GLSEN Chicago, the Chicago chapter of the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network, in conjunction with more than 40 local and national partners, announces the second annual No Name-Calling Week.
From Jan. 24-28, schools serving grades 5 through 8 across the nation will take part in a week of education activities aimed at stopping name-calling and verbal bullying of all kinds.
'It is with great excitement that GLSEN Chicago announces its support of No Name-Calling Week,' said Richard Rykhus, executive director of GLSEN Chicago. 'At a time when the national spotlight has been cast upon the problem of bullying in our nation's schools, GLSEN Chicago is proud to be at the forefront of addressing these issues with local students.'
No Name-Calling Week has two goals:
— to focus attention on the problem of name-calling in schools and
— to provide students and educators with the tools and inspiration to continue an ongoing dialogue about ways to eliminate name-calling in their communities.
GLSEN has developed a resource guide for educators with lesson plans, a video for classroom use and other materials. Although the project is targeted at grades 5 through 8—years when the problem of name-calling is particularly acute—the concept can be easily adapted by students and educators at other grade levels.
Many local schools will be participating, including:
— Haines Elementary
— White Elementary
— Hearst Elementary
— Hawthorne Elementary
— Oak Park District 97 ( 10 schools )
If you would like to speak with someone at GLSEN Chicago or at a participating school, please contact Hilary Marsh, GLSEN Chicago PR chair, at ( 708 ) 217-3922.
No Name-Calling Week Partners include:
— Anti-Defamation League
— Chicago Communities in Schools
— Chicago Department of Public Health: Office of Violence Prevention
— Chicago Teachers Union
— Coalition for Education on Sexual Orientation
— Girl Scouts
— Girl's Best Friend Foundation
— Mental Health Association in Illinois
— Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays Chicago
— Quest Educational Programs
— Voices for Illinois Children
National No Name-Calling Week Partners:
— Advocates for Youth
— American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Comm.
— American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education
— American Counseling Association
— American School Counselor Association
— American School Health Association
— Amnesty International
— Anti-Defamation League
— Asian Pacific Islanders for Human Rights
— Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development
— Big Brothers Big Sisters of America
— Children's Defense Fund
— Council for Children with Behavioral Disorders
— Council of Chief State School Officers
— Educators for Social Responsibility
— Facing History and Ourselves
— Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network
— Girls Incorporated
— Girl Scouts of the USA
— Human Relations Media
— Human Rights Watch
— Mix It Up
— National Association for Gifted Children
— Nat'l Association for Multicultural Education
— Nat'l Association of Elementary School Principals
— National Association of School Nurses
— National Association of School Psychologists
— Nat'l Association of Secondary School Principals
— National Association of Social Workers
— Nat'l Conference for Community and Justice
— National Education Association
— National Mental Health Association
— National Middle School Association
— National Urban League
— New Moon Publishing
— Planned Parenthood Federation of America
— School Social Work Association of America
— Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing
— Simon Wiesenthal Center - Museum of Tolerance
— Skipping Stones, Inc.
— Women's Educational Media
— Women's Sports Foundation
