Empowering Stories from Team Up

empowering stories for educators

Tangled Ball

Problem

The challenge is to introduce very young students, starting with Pre-Schoolers and Kindergarteners, to the concept of respect, as well as to offer leadership opportunities for students in grades 5-8. Two important strings in the complicated tangled ball of bullying are 1.) Re-enforcing the basic messages of respect with students in middle school and, 2.) Introducing these messages in a fun and engaging way to children just entering school.

The Solution:

Offer a mentoring program where older students help teach younger students about respect and kindness. Giving students in grades 5-8 opportunities to step up for their younger partners is at the cornerstone of a new pilot program developed by the award-winning author of One, Kathryn Otoshi, and Tangled Ball. One Can Count was launched on January 25th at Staten Island's P.S. 5 with the help of New York State Senator Andrew Lanza who hopes to roll out the program to all Staten Island elementary schools in the 2013-2014 school year. The object of One Can Count is to promote leadership. Leadership is the anti-bully.

Awareity

The Bullying Challenge:

No matter how big or how small, all schools face the same challenges (student safety, bullying, student achievement, legal, compliance, accreditations, etc.), mounting obligations and budget limitations. In light of recent school tragedies and threats, Homer Community Schools was looking for a solution to help improve ongoing student safety and risk prevention.

The Solution:

Homer Community Schools implemented Awareity's TIPS, a secure and central risk management/prevention platform equipping all individuals with the right tools to do the right things and prevent harmful incidents. TIPS begins with anonymous (or non-anonymous) incident reporting of bullying, cyber bullying, weapons possession, drug/alcohol use, harassment or intimidation, school vandalism, physical assault, threats of violence, suicide risk, abuse or neglect and other concerning behaviors that can have a negative impact on the learning environment.

If someone has information about activities that may warrant concern for the safety of students, faculty or staff, the individual can simply access TIPS from the school's website and report the information. Next, proper personnel from Homer Community School are automatically notified and prevention efforts are securely tracked and documented to ensure accountability and legal defensibility, as well as ongoing monitoring of at-risk situations.

Results:

"TIPS will help our school become more aware of student safety incidents and concerning behaviors within the community. When a report comes in through TIPS, administration can immediately investigate the incident and take the necessary steps towards intervention and proactive responding. This new reporting system will help to create a safer and more secure environment for all students and staff at Homer Community School," said Leah Clark, School Psychologist. To learn more visit www.tipsprevent.com.

Hey U.G.L.Y.

The Bullying Challenge:

Two years ago Hey U.G.L.Y. began working with Jeralyn Cunningham, a mom whose daughter was being bullied. Jeralyn asked me to speak at a fund raiser she was planning to bring our programs to her area schools especially our I AM ENOUGH assembly presentation conducted by our national spokesperson, American Idol's Devyn Rush.

The fundraiser was set for Monday night, October 8th. The local newspaper ran a news article about the fundraiser on October 3 and a grandfather read it and called Jeralyn because he overheard his grandson arranging a suicide pact and he needed help. Jeralyn and her daughter met with the grandson and after two hours of talking, crying and connecting, the grandson called off the pact.

The Solution:

Jeralyn told me the story and I wondered what I could say at the event that could help any youth who might be feeling that level of deep pain understand that things will get better. In a light bulb moment the analogy of a sore throat arrived. I asked everyone if they had ever had a really bad sore throat. Of course everyone raised their hands. I asked them to recall how each time they swallowed they felt that awful pain and thought it would never go away...BUT IT DID. I respectfully made it clear that by no means did we want to diminish the pain one feels when they are suffering bullying and peer abuse by comparing it to a sore through. However, we hoped the example would help them know that the pain they are feeling from the bullying experience WILL go away.

I am happy to report that after I presented the grandson got up and said a few words about hanging in there. Plus, Devyn and Hey U.G.L.Y. donated an assembly presentation to a school in Jeralyn's area on November 1st. We had the grandson escort Devyn into the gymnasium and he was beaming. He is now a proud Hey U.G.L.Y. member and advocate.

