Safe Schools and Bully Prevention
The need to address the issue of bullying is both relevant and urgent. According to The National Youth Violence Prevention Resource Center, almost 30% of US youth are involved in bullying, either as a victim or a perpetrator.
To compound the problem, the scope of the bullying issue has grown in complexity, as cyber bullying and girl vs. girl bullying have gained prominence.
View Safe Schools and Bully Prevention Resources.
Past Events:
8/3-8/5/11 Social Climate and Bully Prevention Institute - This 3-day program, a collaboration between the CENTER and the Hampden County's District Attorney's Office, covered the following topics: Cyberbullying, Supporting GLBTQ Students, the "New Milennium Adolescent", and Family Outreach Stratgies. The keynote speakers were Dr. Sameer Hinduja, Dr. Warren J. Blumenfeld, and Dr. Michael J. Bradley.
3/31/11 CONFERENCE - Setting Bully Prevention Policy - This conference addressed the following topics: (1) Aggressor and Target: A New Paradigm for Bullying in Schools, (2) Alternatives to Suspension: Reparation vs. Apology, and (3) Handling the Media. The keynote speaker was Dr. Elizabeth Englander, founder of the Massachusetts Aggression Reduction Center (MARC) at Bridgewater State University.
1/25/11 CONFERENCE - Current Topics in Bully Prevention: What Every School Needs to Know - Following the day long conference, there was a free public event on cyberbullying for parents and educators. This program was a collaboration among various partners, including the CENTER, faculty from the WSU Criminal Justice Department, faculty from the Florida Atlantic University Criminal Justice Department, the Cyberbullying Reasearch Center, the Department of Education, and Westfield Public Schools.