The Pleasantville Community School District has made changes to their policies and rules related to bullying and student discipline.
In March, a committee made up of Pleasantville staff and parents was formed to review the district’s policies and rules, and several meetings were held between March and May. In advance of the 2024-2025 school year, the district shared 15 commitments and updates that were made as a result of the committee discussions. Pleasantville Superintendent Tony Aylsworth says that the biggest change to the policies and rules will be more staff and administrative training for when and if a case of bullying is brought to them.
“So all staff that work here at the school, certified staff, will go through an online training around best practices and working with students and supporting students and families through bullying type concerns. So, that’s first and foremost. Our administrators are also doing some new training strands, so we’re trying to get everybody trained on the process to lead and follow through on a bullying investigation. And so, that might not seem like a complicated matter, but they can become very complicated. And so, just making sure that we’re lined up between our procedural guidelines and best practices with the way our principles, our counselors, and all our teachers support kids this way.”