For more info on this organization, visit www.heyugly.org

The Monique Burr Foundation: Speak Up, Be Safe program

The Bullying Challenge:

With the help of Childhelp and Arizona State University, the Monique Burr Foundation for Children, Inc. (MBF) has developed a national bullying and child abuse prevention program, Speak Up Be Safe^TM (SUBS) for 1st through 5th grade students. Currently, MBF is raising funds through events, grants and individual donations to provide SUBS at no cost to Florida public schools.

The Solution:

During October, MBF promoted Bullying Prevention Month in their marketing efforts by using social media to spread awareness about bullying prevention. MBF held a fundraising event, FISH-N-CHIPS Marina Casino in conjunction with the El Pescado Billfish Tournament. In addition, New York Life Child ID Program was at the event to give children ID cards at no cost. MBF also participated in Team Up To Stop Bullying initiative with Sears giving 15% back of purchases to bullying prevention organizations. MBF promoted this on their website, Facebook page and in their Newsletter, The Dash. MBF exhibited and presented at the National Prevent Child Abuse America Conference and participated in a third party event, Children's Safe Passage Golf Tournament.

For more info on this organization, visit moniqueburrfoundation.org

Bullying.org

The Bullying Challenge and Solution:

Bullying.org Is proud to announce that we have created an agreement with the international education organization Teachers Without Borders to educate teachers around the world about bullying and cyberbullying with our online course, "E101 An Introduction to Bullying for Educators" from www.bullyingcourse.com. Ref. http://teacherswithoutborders.org/about-us/news/twb/teachers-without-borders-partners-bullyingorg

For more info on this organization, visit bullying.org

The Protectors

The Bullying Challenge:

The Protectors is helping nearly 40,000 students and staff in the Irving Independent School District in Texas to reduce the problem of bullying district-wide, and in the process grow courage, character and leadership for life.

The Solution:

In partnership with the Dallas-based Just Say Yes organization, The Protectors provided multiple training sessions for counselors and related faculty to help implement proven solutions, such as anonymous reporting and how best to convert passive Bystanders into heroic Alongside Standers of Targets. Solutions included helping concerned faculty overcome the many myths that surround this intentional form of abuse, including the prevalent misconception that most bullies have low self-esteem.

Part of the comprehensive solution provided included the creation of the student-led, Protectors Freedom Council (PFC). This hand-picked group of student leaders will help implement The Protectors program throughout numerous schools, making them a kind of varsity team against bullying. Activities include surveying students to discover and break up bullying "hot spots," and helping to create student led anti-bullying pledges, among other actions that will make the entire district a safer and better place to learn and grow.

According to a Department of Health & Human Services 10-year landmark study, most anti-bullying programs do not last within a district or even a school. So the PFC was created as a solution to this prevalent weakness.

For more info on this organization, visit www.theprotectors.org

Yoursphere.com

The Bullying Challenge:

In recognition of Anti-Bullying Awareness Month in October, NBC-KCRA 3, Yoursphere.com, ConnecTV and the United States Attorneys' Office teamed up for a special multi-platform campaign to help parents, students and schools across the valley stand up to bullying. KCRA aired their one-hour special "Bully" on October 9, which explored the causes and consequences of bullying and how parents, students and educators are working together to more effectively stop the problem.

The Solution:

The youth-inspired message behind the "I Choose" Anti-Bullying Campaign acted as the overarching theme for KCRA's "Bully" special by encouraging viewers to recognize that bullying is a choice and that each of us has the power to choose friendship, kindness, compassion, respect or love instead. "I Choose" offers an anti-bullying program for educators in the form of a Classroom Challenge Starter Kit. These kits come with the materials necessary to incorporate the "I Choose" philosophy into their curriculum.

KCRA 3 has listed this program as a "Resource for Teachers" on the KCRA 3 website for any educator who would like to sign up.

Parents and students can visit www.kcra.com/bully for anti-bullying information, courtesy of Yoursphere for Parents. They can also share their bullying story and read others on www.whatdoyouchoose.org.

For more info on this organization, visit yoursphere.com

Stop-Bullies.com

The Bullying Challenge:

The struggle to end bullying throughout the world is one of the most difficult problems confronting our society as a whole. This destructive behavior reaches deep into the very culture of our people and exposes the contradictions therein. At Stop-Bullies.com, we understand this problem and that knowledge and connections with each other are the real solutions.

