Imani Charter School looks to minimize bullying with awareness, education

Harriet Tubman

State Capitol, Harrisburg, Pa. (Image courtesy of WikiMedia Commons)

As students prepare for the start of their summer vacation, officials at Imani Education Circle Charter School hosted an assembly to make sure its 3rd through 8th grade students are mindful of the dangers of bullying.

The assembly was held late last week at the school’s campus at 5612 Greene St. in Germantown.

Imani Charter School counselor Tamara Lemmon presented facts about bullying and offered advice for students to look at themselves and others in a positive light, as well as tips on how to prevent or report bullying when they see it.

Lemmon spent a large portion of the assembly discussing cyber bullying. It’s an issue she says is becoming more common among students.

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“There have been some incidences of arguments and things that have happened on social media. So, they were tweeting about each other or talking about each other on Facebook, and then and they come to school with it in the morning,” she said.

“We’re just trying to find ways to help minimize it. It’s not going to go away, but we want to at least minimize the number of incidents.”

Fifth-grade teacher Danielle Alexander said the bullying awareness discussion was especially important for some students in her class who may be involved in cyber bullying situations.

“It’s something that needs to be addressed, especially the cyber bullying , because things that are said outside of the classroom are not staying out in the cyber world. It’s coming into the classroom,” Alexander said.

The first-year teacher at Imani Charter said she plans to continue the discussion about bullying prevention methods through classroom activities and assignments.

“I think some of the girls don’t really understand the impact that they have on others and how it impacts them. So, having positive self-reflection is something I definitely want to take back into the classroom to keep the conversation going.”

Lemmon hopes to make the bullying prevention assembly an annual school event.

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