islandpacket.com • beaufortgazette.com • Sunday, May 11, 2014 17A

Russel is doing better now. He says he has not been bullied once since transferring.

Perry feels fortunate that she recognized her son was being bullied, in light of the recent suicide of Celeste Wills.

Wills, 12, a sixth-grader at Robert Smalls Middle School, died April 30 of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound. Her friends believe she was bul-lied, which might have played a role in her death. Her parents, Dale and Clarissa Wills, agree but say they had no idea she was bullied or suicidal.

A DIFFICULT TASKOn its website, the Beaufort

County School District defines bullying as “unwanted, aggres-sive behavior that invokes a real or perceived threat or action. It is a behavior that is repeated or can be repeated by one in-dividual or many individuals. Long-lasting effects of bullying may cause lifelong problems for both the victim and the bully.”

The district has had anti-bul-lying programs for at least a de-cade, and the topic has received much discussion in recent years as a possible contributing fac-tor in a number of teen suicides and school shootings across the country.

Experts say it’s important for parents to know what to look for, to monitor their children’s online activity and to have open discussions about what’s hap-pening at their schools.

But bullying doesn’t end when classes end. Ubiquitous Wi-Fi, myriad social media and mo-bile devices like smartphones mean bullies can follow kids anywhere they go, even right into their bedrooms.

That makes it important — and difficult — for parents to be on the lookout for warning signs.

‘I DIDN’T FEEL SAFE’Perry said Russel became de-

pressed and didn’t want to go to school. He got mad at her for

BULLYINGContinued from 1A

WARNING SIGNS WHAT PARENTS SHOULD DO

If parents suspect their children are being bullied, officials suggest taking the following steps:

■ If the incident hap-pened at school, report it to school ad-ministrators.

■ If it happened out-side of school, par-ents are encouraged to talk to the parents of the perpetrator, or if they don’t feel com-fortable doing that, contact law enforce-ment.

■ After reporting a bullying incident, fol-low up in writing.

■ Keep an eye on what your children are doing, especially online. Have their passwords. Be vigilant in checking their posting on social media sites.

■ Take time to have the difficult conversations on the effects of bullying, in-cluding how it can contribute to depression and suicide.

Sources: Richard Lieberman, a school psychologist, consultant and expert with the National Association of School Psychologists; Lt. Alfredo Givens, who oversees all Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office school resource officers; Beaufort County School

District chief student services officer Gregory McCord

Here are some of the warning signs that a child might be bullied:

■ A de-cline in grades or loss of inter-est in school

■ Lost or de-stroyed clothing, books, electron-ics or jewelry

Sources: Lt. Alfredo Givens, who oversees all Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office school resource officers; and stopbullying.gov

A de-cline in grades or loss of inter-

school

■ Cutting class■ Frequent headaches or stomach aches; feeling sick or faking illness■ Changes in eating habits, such as sud-denly skipping meals or binge eating■ Difficulty sleeping or fre-quent night-mares■ Self-destruc-tive behav-iors, such as running away from home, harming themselves or talking about suicide

■ Feelings of helplessness or decreased self-esteem

■ Sudden loss of friends or avoid-ance of social situations

■ Unexplainable injuries

FIGHTING BULLYING

Please see STRUGGLE on 18A

“For about a month, I wouldn’t go to my own drama class because of being threatened,” he said. “I mean, drama is my thing. ... I didn’t feel safe in the school.”

Russel Perry started at Battery Creek in the ninth grade. By his junior year, he said he was beaten up once or twice a week. Someone picked on him every class period. Teachers often didn’t notice until he spoke up to defend himself, and then he got in trouble for yelling in response.

Submitted

Russel Perry stands with his mother

Sharon in a recent

photo.

forcing him to go.Russel, who has red hair, fair

skin and a thin build, says it all began in sixth grade when he lived in New Jersey.

“I was furious that it was hap-

pening in school,” Perry said. “He was little, and I thought they were going to keep him safe.”

The bullying continued into the eighth grade, so she knocked on doors around the neighbor-

hood.“ ‘Could you please ask the

kids to stop?’ ” Perry said she asked the parents. “ ‘I’m not ask-ing for your kid to be nice to my kid. Just leave him alone.’ ”

It helped a little, but most of the parents didn’t believe their children were bullying Russel.

When the family moved to Beaufort in 2011, Russel hoped things would change. But the

bullying worsened, he said.He started at Battery Creek

in the ninth grade. By his junior year, he said he was beaten up