District and school leadership at all levels in the Lowell Public Schools will play a critical role in the ongoing development and implementation of the Bullying Prevention and Intervention Plan in the context of other whole school and community efforts to promote positive school climate. School leaders have a primary role in teaching students and staff to be civil to one another and promoting understanding of and respect for diversity and difference. School leaders have a responsibility for setting priorities and for staying up-to-date with current research on ways to prevent and effectively respond to bullying.

The Office of Student Support Services will be responsible for overseeing the implementation of the Bullying Prevention and Intervention Plan. Specific planning and oversight responsibilities will include:

• Receiving reports on bullying,
• Creating a process for recording and tracking incident reports and for accessing information related to targets/victims and aggressor/perpetrator,
• Collecting and analyzing building and/or school-wide data on bullying to assess the present problem and to measure improved outcomes,
• Planning for the ongoing professional development relative to bullying prevention and intervention,
• Planning supports that respond to the needs of targets/victims and aggressors/perpetrators,
• Developing new or revising current policies and protocols under the Bullying Prevention and Intervention Plan,
• Amending Lowell Public Schools Parent and Student Handbooks,
• Leading parent or family engagement efforts and drafting parent information materials, and
• Reviewing and updating the Plan biannually as required by law

This Bullying Prevention and Intervention Plan will be reviewed and updated by the Office for Student Support Services to ensure its effectiveness and to establish strategies and indicators of continuous improvement in the effort to promote a safe and supportive learning environment. The evaluation will include assessing the adequacy of current programs, reviewing current policies and procedures, and assessing available resources including curricular, professional development and behavioral health services.

The update of the plan shall include a review of available data on social and emotional learning, the environment for the delivery of social emotional instruction in schools and data on school climate. This data shall be used to identify areas of programmatic strength, resource gaps and the most significant areas of need. Based on these findings, schools and the district will revise or develop policies and procedures, establish partnerships with community agencies and set priorities as warranted.