Sonya Heisters, YouthTruth’s director of partnerships and outreach, first observed the rise in bullying in Quincy, Washington. When the team at Quincy Junior High got their student feedback back in the winter of 2018, they saw a surprising increase in the rate of bullying at their school between the 2016-17 and 2017-18 academic years. Heisters and the YouthTruth team realized school leaders across the country were grappling with similar findings.
YouthTruth’s report “Learning from Student Voice: Bullying Today” draws on responses from over 160,000 secondary students in 27 states and shows bullying has been on the rise for the past three years. Findings also reveal:
- Majority white schools have higher rates of bullying.
- In majority white schools, students of color experienced a steeper increase in bullying than white students last year.
- Middle school students experience higher rates of bullying than high school students.
Read more about how this data relates to national conversations about bullying in The 74 Million.