NAPD Teaches Seventh-Graders About Cyberbullying

By Jack GuerinoiBerkshires Staff
Print Story | Email Story

Sullivan Elementary School seventh-graders listen to anti-bullying lessons from the North Adams Police Department.

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Officers from the North Adams Police Department presented the dangers of cyberbullying - and bullying in general - to Sullivan Elementary School seventh-graders.

Teacher James Holmes said the bullying unit falls into the "Second Step" curriculum, a research-based classroom social skills program for children aimed at reducing impulsive and aggressive behavior while increasing social competence.

“I just think it is good for kids to see that there are two sides and how inappropriate it is to hurt other people’s feelings and bully people,” Holmes said. "They don’t always think about it; they just do it. And being nasty to people can be infectious. It’s like sharks around chum.”

North Adams police officers Francis Maruco and David Lemieux presented students with some of the worst cases of cyberbullying as well as the dangers of online predators.

Maruco said that with the advent of smartphones and social media, bullying is constant, sometimes faceless and often invisible.

“School should be like a safe haven for student,” Maruco said. "If they are being cyberbullied, it is a constant thing. It’s not always just here; they are living with it constantly.”

Maruco added that students should learn to see the police as a resource who can help them if they are bullied and that kids should stand up for other students being bullied.

“They don’t think we can doing anything about it, but we can,” he said. “We can we can get the IP address and we can get the telephone number. We have the ability in the station.”

Lemieux said he hopes the more exposure the students have to police the more confident they will feel asking for help.

“I think just getting in here and talking to the kids is good because we don’t want kids to be afraid of us,” Lemieux said. “We want the kids to come to us and be able to tell us what is wrong.”

School Adjustment counselor Julie Richard-O’Donovan said students are more aware now of bullying and the danger of the internet than they were in the past because of programs like this. She added that research shows that students are more aware if these programs are implemented at younger ages.

“I think the benefits of this program are making kids aware that bullying isn’t just something that a kid has to go through and it is not OK,” Richard-O’Donovan said. “It makes kids who it is happening to more aware of what they can do about it.”

Holmes agreed that this is an important part of the "Second Step" program. He said he tries to teach kids to be more aware of empathy. He said at the end of the program students will be involved in community service projects such as making Halloween cards that will be handed out to residents of the Ashland Street high-rise apartment building.  

“I am trying to teach empathy to them and instill a want to do positive things for the community,” Holmes said. “They start thinking about doing good things for the community and hopefully it can be infectious. That is the goal.”


Tags: bullying,   cyberbullying,   north adams police,   Sullivan School,   

If you would like to contribute information on this article, contact us at info@iberkshires.com.

Cost, Access to NBCTC High Among Concerns North Berkshire Residents

By Tammy DanielsiBerkshires Staff

Adams Select Chair Christine Hoyt, NBCTC Executive Director David Fabiano and William Solomon, the attorney representing the four communities, talk after the session. 
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Public access channels should be supported and made more available to the public — and not be subject to a charge.
 
More than three dozen community members in-person and online attended the public hearing  Wednesday on public access and service from Spectrum/Charter Communications. The session at City Hall was held for residents in Adams, Cheshire, Clarksburg and North Adams to express their concerns to Spectrum ahead of another 10-year contract that starts in October.
 
Listening via Zoom but not speaking was Jennifer Young, director state government affairs at Charter.
 
One speaker after another conveyed how critical local access television is to the community and emphasized the need for affordable and reliable services, particularly for vulnerable populations like the elderly. 
 
"I don't know if everybody else feels the same way but they have a monopoly," said Clarksburg resident David Emery. "They control everything we do because there's nobody else to go to. You're stuck with with them."
 
Public access television, like the 30-year-old Northern Berkshire Community Television, is funded by cable television companies through franchise fees, member fees, grants and contributions.
 
Spectrum is the only cable provider in the region and while residents can shift to satellite providers or streaming, Northern Berkshire Community Television is not available on those alternatives and they may not be easy for some to navigate. For instance, the Spectrum app is available on smart televisions but it doesn't include PEG, the public, educational and governmental channels provided by NBCTC. 
 
View Full Story

More North Adams Stories