The Solution:

To that mission, Stop-Bullies.com has made concentrated efforts to connect with people throughout the world through their Stop-Bullies Home Page, Facebook Page, Book Page, and LinkedIn, and provide these people with the best bully prevention information available. Stop-Bullies.com is now in 20 different countries around the world and reaching thousands of people just like you. As an example of some of our activities this month, the November Issue of the Stop Bullies Newsletter features articles written by Dan Olweus, Devyn Rush, Elizabeeth Nassem, Sheri Riley, Caron Goode, Jill Zimmerman, Ilse Pauw, Elizabeth Miller, Chantal Wiebe, Daisy Sutherland, Marie Newman, and Megan Hunter. J Richard Knapp is presenting the webinar, "Why Some Bully Prevention Programs Fail". Remember, together - we will bring bullying to an end!

For more info on this organization, visit Stop-Bullies.com

Awareity

The Bullying Challenge:

The New Jersey Anti-Bullying Law is comprehensive and schools are struggling to meet requirements and ensure ongoing student safety and bullying prevention.

The Solution:

To comply with the Anti-Bullying Bill of Rights and improve and maintain student safety, Freehold Borough School District is launching an online risk management, incident reporting and prevention platform called TIPS (www.tipsprevent.com). Freehold implemented Awareity's TIPS platform to empower students, parents, staff and community members to confidentially and anonymously report concerning behaviors. TIPS ensures all incident reports and interventions are tracked, documented and responded to in a proactive manner. With TIPS, school administrators can access on-demand reporting to see if/when reports are made, when team members received and acknowledged each report, and what steps were taken to address the situation.

Results:

TIPS empowers individuals to report incidents involving bullying, cyberbullying, weapons, drugs/alcohol, vandalism, threats of violence, suicide risk, sexual harassment, abuse, truancy and more. "TIPS is helping our school administrators become more aware of student safety incidents and concerning behaviors within our schools. When a report comes in through TIPS, principals can immediately investigate the incident, confirm its validity and take the necessary steps towards intervention and response," said Michael D'anna, Anti-Bullying Coordinator.

For more info on this organization, visit tipsprevent.com

The BULLY Project and 1 Million Kids Movement

The nationally acclaimed documentary BULLY has built on its devoted audience and outreach to bring its message to school children who had not seen the movie while working towards achieving the goal of showing one million students this important film.

The Bullying Challenge:

The Bully Project sought to drastically change the conversation about bullying. First, they want to make everyone aware of a problem they may not understand or have chosen to ignore in the past.

The Solution:

The film BULLY provides its audience with a raw look into what it's really like to be a victim.

Results:

Their campaign has arranged for school children nationwide to see the film in hopes that they will react by feeling compelled to take a stand. Through the 1 Million Kids program in association with DonorsChoose.org, 100,000 students and their teachers have seen the film. This is the beginning of a powerful movement!

For more info on this organization, visit www.thebullyproject.com

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Stand for the Silent

The Bullying Challenge:

The Stand For The Silent (SFTS) program addresses the issue of school bullying with an engaging, factual and emotional methodology.

The Solution:

With the help of student leaders, Kirk Smalley presents his inspirational story to show students first-hand the life and death consequences of bullying. Through this unique approach, lives are changed for the better. Students, some for the first time, develop an empathetic awareness through education and understanding. The goal of the program is to start a SFTS chapter at each participating site. Each chapter consists of a group of students committed to change who will no longer stand for their peers' suffering at the hands of a bully.

Results:

Here are quotes from students and teachers who have attended Kirk Smalley's presentations:

Mr. Smalley,
I am an eighth grader. My name is Logan. You came to my school today in Illinois. I found your story very touching. I used your presentation as inspiration, and thought of this poem in my head in that gym. I hope you use this poem in any way you can, and I wish you the best of luck.
-Logan

Kirk.... I want to say thank you for coming to my school yesterday. You made myself and others at are school think about what they do before they do it. You are a very motivational man and a great father. You have made me stop calling the kids that aren't cooler then me nerds and started sticking up for them more often. I wanna say thanks for everything you did at my school!


-Robert

Dear Kirk and Laura,
Thank you so much for coming to our school and speaking to our freshman class. It was so moving and made such an impact that today is our first official meeting for the SFTS chapter. We also had students who took the initiative to make a flier with your information on it and went around town and put them up on telephone posts as well as students coming forward to me who is in charge of our anonymous bully box to speak out for students they are seeing bullied. Words cannot express what a difference you are making.


