Williamsburg Charter High School (“WCHS”) is committed to providing all students with a safe and civil school environment in which all members of the school community are treated with dignity and respect. Bullying is a national issue amongst adolescents, and schools including WCHS take this very seriously.
Not only does WCHS follow the directives of NYSED and New York State law in regards to the Dignity Act for All Students (“DASA”), but the school also has in place policies, procedures and practices that are designed to reduce and eliminate bullying and harassment, as well as process and procedures to deal with incidents of bullying and harassment when they occur. WCHS investigates any report of bullying.
Promoting students’ social emotional health is critical to the WCHS framework. The school employs a team comprised of Social Emotional Academy Leaders, Intervention and Family Support Counselors, Guidance Counselors, Advisors, Safety Officers, and Student Life Associates dedicated to the needs of our students, which includes tools to handling conflict. When necessary, WCHS also elicits the help of the NYPD, CPS, and other city and outside agencies that have expertise in adolescent behavior, and WCHS supports student affinity groups to ensure that students create and maintain healthy relationships.
WCHS was named in a recent story in the newspaper about a student who was allegedly bullied. The School asserts that it has not received any communication from an attorney or any legal complaint or legal notice, and thus cannot comment on the details of the allegations. Nevertheless, the school asserts that until the mother withdrew her son from school, WCHS made every effort to mitigate the issues her son may have been experiencing at school and at home despite his mother’s unwillingness to support the processes in place.
More information in regards to the school’s DASA implementation can be located on the school’s website at www.thewcs.org/dignity-act/.
Please contact Katie Manion, Accountability and Development Manager, at kmanion@thewcs.org with any questions.