Harassment, Intimidation, and Bullying (HIB)

  • Here you will find information on:

              - How to identify HIB from meanness
              - Bremerton School District's HIB Policy
              - How to report HIB at Mountain View Middle School
              - Online resources for students and families 

    How do I know: 

    Is this meanness or is it Harassment, Intimidation, or Bullying?

    Meanness - Single occurrences of physically, or socially, hurtful behavior that occurs between students with equal power and can often be resolved through mediation alone. 

    Harassment, Intimidation, Bullying - Unwanted, aggressive behavior that involves a power imbalance. The behavior is repeated over time. Bullying includes actions such as making threats, spreading rumors, attacking someone physically or verbally, and excluding someone from a group on purpose. 

    Ask the following questions to determine if this is a situation that requires adult intervention:

    1. Has this behavior happened before? Has the student expressed their desire for this behavior to stop and is the behavior still continued?
    2. Does the aggressor have more power in this situation than the victim (such as physical strength, access to embarrassing information, a group of students vs. an individual)?
    3. Does the student feel like they have no control over whether or not this behavior will happen again?

    If you are still not sure, talk to a staff member and they will help you come up with a plan.

    District Policy 

    The Bremerton School District strives to provide students with optimal conditions for learning by maintaining a school environment where everyone is treated with respect and no one is physically or emotionally harmed.
     
    In order to ensure respect and prevent harm, it is a violation of district policy for a student to be harassed, intimidated, or bullied by others in the school community, at school sponsored events, or when such actions create a substantial disruption to the educational process. The school community includes all students, school employees, school board members, contractors, unpaid volunteers, families, patrons, and other visitors. Student(s) will not be harassed because of their race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, including gender expression or identity, mental or physical disability, or other distinguishing characteristics.

    Any school staff who observes overhears, or otherwise witnesses harassment, intimidation, or bullying or to whom such actions have been reported must take prompt and appropriate action to stop the harassment and to prevent its reoccurrence.  Please review the following policy and procedure regarding harassment, intimidation, and bullying. 

    How to Report Incidents of HIB

    Incidents of HIB that occur at school should be reported to school staff. Incidents of HIB at occur on the bus or at the bus stop should be reported to Transportation (473- 0507). Incidents of HIB that occur over social media should be reported to Bremerton Police Department.

    There are several ways for students, or their families, to report incidents of HIB that occur at school:

    1. There are Incident Report forms available in the 6th Grade Main Office, 7th/8th Grade Main Office and Counseling Office. Many teachers also have copies of these forms available for students to use. A digital copy of this form is on our website for you to download at home if needed: 3207 Incident Report form link. Any student may report an incident using this form and then turn it into any main office. Students can submit their report in three ways:
      • Students may choose to write their name on the form OR,
      • Students may request that the report is confidential in which case school staff will not disclose the name of the reporting student to the accused student(s) OR,
      • Students may submit the form anonymously (no name). In cases of anonymous reports, the administration is not at liberty to issue disciplinary consequences, but it will alert staff to an existing problem and help to document patterns of student behavior. 
    2. Students may request to meet with their grade-level counselor, or any staff member with whom they feel comfortable, and talk through suspected HIB situations. The staff member may assist the student in completing a HIB form or they may request a conference with an administrator or counselor.
    3. Guardians may call the Counseling Office and speak with their child's counselor. The counselor will help to record information about the incident, meet with your child and determine the best course of action to address the issue. 

    Online Resources for Children and Families

    Explore the resources below for more information about HIB, prevention, and strategies.