Avoyelles parents plan to be Bully Busters

Bullies have always been present in schools. Anyone thinking back to their school days can probably recall who the bullies were and who their victims were.
A group of Avoyelles Parish parents are hoping they can end that cycle so their children and other students won’t be able to pull up those kinds of memories.
Bully Busters is a new organization formed in the aftermath of a community tragedy that many blame squarely on intense bullying at Avoyelles High School in Moreauville.
It held its first rally on March 16.
School district officials indicated that there is no clear connection between any bullying events and a recent suicide of an Avoyelles High student. They said all allegations of bullying are taken seriously and investigated thoroughly.
Terri Francois, of Plaucheville, is a mother of school-aged children and a member of the parents organization. She said bullying is a parishwide problem. The recent suicide of a student raised the issue to the forefront.
Ms. Francois said there have been a few other suicides in the community over the past few years that many believe were directly related to bullying at school.
“There are incidents of physical bullying where students actually put their hands on another student,” Ms. Francois said. “Then there’s the emotional bullying, where they call a student horrible names or berate them, tell them they are worthless and even go so far as to tell them they should go home and kill themselves.”
Ms. Francois said there is no official leader of Bully Busters. It is an organization of all concerned individuals who want to work together to address this important issue.
“We want to help ...” “We are not interested in pointing fingers and placing blame,” she said. “We don’t want to condemn anyone. We want to help. We want to help the students who are being bullied, but we also want to help the bullies. They need to be taught that there are consequences for what they do, that people are hurt. This is one group, working together to help find a solution to his problem,” she said. “There is no leader. Anyone who wants to attend and get involved in providing their ideas is welcome. We can’t do this alone.”
Parents have talked to school officials at several schools and will be visiting others. “We have been told that they are interested,” Ms. Francois said. “They have asked us to put together a packet of ideas and present it to them and they will look at our recommendations.”
She said the group is trying to schedule a time when they can address the School Board about their concerns. Some teachers are taking steps to encourage their students, Ms. Francois said. She said one of her children attending Avoyelles High brought home an individualized note from her teacher, Sara Utts. Ms. Utts handed out the inspirational and encouraging messages to her students.
“Each note was different,” Ms. Francois said. “None of them was the same. The one my daughter received told her that she was a great leader and will go far in life -- to never give up on her dreams.”
Dwayne Lemoine, superintendent of schools, said the parish has a strict policy against bullying and hazing in schools. The state Department of Education also has policies to address the matter, including requiring all employees who have direct contact with students to have annual training in handling bullying and in suicide prevention.
The policies and procedures are in place to address the issue on school grounds, but stopping aggressive behavior against a student is more difficult to see and to stop than it was 20 or 30 years ago, Lemoine said.
“Allegations of bullying are taken very seriously,” the superintendent said, “but we have to be careful. Sometimes in our investigation you will find that it is more complicated than it appeared at first. It’s not always cut and dry. It could be that what was reported as bullying was actually retaliation for something that was done earlier.”
Lemoine said school officials need to look at all of the facts to be sure they are being fair to all parties involved. “The biggest problem with bullying is when it is not being reported,” he said.
“The incidents may occur between classes when there are no teachers around, or off school grounds. With social media, it can happen and we never know about it. We could recognize bullying easier 20 years ago than we can today because of the effect of social media. It can be used to harass and bully students. It is a significant problem that is hard to get a handle on.”