The latest weapon in Nanaimo school district's fight against bullying and harassment will be students.
A new anti-bullying program is going into two secondary schools – Woodlands and Nanaimo District – this spring. The program, developed by the Canadian Red Cross, engages senior students as youth facilitators to deliver workshops on bullying and harassment to younger students.
"We're always looking for a different approach," said Bob Esliger, district principal of student support services. "It's grounded in research that students do learn a lot quicker and a lot faster from each other. Kids get tired of hearing the same thing. Sometimes all you need is a peer to be saying the same thing and students will get it."
The Canadian Red Cross contacted the district and suggested staff try the Beyond the Hurt program.
The society brought trainers to deliver workshops and materials to four teachers in each participating secondary school last week. Those teachers will be responsible for training student volunteers in Grades 10-12 to deliver the program to younger students, said Esliger.
A $7,500 contribution from Coast Capital Savings will cover the costs of the training and the district is covering cost of releasing teachers from regular duties to participate in the workshops.
Beyond the Hurt trains students to promote safe and health environments for children and youth and covers topics such as: healthy relationships and healthy schools; power and the role it plays in bullying dynamics; four types of bullying; negative impacts of bullying; effective and safe responses to bullying; and creating a positive and inclusive culture in schools.
Esliger said the teacher-trainers will now determine how many students will participate and once trained, those students will deliver the program in elementary schools.
Elementary students will have a chance to receive the lesson and then become a mentor in secondary school, Esliger added.
"It's a nice progression," he said.
While it is only going into two secondary schools initially, Esliger hopes to get the program into all secondary schools in the next few years.
The program fits nicely with a 2010 review Esliger conducted of the district's suicide intervention and bullying prevention programs, which recommended finding a new approach to delivering bullying programs in secondary schools.
Earlier this year, the district also launched a web and mobile phone site that provides students with an avenue to report bullying incidents against themselves or other students – anonymously if they choose.