Tuesday, August 7th

In 2010, Massachusetts adopted a comprehensive state law to address school bullying and cyberbullying. It requires all teachers, in both public and private schools, to be trained to recognize, intervene, and prevent bullying and to ensure the safety of all children.

To address this critical issue, the conference opens with a two-hour workshop on bullying and cyberbullying directed by Meghan McCoy from the Massachusetts Aggression Reduction Center (MARC) at Bridgewater State University.

This two-hour professional development workshop aligns with the Massachusetts anti-bullying law and provides you with practical tools and strategies to use in the classroom. Through this experience, you will:

• Become familiar with and understand the Massachusetts legislation around bullying,
  
  
• Understand the nature, scope, and impact of bullying and cyberbullying among students,
  
  
• Learn practical solutions and interventions for the most common bullying behaviors seen among students along with techniques for preventing and intervening in cyberbullying,
  
  
• Develop a better understanding of the motivations, underlying causes, and frequencies of bullying and cyberbullying, and
  
  
• Explore bullying and cyberbullying through students’ first-hand experiences gathered through MARC’s extensive research.

MARC’s goal is to provide K-12 educators and professional caregivers with access to professional development in the areas of “bullying prevention, cyberbullying education and prevention, and violence prevention” (2011). MARC actively collaborates with the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education and has been designated as a professional development resource for schools throughout the Commonwealth.