Culture and climate study: Harassment common in Albany County schools

A survey with 2,700 respondents shows students at Laramie High and Laramie Middle School were targeted by fellow students for their physical appearance, sexual orientation and gender expression.

About two-thirds of students enrolled in Albany County schools have witnessed bullying or harassment on school grounds. And most of that harassment targeted physical appearance, sexual orientation or gender identity and expression. More than 10 percent of students say they have been physically threatened by other students.

These are some of the starkest initial findings from Albany County School District No. 1’s culture and climate survey. Superintendent John Goldhardt reported these findings and recommended next steps during the Albany County School Board’s meeting Wednesday.

“The whole child is part of our educational system and a student who is in distress will never learn,” he said.

The survey polled 2,700 participants — 61 percent of them students, 27 percent parents and 11 percent staff. The vast majority of student responses came from Laramie High School (930) and Laramie Middle School (744).

One-third of respondents reported they or their child had personally experienced verbal harassment.

This undoubtedly contributes to how safe children and teenagers feel in their school — and how much they want to be there, Goldhardt said.

“Less than half of students feel proud to attend their school or like school,” he said. “And just slightly over half — barely 51 percent — feel like they belong in school. This was like a knife in the heart. We have to fix this.”

During the presentation, Goldhardt recommended enhancing staff and student training to proactively address bullying, harassment and violence. In the survey, students consistently reported higher levels of bullying and other misconduct than their teachers or parents did — a discrepancy Goldhardt attributed to students having a fuller picture of the situation.

For example, less than a third of staff surveyed said students experienced bullying or harassment because of their gender identity. But nearly two-thirds of students said they have witnessed it.

The superintendent also recommended reviewing policy and making changes where needed.

“With that, though, I’d have to add: you can’t policy your way out of a problem,” Goldhardt said. “Your procedures are where you get it taken care of.”

The survey was conducted by Hanover Research and Goldhardt said the firm will now conduct one-on-one interviews with some of the survey’s respondents, aiming to provide a more detailed, qualitative account of what bullying and harassment look like in Albany County schools.

The school board asked Goldhardt to provide monthly updates as that research continues.

“This was pretty crushing to read,” Trustee Janice Marshall said. “There was some pretty troubling information in there. But we have that information now and the next step is to address it.”

In January, all ACSD No. 1 employees will receive an infographic summarizing the survey’s results; the schools will receive reports about the specific climate on their individual campuses.