Bullying Prevention
Forest Lake Area Schools is committed to providing safe and supportive learning environments for all students.
Each of our schools has a variety of programs and lessons in place to help students build positive relationships with each other and with school staff. This work emphasizes kindness, empathy and respect. It helps our students become part of a community and practice the essential life skills of living and working alongside people who have different backgrounds and personal characteristics.
These programs define and emphasize the behavior we expect from our students (kindness, empathy, respect), and they also define unacceptable types of behavior, like bullying.
What is Bullying?
Bullying means behavior by an individual student or group of students that is:
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intimidating, threatening, abusive or harmful;
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involves an actual or perceived imbalance of power in which the student being bullied has difficulty defending him or herself; and
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is repeated or forms a pattern.
Bullying is also behavior that materially and substantially interferes with a student’s educational opportunities, or performance or ability to participate in school functions or activities or receive school benefits, services, or privileges.
How do we respond to bullying?
Although our goal is to eliminate or reduce bullying, we know that bullying does still occasionally happen in our world today. In any instances in which bullying occurs in our schools and staff sees it or is made aware of it, we respond quickly to intervene and end the pattern of bullying.
Minnesota Department of Education: Bullying Concerns and Ways to Help
Report Bullying
If you believe that you or your child, or a student you know is being bullied, you are encouraged to contact the principal at your child’s school to report the incident(s). In addition, you may fill out this Bullying Reporting Form. Reports can be made anonymously. Paper copies of the form are also available at each school building and Community Education office. Bullying reporting forms can be turned into staff at any school office or the Community Education office.