Helping Middle Schoolers Stop Cyberbullying

On Thursday, 1,000 students at learned how to recognize, prevent and protect themselves against cyberbullying.

A similar assembly was held last month at .

During a 45-minute session led by John Vandenburgh, founder of a non-profit Internet safety company called PLUS Program, students learned about the impact of cyberbullying on physical, emotional and psychological health.

“I want you to think about what information you’re putting out there," Vandenburgh implored. “I want you to think about the choices you’re making.”

The John Muir school body was split into two assemblies of 500 students each. At the first assembly Vandenburgh asked students how many had Facebook accounts. More than half raised their hands.

Vandenburgh cited studies showing that American teens spend seven hours a day in front a screen, using technology. Citing another study, he said 43 percent of teens online have been cyberbullied.

Examples of cyberbullying might be mean or unfriendly text, or gossip about a classmate. He told students that one simple tool to protect themselves was to document cyberbullying and tell a parent or a teacher.

“It raised a lot of concerns for parents and teachers,” John Muir Principal Belen Magers said of the presentation. “How do we teach kids about the proper use of technology?”

At the end of the assembly, Vandenburgh asked students what they can do when they identify cyberbullying. One student said: “I will make sure no one gets made fun of.”

Eighth grader Leandra Lumagui, 13, said she came away from the assembly with some important lessons: “When something happens, I learned it’s not a good idea to keep it to yourself. You have to tell someone.”

The program was sponsored by the San Leandro Education Foundation (SLED) and funded with grants from the Kaiser Permanente Community Benefit Program, OSIsoft and First United Services Credit Union.

Over the next few months, Vandenburgh will continue his work with the two middle schools and identify student leaders who can lead school discussions with their peers. Teacher training and parent education forums will become part of the cyberbullying prevention effort.

SLED board president Deborah Cox said her foundation had sought out a research-based bullying prevention program to help protect the emotional and physical safety of students in San Leandro.

“Bullying used to be just on the playground,” she said.