Bensonhurst school uses smart phones to combat bullies

April 6, 2015 By Paula Katinas Brooklyn Daily Eagle

Jeff Ervine, founder and president of Bridg-it, says the new anti-bullying program his company invented will help make students safer. Photo courtesy Bridg-it

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At David Boody Intermediate School, students and teachers are using smart phones for a lot more than just texting and checking emails.

Boody is one of a handful of schools using Bridg-it School, a new program aimed at reducing incidents of bullying with the help of technology.

Invented by a Manhattan-based company called Bridg-it, Bridg-it School is an online program that allows students, teachers, parents and administrators to securely file a confidential report in less than one minute from anywhere at anytime.

The program immediately alerts the appropriate stakeholders when a report is filed, and also provides educators with aggregated data about a school’s behavioral climate and trends in real time.

Bridg-it School has been used over the past year in a pilot program at schools in New York City.

Boody I.S., located at 228 Avenue S in Bensonhurst, is one of the schools that signed on to take part in the pilot program.

“The proliferation of smartphones and the use of social media has dramatically changed the face of bullying and how we need to address it,” Boody I.S. Principal Dominick D’Angelo said. “Bridg-it School is enabling us to handle harmful situations quickly and efficiently with a streamlined process. As a result, our students are more empowered and feel that they are being heard. Teachers feel confident that there is an easy-to-use and compliant process for addressing harmful behaviors in an effective manner.”

Bridg-it School contains a digital library with more than 150 pieces of content that users can access to gain information on combating bullying. Upon sign-in, Bridg-it School recognizes each user and presents resources for that individual.

“Reporting is just the first step in addressing harmful situations,” said Jeff Ervine, founder and president of Bridg-it. “With our approach, schools can ensure that all incidents are addressed appropriately and that everyone – from the student to the parent to the school faculty and administration – feels confident that there is a process that is secure, compliant and supportive.”

Bridg-it’s “Report, Review, Resolve” platform provides a way to address bullying and harmful behavior both on and off-line, according to company representatives.

Bridg-it is headquartered at 299 Park Ave.

Anti-bullying measures are vital to the safety of school children, according to Dorothy L. Espelage, Ph.D, who is a professor of Educational Psychology at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

“In a national sample of third to eighth graders, about 17 percent of students say they bully other kids on a regular basis,” she said.

For more information on Bridg-it and its products, visit www.bridgit.com.