Gainesville Middle takes aim at cyberbullying

There's a picture of a Band-Aid that says "cyber bullying hurts" on Gainesville Middle School's Web site.

At other area schools, parent -teacher organizations have hosted meetings to talk about a growing trend in which children and teens use the Internet and text messages to harass and embarrass others.

Area schools have been taking aim at cyberbullying for a while now, and they will soon make their no-bullying stance official.

The Prince William County School Board is currently considering changes to the Code of Behavior, some of which would expand the code's definition of bullying to include cyber bullying.

The suggested changes to the Code of Behavior, which the School Board reviews and updates annually, would expand the definition of bullying to say that "cyber bullying, the intentional and/or repeated harm of others through the use of computers, cell phones, and other electronic or technological devices, is strictly forbid-den."

The Safe Schools Advisory Council, a committee made up of parents and school officials, recommended adding "a specific statement prohibiting cyber bullying" to the code of behavior, said Clarice Torian, director of student services, at a recent school board meeting.

According to a study by criminology professors Sameer Hinduja and Justin Patchin, who started the Web site www.cyberbullying.us, 9.4 percent of middle schoolers reported being recent victims of cyberbullying and 17.3 percent reported being victims at some point in their lives.

The study also said that 8.2 percent of middle schoolers reported being recent cyber bullies themselves and 17.6 percent reported being cyber bullies at some point in their lives.

According to the study, some examples of cyber bullying are sending harassing e-mails or instant messages, posting insulting or slanderous things on online bulletin boards or social networking sites.

The suggested additions to the code of cehavior would apply to student behavior in school, and outside of school if the behavior impacts the school environment, Torian said.

School board members said they were happy to see the recommendation to specifically mention cyber bullying in the code of behavior.

"It's something that's been in the news nationwide and I think it's good we're getting ahead of it... by getting it into our code of behavior," said Gainesville District representative Donald Richardson.

The board will vote on all of the recommended changes to the code of behavior at their next meeting on May 20.

Staff writer Amanda Stewart can be reached at 703-878-8014.