When Barbara Engstrom saw her twin daughters repeatedly coming home upset about other students teasing them, she said she was left with no option but to pull them from school.
After eight months of talking with teachers at Squamish Elementary School, the principal and Sea to Sky School District officials, the Squamish resident she said she'd hit a brick wall.
Whatever they had done wasn't working and why didn't they see it wasn't working? Engstrom said. I had been into the school countless times.
Megan and Rachel started having nightmares and stomach aches. After months of teasing and being ostracized, Megan withdrew, Engstrom said. Rachel went the other direction, she noted, and was labelled as a troublemaker when she fought back.
Now the family faces tough decisions. They could move and send the girls to a new school or Engstrom could leave her job to home school her daughters. Ultimately, Engstrom said she wishes the issue could be resolved, clearing the way for the twins to return to school.
I am at the point that I am so angry, Engstrom said. I want this addressed.
After going public with her daughters' struggles, Engstrom said she has heard from a number of Squamish parents who also have concerns about the way the school district deals with bullying complaints. Engstrom, along with Bully Free Howe Sound founder Bianca Peters, hope to address the school district's board of trustees regarding the subject matter.
I don't know what else I can do, she said.
Unable to speak to the specific case because of privacy issues, Marilyn Caldwell, the school district's director of instruction-student support services, said schools have several layers of protocol on which to draw when dealing with bullying.
It is something that we are pretty vigilant with, she said, noting its high priority.
The Ministry of Education, school district and schools have all taken proactive steps to deal with such cases, Caldwell said. Last year, the province unveiled its 10-point anti-bullying strategy to make schools safer places. ERASE Bullying www.erasebullying includes a online reporting tools youth can use to anonymously alert officials to bullying cases.
Local schools work with community organizations, such as the RCMP and Vancouver Coastal Health, to address issues, Caldwell said. Each school has its own school code of conduct, outlining appropriate behaviour in school, with students and parents signing off on it annually, she added.
If bullying arises, teachers can organize circle groups where youth can openly discuss their feelings and concerns or activities to help rebuild friendships, Caldwell said, noting each case is look at individually.
A lot of the work falls under the heading of restorative practices, she said, with a focus on teaching children the effects their actions have on others. Schools also have discipline procedures that they use in tandem with restorative practices, Caldwell said, noting there are times that students need a time out or their parents must be brought in.
Everybody kind of has a role in it, she said.
Social responsibility has become a standalone concept in education, Caldwell said. The tragic suicide of 15-year-old Amanda Todd has brought it into the spotlight. As a result, schools across the province have seen an increase in the number of complaints. Educators are now examining ways to differentiate bullying from conflicts, Caldwell said.
Rachel said she wants to go back to school. She told her mother she didn't want to run away from the children who teased her. But Engstrom won't let the twins return before the issue is resolved.
Hopefully it's before the school year ends, she said.
