Napa Students Now Have New Anti-Bullying Tip Line

The Stand Up! Speak Out! Stop Bullying! Committee – A coalition of educators and community partners – announces the launch of Tip411 for students.

The program provides a simple, anonymous way for students to report incidents of bullying and cyberbullying, as well as other risky behaviors such as drugs, alcohol, suicide threats and weapons.

The Stand Up! Speak Out! Stop Bullying! Committee is a coalition of the Napa County Office of Education (NCOE), Napa Valley Unified School District (NVUSD),

The Napa Police Department (NPD) and the Catalyst Coalition. The Committee developed the Tip411 program to increase student access to reporting tools.

Partnering with the NPD’s existing community tip line, the committee produced posters, flyers and related curriculum that have been distributed to Napa secondary schools. Students have the option to text or use a web site, and are also encouraged to speak to a school official or call 911 if it’s an emergency.

“Within the past few weeks NPD has received at least 10 tips related to bullying and other safety issues that have been investigated or are in process," said Napa Police Lt. Debbie Peecook. "Response to these tips has included School Resource Officers, school counselors, teachers and families.”

The committee was formed in August 2012 in response to strong input from parents and educators that bullying, and in particular cyberbullying, were prevalent in Napa area schools.

According to the California Healthy Kids Survey, 2011 Napa County Report , 27 percent of 11th graders report having mean rumors or lies spread about them on the Internet. Forty-two percent  of 7th graders report having mean rumors or lies spread about them while at school.

Earlier this week, three teens at a Bay Area high school were arrested in connection with a sexual assault and subsequent cyber-bullying attack on a 15-year-old girl, Audrie Pott. She later committeed suicide.

“The schools can be and are a major force to reduce bullying,” said Dr. Barbara Nemko, Napa County Superintendent of Schools. “The real power comes from the messages students get at home.

"We urge parents to discuss bullying, and to encourage their children to use the available tools to anonymously report incidents they witness," Nemko said. "We can no longer stand by when some students are afraid to come to school because they are the targets of physical, verbal, or cyber abuse.”

In September 2012, the committee presented nationally acclaimed speaker Michael Pritchard to kick-off the “Stand Up! Speak Out! Stop Bullying!” campaign.

Education Technology Specialist Adrienne DeWolfe was brought to Napa County for two workshops on cyberbullying targeted at teachers and parents.

NVUSD continued to implement the state-of-the-art bully prevention BEST and Second Step programs at all of their K-12 schools to promote positive behavior intervention and support, with a dramatic reduction in problem behavior. Both NCOE and NVUSD developed anti-bullying resource pages for their web sites.

Dr. Patrick Sweeney, NVUSD, said, “This team has been effective because of very successful collaboration with education, law enforcement and community groups," said Dr. Patrick Sweeney, NVUSD."We appreciate their efforts.”

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