Social Work Services and Bullying Prevention

Social Work Services

School social workers are the link between schools and families. They assist schools with bullying concerns and help to evaluate students with disabilities. Social workers will help schools with home visits and address verification. They also help to connect students and families with necessary resources or supports throughout the community of Polk County. Social Workers are part of the Mental Health Team at each traditional public school and do help to provide counseling as a related service to students with disabilities under ESE and/or Section 504. Social workers also serve on the district’s Crisis Intervention Team.

Bullying

Polk County Public Schools is committed to providing a safe learning environment that is free from bullying and harassment for all students and staff.

Bullying and harassment that disrupts the educational setting will not be tolerated.

Students, parents, guardians, volunteers and other concerned individuals with knowledge of these incidents should submit a report online using the link below and/or contact the school administration.

All school and district employees are required to report bullying and harassment. Reports can be made anonymously. Reports can be made in any language. Translation is available. Every reported act of bullying or harassment will be reviewed and parents will be informed once the review and/or investigation is completed.

If you’re unsure if you or your child is being bullied, the following checklist can help. All items must be answered “yes” for the behavior to be considered bullying or harassment. If you answer “yes” to all items, please report the behavior immediately.

• Was the behavior intentionally mean or hurtful?
• Did the behavior happen more than once?
• Did the incident occur on school property, at a school event, on the school bus or at the bus stop?
• Did the behavior disrupt the learning environment?
• Is there an imbalance in strength or power, or an attempt to create an imbalance of strength or power, between the individuals involved?

Your concerns are important, even if the behavior does not constitute bullying or harassment. Please contact your school administration, your child’s teacher or the Social Work Services office at (863) 291-5313 if you need additional support. Any threats of physical harm should be reported to law enforcement immediately.

Bullying Frequently Asked Questions

Bullying Prevention

Children can play an important role in bullying prevention. Here are some ways parents can help their children stand up against bullying:

• Tell your child to tell the bully to “stop” if he/she feels safe doing so.
• Empathize with your child and reassure him/her that the bully is wrong.
• Encourage your child to help victims of bullying walk away from the bullying situation.
• Encourage your child to support bullying victims by standing next to them.
• Tell your child to go to a trusted adult if he/she feels it would be unsafe to intervene.
• Children should always immediately go to an adult if a weapon is involved in bullying.

Bystanders can be powerful forces in preventing and ending bullying. Research shows that in more than half the incidences, bullying stops within 10 seconds when a bystander chooses to step in and help. Targets of bullying report that bystanders who intervene are more helpful than support from teachers or standing up to the bully alone.

School social workers are assigned to every Polk County Public School and are trained in bullying prevention practices and in fostering supportive, safe school environments. They play an active role in implementing prevention efforts and collaborating with school teams to address bullying and harassment concerns.

School social workers work closely with their assigned schools to provide services tailored to each school’s individual needs.

Services provided include:

• Support for Parents:
  • Assistance during meetings, referrals to resources, and educational presentations.
• Support for Students:
  • Follow up interventions for both the student who engaged in bullying behavior and the student impacted by bullying; facilitation of social skills “lunch bunch” groups; structured lunchtime presentations and interactions; individual counseling, if needed.
• Bullying Prevention Education:
  • Ongoing information and prevention programming for the school community.
    To learn more about bullying prevention at your child’s school, please contact the school social worker for additional information.

Tips for Preventing Bullying via Social Media

It is important that parents and children have clear expectations and boundaries for social media use. Here are some helpful tips to prompt discussion with your child.