Bullying Information

Bullying, intimidation, and harassment diminish a student’s ability to learn and a school’s ability to educate. Preventing students from engaging in these disruptive behaviors and providing all students equal access to a safe, non-hostile learning environment are important District goals.

Students who feel they have been bullied are strongly encouraged to report the incident by one or more of the following methods:

• Contact an administrator, counselor, teacher, or social worker
• Contact the District at (847) 659-6158
• Text the Huntley 158 Student Helpline below
• Complete a Bullying Report form

How to Define Bullying

Huntley 158 takes both the academic and social-emotional needs of our students very seriously. In an effort to build on the positive and familial environment where we know our students thrive, we count on the partnership and support of the families we serve to eliminate instances of bullying in school.

Bullying, including cyber-bullying, means any severe or pervasive physical or verbal act or conduct, including communications made in writing or electronically, directed toward a student that has or can be reasonably predicted to have the effect of one or more of the following:

• Placing the student in reasonable fear of harm to the student’s person or property.
• Causing a substantial detrimental effect on the student’s physical or mental health.
• Substantially interfering with the student’s academic performance.
• Substantially interfering with the student’s ability to participate or benefit from the services, activities or privileges provided by a school.

Bullying Prevention Strategies

1. Explicit school & classroom expectations
2. Teaching positive social and relationship building skills
3. Social emotional learning (SEL) instruction aligned with ISBE’s SEL Standards
4. Raider Way lessons at Huntley High School
5. Advisory lessons at the middle school level
6. Professional training for staff
7. Recognition of positive student behavior
8. Building-specific initiatives, activities and more

Response to Bullying

All employees, regardless of their position, who witness incidents of bullying or school violence, or who possess reliable information that would lead a reasonable person to suspect that a person is the target of bullying must intervene immediately to ensure the safety of all persons involved, report the incident to the building principal and cooperate fully in an investigation or implementation of a safety plan.

If a parent or student has concerns on how a bullying situation may have been handled or resolved, they may file a formal complaint related to bullying using Huntley 158’s Formal Complaint Form.

How Does the Investigation Process Work?

• Identify the perpetrator(s), the target(s), and any bystander(s).
• Involve appropriate school support personnel or other staff who have experience and training on bullying prevention, as deemed appropriate in the investigation process. This could be social workers, counselors, psychologists, etc.
• Determine how often the conduct occurred, any past incidents or continuing patterns of behavior and the impact on the targeted student.
• Assess the individual and school-wide effect of the incident relating to safety and implement a safety plan if appropriate.
• Determine appropriate interventions to address bullying that may include school social work services, restorative measures, social-emotional skill building, counseling, school psychological services, community-based services, etc.
• Notify the parents or guardian or both the victim of bullying and the student(s) identified as exhibiting bullying behavior following the investigation to discuss consequences and/or next steps.

Huntley 158’s Student Helpline & Anti-Bullying Resource