Stories
Current Category: Schools Taking Action
NLE Explorers Tweet to Prevent Bullying
Posted: 5/20/2019
Students at Newton-Lee Elementary School took a unique approach to bullying prevention by sharing their questions, ideas, and advice about bullying on Twitter. This Twitter Chat encouraged students to support one another as they work to make their school a more accepting and inclusive environment. Check out what the NLE Explorers have to say!
Permalink for NLE Explorers Tweet to Prevent Bullying
Together Against Bullying
Posted: 5/1/2019
On October 21, 2015, Sequoia Charter School's students and staff members donned their brightly colored orange attire to send a united message of hope, support, and unity against bullying on Unity Day. Sequoia joined schools and communities across the country to support the theme, "Together against bullying - united for kindness, acceptance, and inclusion," as students and staff participated in events designed to educate, inspire, and involve students to prevent bullying and help create a positive and safe school environment.
The day began with a presentation from the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department Stop Hate and Respect Everyone Tolerance (SHARE) program. Deputy Chatman spoke to an attentive and engaged audience of students about prejudice, respect for individual differences, and tolerance of others. Students actively discussed their role in promoting harmony among individuals from diverse backgrounds in an effort to combat hate crimes and encourage positive leadership roles among campus youth.
The day continued with Project Connect in which students participated in creating a campus-wide chain of links to show their united commitment to stop bullying. In addition, students celebrated their friendships and support for those needing encouragement through written positive affirmations posted to the Unity Day "Positivity Wall." The color orange pervaded the Sequoia campus on t-shirts, nail polish, bracelets, and face paint -- one large orange message of unity against bullying. "Today was a uniquely powerful day for our campus as our students and staff united to demonstrate that bullying is a topic of relevance and can be addressed through awareness, acceptance, friendship, and our shared voice," Shazia Shah, School Psychologist. good example. Bullying is not a rite of passage!”
Permalink for Together Against Bullying
Unity Day Efforts in Belle Fourche, SD
Posted: 4/30/2019
“The Unity Day effort in Belle Fourche, SD was led by our bus drivers. In addition many community members supported the program by donating time and money. Belle Fourche High School National Honor Society students taught Unity Day lessons to elementary students. Teachers, paraprofessionals, office support staff, and janitors were very supportive of Unity Day in a wide variety of ways including scheduling, making sure they all wore orange, and other special efforts. This whole-hearted support for Unity Day made it a day to remember for our students.
Unity Day impacted students and staff by helping us understand what bullying is and how we all play a part in preventing it. Students can prevent bullying through how they treat others, reporting bullying, and standing up for each other. Staff can prevent bullying by teaching social skills, investigating and responding to all reports of bullying, and setting a good example. Bullying is not a rite of passage!”
Permalink for Unity Day Efforts in Belle Fourche, SD
United in Spokane
Posted: 4/20/2019
Spokane Public Schools are together against bullying – united for kindness, acceptance and inclusion! This short video shows how Spokane schools went ORANGE for Unity Day!
Permalink for United in Spokane
We Lead By Example
Posted: 4/15/2019
The Tae Kwon Do Ramblers Bullying Busters, a group of martial arts students and their parents and local area participants, led down the sidewalks by Bladensburg Mayor Walter James and accompanied by Bladensburg police, braved the cold, misty rain and marched from the Bladensburg Community Center down a main road leading into Washington, DC, and back to the center. They carried signs and chanted and were greeted by honking shows of support from passing motorists. The day culminated in a stirring rally at the center's gym and made for a very successful first annual Walk and Rally for National Bullying Prevention Month. At the rally, Grandmaster Dr. Clifford L. Thomas' students performed skits to demonstrate ways to address bullying encounters. Maryland Senators Joanne C. Benson and Victor Ramirez; Prince George's County Delegate Jimmy Tarlau; Bladensburg Council Members Trina Brown, Walter Ficklin, and Beverly Hall; local and regional activist Malcolm Augustine; and adult bullying prevention activist Novella Matthews spoke at the rally and made it clear that this community actively cares and acknowledges the work that needs to be done to mitigate bullying behavior. We Lead By Example, Inc./Tae Kwon Do Ramblers Self-Defense Systems is a leader in bullying prevention and supports efforts against bullying throughout the year.
