West Allegheny Superintendent: District Reaching Out To Families Upset By Anti-Bullying Workshop
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- Parents in the West Allegheny School District are sharing their frustration over a recent "anti-bullying" workshop for students.
Some say it put their children at risk, and now, ahead of a school board meeting tonight, the school district superintendent is responding to their complaints.
The controversy erupted over a session designed to help students deal with bullying.
The school defends the program as something that's nationally-recognized and it's something they've done before. Even so, the district is reaching out to the families who are disturbed by the training.
At issue is a group session where students were put in a circle and asked several questions, including:
- You have been impacted by drugs or alcohol?
- You have been called fat or made fun of?
- You or someone close to you identifies as gay, lesbian, or transgendered?
- You have been impacted by mental challenges or learning disabilities?
- You or your family has ever worried about not having enough money?
- You or someone close to you has been imprisoned?
- You have been raised by a single parent?
"I would never expect a middle school to ask kids if their parents have been in school, if they're [the] same sex, if they're having financial issues. How is that going to affect them?" said parent Marie-Noelle Briggs.
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The district defends the exercise as a nationally-recognized program developed by Stanford to help students become more sensitive and cope with bullying.
"If a student feels comfortable stepping in when a statement is read, what their peers are supposed to take from that activity is a greater sensibility that 'I'm not alone. I realize that there's other students that are struggling,'" said West Allegheny School District Superintendent Jerri Lynn Lippert.
But Lippert admits parents should have been more involved with the program.
"What I think went wrong with this is we did not do a thorough vetting process with parents. Had the workshop involved parents in the planning, I don't think we would be here," she said.
The district is reaching out now to students and parents who are upset by the program. They are providing counseling.
Meantime, the issue is expected to come up when the West Allegheny School Board meets this evening.
