Peach County school officials explain bullying warning signs, how to report it

School officials say declining grades, social withdrawal and behavior changes can signal a problem that needs attention.

FORT VALLEY, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) — Peach County school officials say declining grades and changes in behavior can be warning signs of bullying, and they’re encouraging students to report incidents so administrators can investigate and provide help.

“People bully because they feel like they can,” Peach County High School senior Jaylyn Henley said. “So, when it comes to bullying you can either be there for the person or join in. And I’m personally not into joining in. So, I just try to check on the person, see if they’re okay, see what happened, and what started the bullying.”

Bullying isn’t always easy to recognize, and sometimes warning signs can go unnoticed. Identifying those signs early and speaking up can help students get the support they need.

Peach County School District lead counselor Beverly Stewart says bullying can affect a student’s social life, behavior, mental health and performance in the classroom.

“You would see a decline in the student’s academic achievement,” Stewart said. “That’s one of the major signs that a teacher or parent would see. And again, the student being withdrawn socially. They may come to school. For example, if you have a student who is normally upbeat, engaged, that student may be showing signs of sleeping in the classroom with the head down, depression, being withdrawn, just not wanting to associate with their peers and not being as academically engaged as they usually are.”

Stewart says students may be hesitant to report bullying because they’re afraid speaking up could make the situation worse, especially when social media is involved.

“Out of fear,” she said. “Out of fear, out of intimidation that things may not get any better. In fact, things may get worse. That may be one of the things they’re thinking about. Also social media, that can also play a huge major impact on how a student is thinking or feeling, may not want to report it because, again, out of fear that the intimidation may even get worse than what it is.”

Henley says students experiencing bullying should reach out to someone they trust, whether that’s a friend, teacher or another adult who can help them find support and put a stop to it.

“So when it comes to someone being afraid or scared to speak up for themselves, for example, just find a friend,” Henley said. “It doesn’t have to be a friend. It could be a random person you see. “I just went through this. Can you help me? Can you show me who I need to talk to? Can you help me see what I need to do to stop it?” You can’t be afraid of something that you shouldn’t be afraid of.”

Stewart says the first step is to report bullying.

“Sometimes, we are not able to address bullying because we don’t know about it,” she said. “So reporting it is the first step that needs to take place. The second step, once it’s reported to an administrator or to the district, we can then investigate. Once the findings or the outcome that we gather, we can put the necessary steps to kind of deal with it in an immediate way.”

School officials say students shouldn’t have to handle bullying on their own. They encourage anyone experiencing it to speak up and report the behavior so administrators can investigate and determine what steps need to be taken.

“The Peach County School District is really working hard to prevent bullying by promoting positive student character,” Stewart said. “We have the Peach 360 program, which is a character education program. We are also exposing students to responsible digital behavior as it relates to cyberbullying and as it relates to technology and district-issued devices. And then we are also very big on implementing clear procedures, reporting procedures, for students and the community when they are aware that a bullying issue has taken place.”

School officials encourage students and parents to speak up about bullying and watch for changes in behavior. Concerns can also be reported anonymously through the Georgia School Safety Hotline at 1-877-SAY-STOP, available 24/7.