrators and teachers that bully teachers and students, it sets a really poor example for the students. When administrators come into your class room and try to embarrass you or humiliate you in front of your students, it gives students permission to act the same.

My daughter gos to Sandy Plains.She is in the 4th grade. Her best friend is being bullied as well by the same 3 little girls that have 1 leader and 2 followers. My daughter and her friend are both beautiful smart little girls that maintain A and B grades. They now are D students and admit the are in fear of the next class ending because of the torture in the exchange of classes that they can't focus on what is being taught. I feel for any parent going through ths. I cried as my daughter broke down and said mom I am ugly and the kids agree. Her self esteem is low regardless of my effort and the family to support her through this. I visited the school and spoke with the principal to find out the bully has been spoken to on other incidents and she still remains in the classroom. Why? I am one parent who is not giving up or giving in. I will fight legally for my daughter and her right to learn without being abused mentally and physically. She will get her self image back to being happy and enjoying school regardless of how much time I spend with the school,police,court and the community programs helping any parent or child going through the same thing. I will not allow my daughter's life be a tragedy. The children that are bullies need to have their parents held accountable as well if they can't control their children.Most children are only a reflection of the way they are taught and raised starting at home.

Mandy, Baltimore County does not care about bullying. The schools won't back the teachers and ignore many situations because they don't want to be PC incorrect.

In fact there are no state or local laws that protect children or adults from cyber bullying. Just ask the county states attorney.

Find some teachers you know and ask them. Why do you think the city backed down from suspending kids. Because in a liberal society no does anything wrong.

Terrie, principles don't want smudges on their records like the number of suspensions so they keep anything that is a problem under the rug.

It makes them look good but does nothing to solve the problem. All government agencies practice that type of reporting so they all look like they are doing their jobs.