The impact and implementation of the No Bully System on student safety and related school and student outcomes

• In Event: School Safety Strategies: Findings from WestEd's Health and Justice Program

Abstract

Bullying affects large numbers of students and is associated with short and long-term harms for both victims and bullies. Although prevention is critical, schools also need effective interventions for dealing with bullying once it occurs. One promising program is the No Bully System (NBS) - a set of interventions designed to activate adult and peer support systems within the school for the targets of bullying by training staff to interrupt student harassment and bullying, and ensuring schoolwide anti-bullying policies are in place. The core component is the Solution Team, an intervention where a trained adult (Solution Coach) works with a group of 6-8 students (Solution Team) that includes the bully or bullies, and pro-social peers, and leads the team through a series of meetings to end the bullying by cultivating empathy and developing peer-driven solutions. Using a cluster randomized experimental design involving 24 elementary schools in Oakland, California the study investigates the impacts of NBS on the resolution of bullying incidents, bullying perpetrations and victimization; and school safety, peer support and other indicators of school climate. The current paper will present NBS impact estimates on bullying victimization and perpetration for students who are at high risk of being victims/perpetrators of bullying.

Authors

• Jo Ann Izu, WestEd

• Tom Hanson, WestEd

• Anthony Petrosino, WestEd

• Trevor Fronius, WestEd

• Cindy Zheng, WestEd

• Rahila Simzar, WestEd