As an organization founded for the purpose of education, its board members, teachers and students are encouraged to, and do, set examples of good social practices including being respectful and inclusive of all cultures, religions, races, gender identities and political affiliations while participating in school-sponsored activities and in interactions with its members. As part of quality education practices, respectful and inclusive social interactions are expected.

Bullying is a particularly aggressive form of disrespect and shall be considered noncompliant with school expectations. Bullying is defined as:

“Bullying” (i.e., abusive conduct) is offensive, intimidating, malicious or insulting behavior involving the misuse of power that would make a reasonable person feel vulnerable, upset, humiliated, undermined or threatened. “Power” does not always mean being in a position of authority, but can include both personal strength and the power to coerce through fear or intimidation. Bullying can be physical, verbal and non-verbal conduct.
Examples of potential bullying / abusive conduct:
a. Shouting at, being sarcastic towards, ridiculing or demeaning others
b. Physical or psychological threats
c. Acts of physical or psychological violence
d. Creation of arbitrary standards for one person, imposing unrealistic demands, micromanaging work or using supervision to intimidate a person
e. Inappropriate, exaggerated or untrue derogatory remarks about someone’s performance, particularly in front of others
f. Sabotage of work
g. Abuse of authority or power by those in positions of seniority
h. Deliberately excluding someone from meetings or communications without good reason, or encouraging others to do so
i. Stealing credit for another’s work