Follow these 7 steps to help reduce bullying in your school.

Bullying is a problem that will not be eliminated unless each staff member decides to do their part. One of the most effective ways to reduce bullying is to monitor the campus. Without adult presence, bullies will continue to torment their victims. However, if the campus is monitored, bullies will find it more difficult to harass other students. Follow the 7 steps below to help reduce bullying at your campus.

1) Discuss monitoring at a staff meeting.
The first step to increasing campus vigilance is to have a staff meeting. All staff members should be in attendance. During this meeting, steps 2-7 should be discussed. The administrator in charge should make it clear that all staff members must do their part if bullying incidents are going to be reduced.
2) Monitor the halls between classes.
This should be a no brainer, but many teachers decide to stay in their classrooms in between classes. This time is a prime opportunity for bullies to thrive and victims to suffer. However, if all teachers are monitoring the hallways, it will be difficult for bullies to harass their targets.
3) Identify the campus bully zones.
Every campus has areas that are easily accessible to students but rarely monitored by adults. How can one identify these areas? Ask the students. Most students would gladly share this information. Another way is to walk around the campus. If there are areas that look like they might be a breeding ground for bullying to take place, these areas must be documented and brought to the attention of the staff.
4) Monitor the bully zones.
The bully zones must be monitored. This means staff members must do a little extra work. Staff members should be given a schedule of their monitoring duties. This schedule should include all staff members and their responsibilities should be equally distributed. This is a key component to assuring staff morale stays high and bullying incidents stay low.
5) Monitor during recess.
Some teachers use recess to catch up on grading papers or to visit with their co-workers. During recess, teachers should be interacting with the students. By properly monitoring recess time, the number of bullying incidents can be significantly reduced.
6) Require adequate supervision during lunch.
Cafeteria monitors must be mobile. In the cafeteria, it is easy for bullies to verbally abuse their victims. However, with adults actively monitoring all of the students, it will be more difficult for verbal abuse to take place.
7) Monitor PE classes and locker rooms.
PE teachers and coaches must take an active role in making sure these areas are monitored. Many coaches feel that teammates won’t bully each other. Nothing can be further from the truth. Bullying in athletics is a prevalent problem that will not be eliminated if left unattended.

Proper monitoring of campuses is one of the best ways to reduce bullying incidents. Bullies will be reluctant to abuse their victims in the presence of adults. Follow these 7 simple steps to reduce and ultimately eliminate the number of bullying incidents at your campus.