Paula C. Rodríguez Rust, Ph.D.
Educational Consulting, Bullying Prevention, and Diversity Awareness
for K-12 Schools, Community Groups, & Service Professionals

CHOOSING
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT FOR EDUCATORS
ON THE TOPIC OF BULLYING PREVENTION AND RESPONSE

Professional development for educators must prepare educators to effectively prevent and respond to bullying. Addressing bullying is a school-wide effort in which each segment of the school community--and each individual--has a role to play. Coordination and consistency are of utmost importance, so professional development should ensure that everyone is "on the same page" and motivated to address bullying pro-actively and work collectively toward creating a school community characterized by respect.

Therefore, whether or not you are considering using Spectrum Diversity LLC PD workshops or consulting services, the following criteria are offered as a guide for planning effective professional development on the topic of bullying and bias prevention and response:

• Use a provider whose trainings conform to best practices in bullying prevention. Keep in mind that, while training in social skills development, suicide counseling, conflict resolution skills, and mediation are very valuable and have a role to play in bullying prevention, training in these areas is not training in bullying prevention, and without best practices training in BULLYING prevention these types of skills can be misused in bullying situations, causing more harm than good. Elsewhere on this website, see basic information about bullying, common mistakes in bullying prevention (link not yet available), a checklist for ensuring that the anti-bullying training provided for your staff includes certain key topics, and descriptions of PD workshops available from Spectrum Diversity LLC.

• Train all personnel simultaneously, using the same trainer, program, or method. The fundamental goal in bullying prevention is the creation of a school climate that actively discourages bullying by promoting respectful behavior. This requires consistency and coordination. If different portions of your personnel are trained at different times or using different methods--even if all methods used are consistent with best practices--this can impede the consistency in approach that is necessary for effective bullying prevention. Simultaneous training not only provides each individual staff member with skills, but helps establish the necessary climate and promotes coordination among the efforts of all personnel.

• Administrative support is essential, and participation by administrators in faculty professional development workshops is recommended. Regardless of the quality of their training and the sincerity of their motivation, teachers cannot effectively address bullying unless they have, and know they have, full support from their administration. Administrators who attend the professional development workshops arranged for their teaching staff will be aware of the information and skills their staff have acquired, can work in cooperation with their staff to address bullying, show staff that bullying will be taken seriously, become aware of any concerns or needs voiced by staff during the training, and communicate their support for teachers' bullying prevention efforts.

• Consider specialized training for administrators and professional support staff. Although these personnel need the information and skills provided in training for teaching staff, they also need additional information and skills because their roles in a comprehensive bullying prevention program differ from the roles of teaching staff. Spectrum Diversity LLC provides specialized workshops for administrators and professional staff.

• Include aides, maintenance staff, and other non-professional staff in trainings, or provide separate trainings for these personnel. Although many of these individuals are not required by law or policy to receive training as part of their employment, they often observe student behaviors from a different perspective than professional staff, and can be empowered to participate in a school's comprehensive bullying prevention program. Maintenance personnel, for example, see the graffiti before cleaning it off the rest room walls. Aides are often present in the "unstructured" parts of the school environment in which most bullying occurs; without training they might hesitate to intervene, unsure of how to intervene or whether it is appropriate for them to intervene. Non-professional staff can either attend professional development workshops, or Spectrum Diversity can provide separate workshops for non-professional staff.

• Allow adequate time for complete training. Although new legal requirements in New Jersey set minimum standards for professional development training in bullying prevention, the goal of bullying prevention training is the effective prevention of bullying. Providing staff with all the necessary information, skills, understanding, and motivation to address bullying effectively cannot be accomplished in one or two hours of training.

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