Bullying
MCA takes bullying very seriously. If you need to report an act of bullying, but would like to do so anonymously, please log into your Jupiter account. Students, use this hotline if someone is bothering you or others, or to report vandalism, etc., or if you just want to talk about problems at home. For cyber-bullying, please include screenshots. This is anonymous, so we won't see who you are. We will check our messages during school hours.
Students login, click the Messages tab, and click the Hotline button. They may select Ms. Britt, Mr. Jason or any of their teachers at the school. They may attach any files, such as videos, photos, or screenshots. Screenshots are especially useful to capture cyber-bullying.
The selected staff member will receive the anonymous message in Jupiter in their Inbox and a notification email. The staff member may write back to the student, in which case the student receives the message on their Messages screen (and receives an email notification based on their settings). They student may reply back, remaining anonymous.
The student's name and photo are not shown to staff. Instead it shows just the student's grade level, like "7th grader".
(Staff are not anonymous, so the student always knows who is replying.)
Note: Parents cannot access the Hotline; they cannot send anonymous messages, nor view any messages to/from their child, unless they use their child's password to login as the student. (This is another reason students and parents should not share passwords.) Parents can, however, send a regular message (not anonymous) to any staff member.
Note: Other admins may have access to view these anonymous conversations, so the conversation itself is not a secret, just the student's name.
From the student handbook
MCA BULLY POLICY—Student safety is our top priority, and we take reports of bullying and cyberbullying very seriously.
In order to be considered bullying, the behavior must be intentionally aggressive and include:
An Imbalance of Power: Kids who bully use their power—such as physical strength, access to embarrassing information, or popularity—to control or harm others. Power imbalances can change over time and in different situations, even if they involve the same people.
Repetition: Bullying behaviors happen or have the potential to happen more than once.
Bullying includes actions such as making threats, spreading rumors, attacking someone physically or verbally, and excluding someone from a group on purpose. There are times when a student is simply picking on another student, this will always be dealt with accordingly, but it is not bullying.
Upon investigation, a bullying student may be immediately withdrawn and/or expelled.
All bullying incidents, upon completion of investigation, will be logged into Jupiter Ed as a level 4 offense.
Please note that the following policies are available for review in the school office: Discipline Policy, Bullying Policy, Criminal Organization Policy