‘UPstanding’ students
Graphics like these – displayed at athletic events and on the district’s website and social media pages – are just one incentive SISD is giving students to be UPstanders. The UPstander initiative is one program to come from a committee formed this summer to tackle bullying and other behavioral issues in the district.
Most adults are familiar with the saying “if you see something, say something.
Springtown ISD is working with its students on a more proactive approach — if students see something, they should do something.
Over the summer break, SISD Superintendent Mike Kelley began meeting with stakeholders to generate ideas on how to combat bullying.
From those discussions grew a committee, the purpose of which was to get a plan of action into place for the coming school year.
One recommendation from the group was to recognize positive behavior which will hopefully be contagious – the UPstander initiative.
Spectators at Porcupine Stadium Friday, Aug. 31 saw examples of this at the first home football game of the year when students who’d exhibited positive behavior — UP-standers — were honored on the big screen during the game.
According to the district’s website, “UPstanders are individuals who make a decision to be part of a solution.”
And more often than not, the behavior is not only contagious, but serves as a mitigator.
The district cites studies which show that “in 57 percent of instances in which an UPstander intervenes in a bullying situation, the incident stops within 10 seconds.”
The UPstander initiative encourages students to become actively involved when they see negative behavior from their peers.
The UPstander initiative furthers the district’s “Be a buddy, not a bully” campaign, and encourages students to be “UPstanders rather than bystanders.”
