The Best Answering Service

Questions? Call Us! (866) 655-6000

Blog

25thNov2015

#StopBullyingNow: An Anonymous Bullying Hotline Can Give You a Voice

#StopBullyingNow: An Anonymous Bullying Hotline Can Give You a Voice

The National Center for Educational Statistics released a startling statistic that will have you looking to four students in your life. According to the 2015 study, one out of every four students report being bullied during the school year. DoSomething.org, an anti-bullying organization for young people, shares that: “One in four teachers see nothing wrong with bullying and will only intervene 4% of the time.” So how can a student be heard in a school filled with so many scary statistics?

An anonymous bullying hotline may be the solution both students and parents have been looking for. Many public schools are offering anonymous bully tip hotlines for their particular school district. A Courteous Communications works alongside specific schools and have a direct line of communication to their administrative team and principals.

Why are School Specific Anti-Bullying Hotlines Helpful?

There are some great national hotlines that children, teenagers and parents can call to get advice and support. School specific anti-bullying hotlines are special because they bring open communication in a safe and confidential environment with specific students in specific situations.

As experts in handling these unique and sensitive calls, let us show you how reaching out to your school’s designated bully tip line can effect change. Take a look behind the scenes of a 24/7 help line and consider these possibilities you may never have thought of before. Please know that the names have been changed so that we keep our callers anonymous.  

Maybe, you’re not the only one.

Mary is a 10-year-old girl that is getting bullied on a daily basis by a group of girls led by a girl name Jane. Mary is not the only student that Jane bullies. Jane has an unspoken reputation for verbally abusing a handful of girls at their school. Mary calls into our anonymous bullying tip line and speaks with a trained operator about how she is being bullied. Mary doesn’t have to tell our operators her name; she has the option of remaining anonymous.

What Mary may not know is that other students in her class have also called our anonymous anti-bullying tip lines and reported Jane’s cruelty towards them. Since Jane has been brought up on multiple occasions, the school is alerted of the frequent bullying reports made against her. The school now has the ability to evaluate Jane’s file and speak with her teachers directly to see if there are other signs that show Jane may have a problem with respecting her peers.

When your school system provides a 1(800) or local bullying hotline, don’t be afraid to call in and speak with an agent. We want to help in any way we can. Maybe helping is just listening and allowing you to report what is happening to you. Maybe you aren’t the only one being bullied and just by reporting what is happening, you are helping to change how others are being treated as well.    

Your child won’t communicate, but you know something is going on.  

Janet is a single mother to a 15-year-old son named Sam. Janet has noticed that Sam has been acting out of character lately. Normally, Sam is very energetic, athletic and social. For the past few weeks though, he has been going into his room right after school and even has tried to ditch class; claiming he was sick. His mother Janet, worried about him, decided to look on Sam’s Facebook page.

Janet saw quickly why Sam’s behavior had changed so unexpectedly. Right there on Sam’s wall were dozens of posts from other students at his school making fun of him for getting beat up at his bus stop earlier that month. Janet was horrified at what children were saying to her son. She picked up the phone right away and called us to report what she was seeing.

Janet went through the comments, dates and specific student names that were cyberbullying her son on the social network. Our agent walked Janet through the phone call and helped her remain calm and in control through the duration of the call.

After we hung up with Janet, we emailed our report directly to the principal and the designated guidance counselor. In this particular school, the procedure for fighting and heavy cyberbullying was to email the principal and counselor immediately so they could look into the situation before it escalated further.

The principal personally called Janet back the next morning to discuss her report. They brought in the guidance counselor and the three of them discussed viable solutions and brainstormed on ways they could prevent the cyberbullying from continuing.

It really does take a village to raise a child and thankfully, with school specific anti-bullying hotlines, parents and faculty can easily come together to diffuse bully situations.           

Find Out Your School’s Designated Bullying Hotline

Go to your school’s website and look for a toll free or local hotline phone number that you can call if you ever have a situation to report. Can’t find one on your school’s website? Ask a guidance counselor or if you are a parent, inquire about a bullying hotline at the next PTA meeting. Does your school not have a bullying hotline? Shoot us a confidential message here or call us anonymously at 1-800-785-6161 to suggest that we contact your school and see if we could help bring an anti-bullying hotline to your district.

Share this story!
answering serviceAnswering Servicesanti bullyingbullying hotlinecourteous communicationsphone answering serviceVirtual Receptionists