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At every tier, the student's progress will be monitored in several different ways. Attendance to small-group and individual meetings; meetings between the parents and the school social worker; completion of small-group and individually assigned lessons; these are all effective methods that can be used by school social workers to monitor how a student is progressing through the Multitiered System Supports.

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Tier three interventions, according to the NASP (2015) and Massat (2016), are reserved for students who need urgent and intense interventions. These interventions are highly personalized and only used when Tier One and Tier Two interventions fail to produce adequate results (NASP, 2015). Tier Three interventions will oftentimes recruit community resources to create a link between the school community and the outside community (Massat et al., 2016; NASP, 2015). Evidence-informed practices that occur within this tier are crisis intervention, individual counseling, and mental health screening (Massat et al., 2016, pg. 596). These interventions ensure that the student’s well-being and academic performance are maintained to the best of the school social worker's ability.

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What is Bullying?

While there is no definitive definition for bullying, every state defines bullying differently, it is generally agreed upon that bullying is the “physical and verbal behavior which leads to social isolation” (National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, 2016). For a behavior or action to become bullying, they must be aggressive in nature and repeated (What is Bullying, 2019). There are multiple forms of bullying, such as verbal bullying, social bullying, and physical bullying; although, the medium for bullying changes, the underlying foundation for bullying is a perceived power imbalance among students (What is Bullying, 2019).

Short-term Effects of Bullying

Those who are bullied are more likely to experience negative mental, physical, and emotional effects; they are also more likely to experience a decrease in their academic performance (Effects of Bullying, 2017; National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, 2016; Wolke & Lereya, 2015). According to the Effect of Bullying (2017), bullied individuals are more likely to experience varying levels of depression and anxiety, changes to their sleeping patterns, and a decrease in academic achievement. Several students reported skipping school and noticing a decrease in their grade point average (Effects of Bullying, 2017; National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, 2016).

Long-term Effects of Bullying

o   According to Wolke and Lereya (2015), the severity of bullying that a person endured had a direct impact on their mental, physical, and emotional health. Adults, who were previously bullied in school, were more likely to suffer from anxiety and depression (National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, 2016; Wolke & Lereya, 2015). Additionally, adults reported having a harder time making and maintaining friendships; they also reported exhibiting anti-social behavior (Wolke & Lereya, 2015). Individuals who experienced bullying in high school were reported to experience a lower quality of life once they became adults (Wolke & Lereya, 2015).

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Policies That Help Reduce Bullying

North Carolina has several policies that address bullying in all its forms. One such policy is the “General Statute 115C-407.16 Policy against bullying or harassing behavior,” this policy instructs schools to publish a statement condemning bullying. In addition to this public condemnation, schools are required to publish consequences that would be applied to students that were caught bullying another student. Several of these policies identify protected groups that could be bullied for differential characteristics (North Carolina Anti-Bullying Laws & Policies, 2017). These policies help enforce an anti-bullying stance within the school.

Ineffective Bullying Policies

Although North Carolina has policies that attempt to prevent bullying within schools, there are no laws that implement these policies. Furthermore, these policies do not attempt to compile resources for bullied students, nor do they attempt to engage parents in addressing bullying (North Carolina Anti-Bullying Laws & Policies, 2017).

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The school social worker serves as a liaison among the students, the parents, and the school community. Additionally, school social workers work to make the academic process more efficient for students that might require additional attention (Massat et al., 2016). In this situation, as the school social worker, it is my responsibility to implement evidence-informed practices that would begin to resolve the school’s concerns about bullying.

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As explained by Massat (2016) and the National Association of School Psychologists (2015), there are three tiers in the Multitiered System Supports (MTSS). The first tier involves interventions that focus on universal practices that can be applied to the school community (Massat et al. ,2016; NASP, 2015). These widespread interventions are intended to prevent problematic behavior, such as bullying (Massat et al., 2016). One such example of evidence-informed practice is completing and analyzing surveys that pinpoint specific areas of concern. Once these concerns, especially those concerning bullying, have been identified, the school social worker and school faculty members will determine the best evidence-informed practice that will resolve these issues. These practices will vary depending upon the severity of the concern.

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Tier two interventions include individualized practices that are better suited towards small-group interventions (Massat et al., 2016). The chosen issue for this project is bullying; therefore, the evidence-informed practices will focus on diminishing the prevalence of bullying and helping students who suffered due to bullying. One such intervention is hosting small-group support groups for students who suffered through bullying. These small groups can range from simply forming a support group to conducting lessons on how to handle bullying and the stress that arises from it. Tier two interventions focus on small-group interventions that will provide students that need additional assistance with improving their academic experience.

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1. Was the information organized in a clear and understandable manner?

2. Was the role of the school social worker clearly identified?

3. Was the topic clearly related to school social work?

4. Were the referenced policies relatable to the topic of the padlet?

5. Were the Multi-level Tiers and their respective solutions easy to understand?

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Massat, R. C., Kelly, S. M., & Constable, R. (2016). School Social Work: Practice, Policy, and Research. (8th ed.) Oxford University Press.
National Association of School Psychologists. (2009). Appropriate Academic Supports to Meet the Needs of All Students (Position Statement). Bethesda, MD: Author.
National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. (2016). Preventing Bullying Through Science, Policy, and Practice. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/23482.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (2019). What Is Bullying? https://www.stopbullying.gov/bullying/what-is-bullying