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Roaring Fork officials report mixed bullying data, plan staff training and SEL focus
Summary
District staff told the Board of Education that incident reports to the state have fallen but anonymous student reports and survey responses show a more complex picture; the district plans staff training in fall 2025 and to add age-appropriate bully-prevention within a broader SEL initiative.
Roaring Fork School District No. Re-1 officials reported to the school board that formal bullying incidents recorded in district reporting are down from last year, but anonymous reports and student survey measures give a more mixed picture and prompted new training and program steps.
Joel Hathaway, executive director of schools, told the board the district is tracking four measures: state incident reports entered through Infinite Campus, anonymous Safe2Tell submissions, student responses on the Panorama survey and the 2023 Healthy Kids Colorado survey. "The use of coercion or intimidation to obtain control over another person or to cause physical, mental, or emotional harm to another person," Hathaway said, reading the policy definition that drives the district's response approach.
Hathaway said Infinite Campus incident entries were down year over year while Safe2Tell reports increased. He said the most recent Healthy Kids data (2023) showed about 27% of middle school students and 14% of high school students reported being bullied in the past year. Panorama measures report the percent of students answering "almost never" or "only once in a while" to questions about feeling bullied; Hathaway said the district sees higher favorable responses among older students than younger ones.
Why it matters: the district will use several measures together rather than rely on a single source. Hathaway said the discrepancy between staff-reported incidents and students' anonymous or survey responses suggests underreporting and also routine conflict that stops short of the policy definition of bullying.
District strategies and next steps: Hathaway listed prevention and response actions tied to Policy JICDE, which the board revised in December. They include the disciplinary matrix for consistent responses, weekly school-based student support team meetings, district monthly deans-of-culture collaboration, Safe2Tell promotion for anonymous reports, small-group “solution circles,” restorative practices and existing student leadership programs such as link leaders at high schools. He said elementary and middle schools use Second Step character lessons as part of tiered prevention; high schools use more student-led and mentoring approaches.
Hathaway said the district will add age-appropriate, evidence-based bully-prevention education into Strategic Priority 1.3 (social-emotional learning integration), with a focus on building programs for high school students where Second Step is less commonly used. He told the board the district plans staff training on bully-prevention policy in the fall of 2025, using a train‑the‑trainer model that begins with counselors, deans of culture and family liaisons.
Board discussion: Directors pressed for clarification on measurement and implementation. Director Tyler asked how Infinite Campus incident entries are generated; Hathaway responded that an adult who investigates an incident records it in the state portal using state codes for bullying. Several board members asked about frequency and fidelity of Second Step lessons; Hathaway and other staff said implementation varies by school and that some schools supplement or use other SEL curricula.
Limitations and context: district staff noted complications including friendship conflicts that don’t meet the bullying definition, social media and cyberbullying (there is no separate code for cyberbullying in Infinite Campus so incidents of that kind are included in the bullying code) and changing cultural context for language and behavior. Hathaway and other district leaders emphasized that many practices intended to reduce bullying — for example, stronger school culture, attendance and student belonging work — are upstream efforts that also reduce bullying incidents.
What happens next: the district will launch the staff training in fall 2025, begin Strategic Priority 1.3 next year as part of a four-year plan, and continue to monitor Infinite Campus incident entries, Safe2Tell submissions, Panorama data and Healthy Kids results to measure progress.
Ending: Board members expressed support for the approach but urged clearer, consistent metrics and targets in the strategic plan so progress can be measured year to year.
