“Bullying is one of those things that’s been around forever. I mean when we were kids, it was here. It’s been here for years and I think this generation has recognized it as a real thing and recognized that it can really hurt somebody and affect them for the rest of their lives.”

Erick Foster, a trustee on the Oxford Board of Education, echoed the sentiment of many of his colleagues when discussing bullying within the district’s schools and how to see its presence decrease at the board’s Jan. 8 meeting.

Overall, every school in the district is below the “national average” determined by the Olweus anti-bullying program, a tool used by the district to curb bullying among students, for which Olweus compiles the data of schools that use its program.

But, many of the schools saw a 1 to 2 percent increase in bullying, something Assistant Superintendent of Student Services Denise Sweat said is a result of the Olweus program’s methods leveling out in the district.

In 2012, the district implemented Olweus practices to counteract bullying among students. After Olweus came to Oxford, bullying numbers dropped dramatically. So, Sweat said it makes sense to see a small raise in numbers after a few years pass like the district is now.

“The trend that I saw overall building to building was in 2011-12, we were above the national average, and then we implemented the program and you saw a significant drop that next time we did the surveys,” she said. “Now, you start to see it level out a little bit.”

Presenting with Sweat, Executive Director of Elementary Education Anita Qonja added that a 1 to 3 percent increase is not necessarily a cause for concern, as the data is gathered from surveys and different numbers of students take the survey each time it’s given. The surveys define a bullied student as someone who reports experiencing bullying about three times a month.

“Don’t overinterpret the meaning of a percent or a couple percentages… because not every question is taken by every student and some questions are sub questions of other questions, and that really plays a role in the data,” she said. “The number of students taking the survey also changes… we’re not really comparing apples to apples.”

Since the survey was given last in 2016, last year’s numbers showed that Oxford High School saw a 2 percent increase, Oxford Middle School maintained its numbers, Clear Lake Elementary saw a 5 percent increase, Lakeville Elementary had a 1 percent drop, Leonard Elementary had a 14 percent drop and Oxford Elementary School had a 2 percent drop.

Daniel Axford Elementary does not take the survey as a K-2 school, as Olweus recommends only surveying children in the third grade or older. But, Olweus principles are still taught there.

Though, technically speaking, many of the numbers showed little to no cause for concern, all of the trustees gave responses to the numbers in regard to the problem of bullying that has continually endured in all parts of society.

Board President Tom Donnelly suggested the addition of an advisory period or after school program in the high school that could give students an adult in the building to consult with about problems they might have. Many trustees mentioned throughout the meeting that students should be mentored at school because not everyone has a sound home environment.

“I don’t know how we do a whole lot unless we start looking at external, after school mentoring programs,” Donnelly said. “They’re working all over the country… and I would like to talk more about that.”

Moving forward with these numbers, principals and staff within the district will adjust their Olweus practices with the aim of continuing to teach students what bullying is, what it isn’t and how to stand up to it.