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.