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West Bridgewater reviews bullying and climate survey; plans MARC training, easier reporting and curriculum steps
Summary
District leaders presented survey results showing mixed response rates and confusion between social conflict and bullying, and outlined next steps including MARC train‑the‑trainer sessions, a student safety tip line, curriculum changes and easier reporting access for families.
Administrators briefed the West Bridgewater School Committee on results from recent climate/culture and bullying surveys, highlighting where students, staff and families reported concerns and how the district plans to respond.
Superintendent Rob and building administrators summarized response rates (about 57% for students in grades 7–12, roughly 63% for staff and about 25% for families on the climate survey) and noted that many survey comments reflected either social conflict or incidents that meet bullying criteria but had not been reported to administrators. District leaders said this gap indicates a need to improve education about what constitutes bullying and to simplify reporting pathways.
The committee discussed several next steps the district is pursuing: a train‑the‑trainer session with the Massachusetts Aggression Reduction Center (MARC) at Bridgewater State for school counselors and specialists, grade‑level assemblies and parent communications tied to those sessions, adding an accessible online reporting button in newsletters and on the district website, and enhancing health/classroom curricula (including anti‑bullying lessons for elementary health classes and expanded middle/high school content). Administrators also proposed expanding reminder and coach‑driver outreach to address behavior on buses, and noted work to examine comment‑level survey data for grade‑by‑grade patterns.
Committee members requested a grade‑level breakdown of survey results and asked whether any patterns exist for students with disabilities or other subgroups; administrators said the survey did not collect demographic markers but that comments can be pulled and reviewed for themes. The district said it will follow up with a more detailed report and recommended operational changes to make reporting easier and to improve staff and parent education about reporting and investigation protocols.
As an operational note, administrators said the district uses mediation and investigation procedures and that only a small number of incidents in the past year rose to the level reported to the state as bullying.
