Council Bluffs District Plans Safe Schools Hotline

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COUNCIL BLUFFS (KPTM) -- To some name calling or teasing might seem like no big deal. But the Council Bluffs Community School District is getting serious about bullying. Leaders say students can't be successful unless they feel safe and comfortable at school.

Hundreds of soon to be sixth graders will find themselves in schools with older kids come August. From now on, elementary schools will only serve kindergarteners through fifth graders in the Council Bluffs Community School District. "When you start moving kids from school to school and grade level to grade level, there are concerns that arise from families," said Student Services Executive Director Ron Diimig.

Concerns from parents about their kids' safety and learning environment has the district planning a safe schools hotline for students and parents to report any potential problems. "Suicides, drugs and alcohol, fights, bullying, the whole gamut of safety issues that kids face in the neighborhoods, in public, and unfortunately in the schools too," Diimig said.

Kids KPTM talked to acknowledge bullying is a reality. "Lots of kids get pushed down or yelled at because they made a good play or whatever at recess," said soon-to-be sixth grader Deonta Davis.

Sophomore Devon Jefferson says he doesn't think its cause for much worry. "I think it's just kids having fun, I mean boys are going to be boys and they're going to want to wrestle around and be tough, so you got to get tough sometime."

But Diimig says that kind of thinking is part of the problem. He says bullying can have serious and even deadly consequences. "The attitude of a lot of people is oh well boys will be boys, girls will be girls, that's just part of growing up. Our attitude is it may have been a part of growing up in the past, but it's not acceptable in the schools," Diimig said.

Soon a 24-hour hotline will allow people to talk with a trained counselor or leave anonymous messages for school leaders. "If they've got names or if they've got a specific teacher's classroom or a specific situation, the more information they have the more they'll be able to do with it," Diimig said.

The hotline will be open to address safety issues across all grade levels and its only part of what district leaders are planning. Teachers and principals will also be getting additional training in behavior management and bullying prevention. The district also hopes to install additional cameras in schools and on buses.

The district plans to contract with a counseling agency for their services. Leaders expect the hotline to cost only a few thousand dollars a year. It's expected to be up and running by August.