ROSSFORD (WTOL) - One parent’s voice is being heard loud and clear in Rossford about bullying. So much so, his request was answered within hours of posing a question on social media.
A lot is changing at Rossford Schools from new buildings, to a brand-new anonymous bullying report system.
“It’s kind of a no-brainer. Of course we would want to give that resource to our students,” said Matt Thompson, communication specialist at Rossford Schools.
A no-brainer solution, they had not considered until a parent posted the idea on social media.
Just last week, Kris Maier’s kids were playing around when he heard his son say something he never dreamed of.
“He has a broken arm and his sister had bumped his arm and he said well that’s what the bullies were doing to him,” remembered Maier.
His kids just transferred to Rossford this school year so he researched how the district handled bullying situations.
Kris spoke not only to his son, but also to school leaders. He said they seemed concerned and he appreciated their actions, but he felt the district could also do more.
His son’s old school district had an anonymous bullying tip line on their website and he thought Rossford should have the feature available too. He posted the idea online and another parent saw the post.
They spoke to Rossford school leaders who immediately brought the idea to life, within hours the new reporting system was live online.
“Whenever you talk about bullying it’s drop everything, what’s happening how can we help?” said Thompson. “I mean I wish we could say we don’t have bullying and we’re perfect, we’re not but we can look at ways where we can get better and that was it. We thought this was a way we can get better.”
Kris never imagined his post would do anything, but he’s glad it did.
“I mean that was probably the fastest response of anything I could have expected because I wasn’t expecting much,” said Kris. “I was just looking for more information I didn’t realize it was lead to that.”
Rossford leaders say they are constantly working to address bullying. Just Tuesday they held anti-bullying assemblies for the elementary students.
Kris is glad the school is listening. He believes this story proves that your words matter and can make a difference. That’s something he hopes students will understand as they work to reduce bullying too.
“That way they can create an environment, a culture where it’s seen that bullying is inappropriate,” said Maier. “And kids will see that it’s wrong and maybe instead of being a bystander be an upstander.”
The new feature is available on the district’s website.
Both parents and students are encouraged to use it when they see or hear something. School leaders say the reports, once submitted, will go to the building principals who will investigate.
The district’s bullying resources page also includes information for families on how you can identify bullying, talk about it and stand up against it safely.
