North Cook News

At its June 13 meeting, the Wilmette Public Schools District 39 Board of Education heard from administrator for student services Dr. Kristin Swanson, who gave the annual bullying report for the district, per Illinois state requirements.

"District 39 takes bullying very seriously and investigates all reported incidences of bullying," Swanson said. "It's important to know that the state of Illinois requires that school districts collect information regarding bullying and share that information annually with the board."

Illinois has legal guidelines and requirements for what constitutes bullying. These do not encompass all events that the administration of District 39 investigates and handles. This means that the bullying incidents that are reported to the board are those that meet the state requirements, not every single instance that was brought to its attention.

In the 2021-22 school year, Wilmette schools had 11 reported instances of bullying that required full-level investigations, and out of these 11, two were determined to qualify as bullying and one of those investigations is still ongoing. Administrators address these instances by supporting the victims and determine appropriate consequences for the aggressors as necessary.

Some possible responses to bullying instances include restorative practices like apologies, education on the action, meeting with the social workers, meetings with students, in-school suspensions, written reflections and apologies, conversations with parents, or detentions. The schools also asks students to respond to bullying questions on the MESH survey to help inform the district’s actions on bullying.