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The Orono Police Department has assigned Officer Chad Stensrud to the position of School Resource Officer. Officer Stensrud is working with the Orono School District to identify ways in which local law enforcement can provide the most effective service to our school aged citizens and their families.
One recent joint effort between Orono Schools and the Police Department involves saying NO to bullying behavior:
The Orono Middle School is proactively addressing
bullying. The school has developed a prevention program that rewards respect
and protects the potential
recipient of bullying type behavior.
Complaints about bullying are addressed
within one day of being received. Students who witness bullying behavior
are helping make it stop by not tolerating it in their presence. A checklist
of behaviors and the consequences has been developed. Every middle school
student can tell you what Not >, Not <, JUST = TO means.
The middle school staff conducts weekly staff discussion groups that focus on continually improving the learning environment for all students. Numbers of complaints have dropped significantly and you can just feel the difference in the hallways. Kids are happy and greet you with enthusiasm. The rare occurrence of being involved in bullying behavior can result in lunch in the office or in extreme cases a call to the police.
Seldom is it necessary to involve the juvenile justice system, however Middle School Dean of Students Bucky Mieras stated, “We are one of the few schools that can truly say that we have a great relationship with our police department. Our School Resource Officer is awesome. He walks into the school and kids truly respect him.” School Board member Martha VandeVen recently said to the police department, “Thank-you for your leadership.”
It is important that parents talk to their children about bullying and recognize that this is not just about “kids being kids.” There are long term negative impacts both for the victim and the offender. It is important that kids develop the fortitude to identify and address the bullying behavior of their peers. Imagine how quickly this problem would go away if other students stand up and ask for the bullying behavior to stop. Melanie DeLuca, Community Education said, “We need to get the community, school, parents, and youth together to educate people and create a community culture of acceptable behavior. We need to focus on values.”
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