Permalink for We Lead By Example
#iCANHELP
Posted: 4/10/2019
Excelsior Middle School leadership teacher Kim Karr co-founded a program called #iCANHELP after being inspired by a student concerned about a fake and damaging Facebook page about a local teacher. Kim realized that students wanted to do something about the bullying and negativity on social media sites, they just needed the right tools to respond. The #iCANHELP message is clear- one person has the power to make a difference and delete negativity online and in his or her life.
Excelsior Middle School students have embraced this message and put it into action. They have been instrumental in getting many fake, damaging sites taken down simply by respectfully commenting, reporting the site, and using positive words to combat the negativity. They helped to make sure the victim knows he or she is not alone. EMS students have also changed how they interact online and made a conscious decision to do their part to make social media a more positive place to be. The movement at EMS has inspired hundreds of schools across the nation to also implement #iCANHELP. Students travel to help spread this amazing message through assemblies and leadership trainings.
Tell Me
Posted: 4/5/2019
Students enrolled in a therapeutic support program in New York were concerned about bullying, and wanted to do something to prevent it. Along with their teachers, they came up with the idea of creating a video that would share their stories and empower others. The theme of the video is “Tell Me” – as in tell a teacher, parent, administrator, or coach when you are being bullied or witness bullying. The creators of the video want all students to feel safe and supported in their school, and this video lets them know that they are not alone.
Bullying Prevention Around the World
Posted: 3/25/2019
At Wako International High School in Saitama, Japan, 240 students recently completed a project to examine what they identified as the most pressing social issues facing Japanese youth today. One of these issues was bullying, and the students researched the issue, interviewed experts, and created websites to promote awareness and education. Their teachers, Die Hu, Alana Schramm, and Rebecca Quin designed the project after reading about a student in South Japan who committed suicide after being severely bullied. She wanted her students to work on their English skills in an interesting and meaningful way and to engage with an issue that mattered to them. Die Hu writes, “The project name "Be the change" aims to empower students to be the ones who initiate impact and influences in their environments. And by creating the websites, they ARE being the change by raising awareness of the issues. Which was why it was important for the students to see that real organizations in the real world are supporting their work.” Many teachers contributed to this project, including Mr. Takishima, Mr. Mizoe, Ms. Shinto, Ms. Kinoshita, Mr. Asami, Ms. Koshino, and Ms. Kokubun.
Before completing the project, many students said that they had never really thought about the seriousness of bullying. But this project gave them the opportunity to learn more about the issue and to develop empathy for the students who bully others as well as the targets. One student wrote, "I have been bullied when I was an elementary school student. So I think I know feeling of the people who are bullied. Bullying is very painful, and gives us loneliness. People that are bullied are looking for help."
Thank you to the Wako International High School for sharing your project with us. Bullying is an important issue around the world, and we appreciate the opportunity to engage with champions across the globe.
You can see the websites created by students here.
Permalink for Bullying Prevention Around the World
Harmony Day
Posted: 3/20/2019
As part of their annual Harmony Day, students of Central Okanagan School District in British Columbia, Canada, created a video to remind their community to be mindful of the effect their actions have on others. The video calls on viewers to “rewind” racism, bullying, and hate and to “fast forward” acceptance, kindness, and love.
Every year, Harmony Day encourages the community of Central Okanaga to celebrate their culturally diverse society and renew their commitment to mutual respect and acceptance. Find out more about Harmony Day here: http://www.harmonyday.ca/.
The Fletcher School Unites
Posted: 3/15/2019
The Fletcher School in Charlotte, NC, celebrated Unity Day for the first time this year! Lessons on bullying have been a standard part of the social skills curriculum offered by the K-5 school counselor, but students, teachers and administrators were encouraged to wear orange in honor of Unity Day and bracelets were distributed for all to wear. The message was “Stand up to bullying!” Emphasis was placed on standing up to bullying rather than standing by and doing nothing.
Permalink for The Fletcher School Unites
Send Us Your Story or Video
Submit a video, story, poem, artwork, or audio clip expressing how you feel about bullying, how you think it affects students and schools, what you have done to prevent bullying, or what others can do to prevent bullying.
