Program aims to fight bullying at Franklin County schools

Sheriff W.Q. “Bill” Overton enlisted some unusual help Wednesday for a new initiative in Franklin County — dozens of elementary school students and a coyote named Cabbie.

The sheriff’s office, in partnership with Franklin County Public Schools and with the help of Radford University, launched a new, homegrown anti-bullying program at Ferrum Elementary School on Wednesday.

Officials said the locally created Communities Against Bullying program will engage the school system and the community, beginning with the area’s youngest students and eventually spreading to middle and high schools.

“Bullying can affect everyone,” Overton said, reading from a book developed for the new program, which introduced students to Cabbie, who later made an appearance at Wednesday’s assembly on bullying.

The text outlined what a bully is and what students should do if they encounter a bullying situation. That’s what the program will focus on with young students in hopes of stopping the troubling behavior before it escalates in middle and high school.

Ferrum Principal Jennifer Talley said that with her students, bullying tends to consist of name calling and mean looks.

“It’s not as big of an issue,” she said, but added that students at the elementary school age are beginning to learn appropriate behavior.

She said the program also provides an opportunity for students to interact more with sheriff’s deputies, several of whom were on hand Wednesday. Talley and Overton said it’s important young students know deputies are there to help.

On Wednesday, it may have been Cabbie who made the real impression.

Third-graders Lexa Jetmar, 9, and Cooper Stanford, 9, said they thought he was cool.

“I liked the way he dressed,” Lexa said.

Cabbie wore overalls and a flannel shirt and carried a red bag filled with books about bullying. He also high-fived with students before they headed back to class.

Both students said they’ve been bullied and it hurt.

“You need to stop bullying because it’s really bad,” Cooper said.

Officials hope to do just that with the program, which they said is different from other bullying prevention initiatives because it’s tailor-made for the community and seeks to engage everyone.

The nearby Roanoke and Roanoke County school systems also have varying bullying safeguards in place, including participation in the Character Counts and Rachel’s Challenge programs. Roanoke County also recently passed a new bullying policy and city students are asked to sign a bullying prevention pledge.

Former Radford University professor Joseph Jones, who helped design Communities Against Bullying, said most other prevention programs have “a one size fits all mentality” but this one is different.

“The reality is that’s not what bullying is,” he said. “Bullying is different in every community.”

Jones said Franklin County officials have surveyed teachers about what type of bullying is an issue, what the needs of the school are and if there are certain groups of students being bullied.

He said as part of the program, teachers are also getting professional development, including ways to recognize bullying, classroom strategies and ways to create a stronger community in school.

“It’s about tolerance and that difference is not a bad thing,” Jones said. “That it’s an awesome thing.”

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