Tonia Wilber is concerned about bullying at schools in the Menominee Indian School District, and she is finding that others are equally concerned.
Wilber has gathered 216 signatures on petitions she has taken around the reservation and plans to present them to the School Board on Nov. 4. She hopes the petitions will convince officials to better enforce the district’s anti-bullying policies.
Efforts are already under way to revamp the district’s bullying policy, according to school officials.
Superintendent Wendell Waukau said Thursday that he is meeting with school administrators and law enforcement to look at improvements and develop better methods for documenting and dealing with bullying incidents.
The district’s bullying policy requires officials to retain documentation of all allegations and investigations, and to take corrective action, which could include suspension or expulsion of students found to be bullying others.
“Any student who has a complaint of sexual harassment, harassment or bullying, at school by anyone, including students, district employees, or visitors, must bring the problem to the attention of school employee,” the policy reads. “District staff shall refer any complaints to the school principal, or, if the complaint involves the school principal, to the district administrator. There shall be no retaliation against students who file reports under this policy.”
Bullying causing home problems
Wilber said in an interview Thursday that her 13-year-old daughter had to be pulled from Menominee Indian Middle School in Neopit because of constant bullying from other students.
Wilber said her daughter endured “teasing, pushing, shoving. She was hit. The list just goes on and on.”
The bullying was a daily occurrence, and Wilber said she called constantly whenever her daughter told her about bullying incidents, but there were no calls back from school officials. For a while, it was a battle just to get her daughter to go to school.
“She would fight me about going to school, and she would fight me after school about what happened that day,” Wilber said. “Ever since we started home-schooling her, she’s been a happy camper.”
The girl is receiving counseling, as well, to deal with the trauma, Wilber said.
Waukau said he could not comment on specific student incidents, citing student privacy laws.
Others report bullying issues
The Wilbers’ case is not unique. Sherri Tucker has a grandson in Keshena Primary School who is also enduring bullying, and she said she does not see any indications that the bullies are being dealt with.
“I think it’s in every school. It doesn’t matter what grade it’s in,” Tucker said. “Children are being pulled into the office and asked what’s going on, and they feel like they’re doing something wrong. I think the ones who are doing the bullying should be pulled into the office and get the help they need.”
Tucker has been spreading the word about Wilber’s efforts through Facebook.
Carmen Waupoose, a friend of Wilber’s, is also getting the word out about the petition. Waupoose does not have any children enrolled in Menominee Indian public schools, but her youngest son endured bullying years ago in a high school in Nevada.
“I’ve been home for a year now, and to hear about all the bullying going on is a concern,” Waupoose said. “The thing I’d like to see is more parents going to the schools and sitting in the classrooms with the kids so they can see what’s going on. That’s what I did when my boys were in high school.”
Schools making changes
Wilber said the district has zero tolerance for bullying but confirmed the policy’s language, which is reviewed annually, is not that stringent.
The review for this year is already under way, Waukau said, and will include a more user-friendly form for teachers and staff to document reports of student bullying or harassment.
“It’s still in the works, because it was only approved at the policy (committee) level,” Waukau said. “It still has to go before the board.”
Waukau is meeting with his building administrators and school resource officers to ascertain how much bullying is happening on school grounds, as well as finding out how much takes place off campus.
Waukau did not want to discuss specifics until he could ascertain support from the schools and the community.
Waukau said he is aware of but has not seen Wilber’s petition. He said he welcomed it and hopes it will spur community members to partner with the schools to make them safer.
“We need, and we welcome the support of our community and families, but that means they have to come,” Waukau said.
While Wilber’s primary focus is making sure Menominee children are safe from bullying, she wants people to be aware that the issue is happening nationwide, no matter the demographics.
“Children are committing suicide. Children are skipping school. Children are playing sick,” Wilber said. “It’s just a big eye-opener to me, and I don’t want to see violence in our schools.”
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