Palm Springs Unified School Distict Holds Cyberbullying Workshop

Bullying is a big issue for kids in school. Many students say they’ve been the bully and the victim. The Palm Springs Unified School District is trying to give parents some ideas to stop cyberbullying.

As principal of Raymond Cree Middle School, Tony Signoret has disciplined students for cyberbullying.

But, he says many of the children have no idea their words were hurtful.

“They will literally cry and say, ‘I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean it, I wasn’t serious.’ Unfortunately the damage is done and it’s too late at that point. We want to avoid getting to that point,” said Signoret.

That is why the Palm Springs Unified School District invited parents and students to the middle school’s first cyberbullying workshop.

Eva Vega-Olds, with the World Of Differences Institute, travels around the southland helping families address their children’s online aggression.

“You don’t have to be an expert in anything technology to be a really great parent and help your kids through a really tough situation and that’s all you really need,” said Vega-Olds.

According to Signoret, many children have been both the bully and the victim.

He said technology like Myspace, Facebook, and text messages only makes it harder for parents to curb the cyberfighting.

The greatest fear is that taunts and threats will lead to suicide or school shootings.

Signoret hopes the workshop will prevent those acts of violence and help elementary and middle school students make a safe transition to high school.

“Our kids act a lot on emotions, they act a lot more impulsively and so when they feel something, and especially now with technology all of a sudden they’ll just put it out there and not realizing quickly what they’re putting out there can not only spread but the amount of damage it can cause,” he said.

The World of Differences Institute will bring this workshop to the Coachella Valley and Desert Sands Unified school districts later this year.