Orange County working to end bullying in schools with social workers and programs

Since the start of the pandemic, educators have paid even more attention to their students' mental health by implementing new programs with an emphasis to end bullying. 

"When I was in third grade I actually got bullied a lot," said sixth-grader Daylan Rueda.  

With the help of the Anaheim Elementary School District's curriculum called Second Step, which aims to address the social and emotional needs of students, the 12-year-old learned to go to a counselor when he has problems with a bully. 

"They actually taught me what to do,"  said Rueda. "They told me if it ever happened again I could always go to the principal or go to an adult and that's what I did the next time it happened." 

Second Step is one of a whole host of programs in Orange County designed to help kids manage their feelings and to report bullying incidents so staff can launch an investigation. 

"My mantra and my reason for being a school principal is that I believe my job is to keep kids happy and safe," said Sunkist Elementary School principal Stephanie Shumate. "If I can do that then everything else is going to work out." 

Shumate added that she is thankful when her students tell her about incidents. She said that the school district has a model on how to investigate incidents and teachers are trained to recognize harassment, intimidation and bullying. 

Other school districts in Orange County have also added similar programs to address students' mental health. Santa Ana Unified School District said it added social workers to all of its 57 campuses after an increased need for services. After this implementation, the district ranked among the lowest for reported bullying incidents according to the latest results of a California student survey. 

"We have counselors, we have social workers, we have teachers who are trained not only to talk to students about bullying but to identify when bullying is happening," said Santa Ana Unified spokesperson Fermin Leal. "If one of our adults sees someone bullying a student they can intervene immediately."

Parents have also called on others to get involved. 

"I talk to my son every time," said mom Veronica Rivera. "He's always sharing things with me. So yeah, definitely communication is the key here with everybody involved."