Tuscaloosa City Schools initiated HALT, Harassment Awareness Learning Together, district-wide to combat bullying in the entire school system in August 2012. During the fall of 2014, they partnered with a team of University of Alabama public relations students and the City of Tuscaloosa for Phase 3 of the campaign. 

Report Bullying

Goals of HALT Initiative:

• Create a TCS bullying document with policies, contact, and forms
• Bully training for HALT coordinators who will use train-the-trainer model to train entire faculty and staff at each school
• Implement parent/community awareness training on the topic of bullying
• Create avenues for reporting bullying at the local school-level and central office
• Work with HALT coordinators to implement comprehensive curriculum to address both the bully, victim, and empowering bystanders
• Create HALT posters, bracelets, pledge cards to support awareness in schools
• Create a HALT web presence under Student Services
• Professional development for all faculty and staff including the transportation department on the topic of bullying
• Increase awareness of the topic of bullying in order to decrease cases of bullying

Definition of Bullying

• Intentional act of aggression that may be physical, verbal, emotional, sexual or electronic
• Committed over an extended period of time
• Characterized by repeated acts of aggression or having the potential for repetitiveness
• Characterized by a real or perceived imbalance of power
• Compounded by technology
• Refer to Anti-bully Policy 6.25 for complete bullying definition

Is Your Child Experiencing Bullying? 
If your child is experiencing bullying, submit an online form or complete the age-appropriate bullying/harassment form and return it to your child's counselor.