Thea I.
Language Arts and Drama Teacher

For more info on this organization, visit www.standforthesilent.org

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The Humanity Project: A Success Story of At-Risk Kids

The Bullying Challenge:

The Humanity Project's acclaimed Anti-bullying Through The Arts program was connecting with elementary school children effectively during our in-school presentations, but needed some additional tool for teachers to reinforce our main message. That message is simple: "Bullying hurts everyone in this school and it takes everyone to stop it!" However, we also felt that the new teaching tool should come from the minds of children themselves rather than from adults.

The Solution:

We teamed with two classrooms of at-risk kids from Olsen Middle School in Dania Beach, Florida during their summer session, guiding more than 50 pre-teens through the process of writing fictional stories for younger children about bullying. They also created rap poems and suggested classroom projects, all intended for teachers to use in class after the Humanity Project's Anti-bullying Through The Arts presentations. The students' primary writing coach was Humanity Project founder Bob Knotts, the author of 24 books, mostly for children. After weeks of hard work in sweltering Olsen classrooms, where the old a.c. system was not functioning fully, the middle school kids pulled together two powerful stories, several strong poems and a long list of creative class projects to reinforce the idea that, indeed, "Bullying hurts everyone in this school and it takes everyone to stop it!"

Results:

All the writings and other materials were compiled in one book called, "I Was A Bully, But I Stopped." The book received wide media attention at the local and national levels, including a feature article in Time Magazine For Kids, accompanied by requests for the book from around the country. In addition, each teacher now receives a free copy of the book at every school visited by the Humanity Project's Anti-bullying Through The Arts, providing follow-up materials that have greatly strengthened an already strong anti-bullying system.

For more info on this organization, visit www.thehumanityproject.com

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Olweus Bullying Prevention

Report shows students in Pennsylvania experienced a significant drop in bullying behavior across all grade levels after a statewide implementation of the Olweus Bullying Prevention Program.

The Bullying Challenge:

Thirteen percent of Pennsylvania school children are experiencing a safer, more responsive school climate through exposure to the Olweus Bullying Prevention Program (OBPP). These results are included in a report released by the Highmark Foundation Bullying Prevention: The Impact on Pennsylvania School Children. The study, funded by the Highmark Foundation represents the largest wide scale implementation of OBPP in the nation.

The data, compiled through student self-reports, indicates that the percentage of students who bully others two to three times per month or more decreased by 27 percent among elementary students, 35 percent among middle school students and 31 percent for high school students. Students' reports of being bullied two to three times per month or more also decreased.

Results:

The report findings also demonstrate that Pennsylvania school students are beginning to reach out to their peers in a more positive way. Findings show that the percentage of students who said they would "just watch" when someone is getting bullied decreased by 27 percent among elementary students, 17 percent among middle school students and 33 percent among high school students.

The Highmark Foundation has led this coalition of OBPP experts, educators and public health professionals to implement OBPP to the largest population of students to date.

A copy of this report can be found at http://www.highmarkfoundation.org/publications/12_7_2011_Revised_Bullying_Report.pdf and http://www.highmarkfoundation.org/publications/bullyingpreventionaddendum2011.pdf.

For more info on this organization, visit www.hazelden.org

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Bullying Academy

The Bullying Challenge:

A school in New York needed a program that could be implemented quickly and required minimal investment on the part of the already overburdened teachers. The Bullying Academy turned out to be the ideal solution for students who participated in the program during their allotted time in the computer lab. The technology coordinator who guided the students through the content needed almost no background or familiarity with the subject matter in order to aid her class in successfully earning their Bullying Academy diplomas. After completing the program it became apparent that many students failed to recognize their activity or interactions online as a form of bullying and as a result of this recognition incidents of bullying between students reduced significantly.

Results:

The Bullying Academy has had remarkable success in its first year of operation starting September of 2011 in providing a new service for 4th-8th grade educators regarding how to address anti-bullying education in the classroom. Family Life Academy Charter school located in Bronx, New York was one of 1,000 schools to register for the program, as the guidance counselor who implemented the program wanted to address and reduce the amount of cyberbullying occurring between students.

For more info on this organization, visit www.bullyingacademy.com

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