http://www.community-matters.org/blog/ en geo@community-matters.org Copyright 2010 2010-07-21T17:18:55+00:00 http://www.community-matters.org/blog/fifth_grader_takes_action_against_bullying/ http://www.community-matters.org/blog/fifth_grader_takes_action_against_bullying/#When:16:18:55Z By Nancy Doherty, Outreach Coordinator Ziainey Stokes, a young student from West Philadelphia certainly provides timely evidence that schools are in critical need of programs such as Safe School Ambassadors to prevent violence and bullying in schools. http://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local-beat/5th-Grader-Gets-Obamas-Support-Against-Bullying-98797139.html?yhp=1 Ziainey Stokes’ experience serves as an example of the precarious and dangerous social environment found in many schools today, even at the elementary level. She reports being the victim of harassment and abuse at two schools.  From her point of view, bullying at school appears to be tolerated by students and staff.  She wrote, “people don’t care.”  This article caught my attention for two reasons.  First, it provides an unfortunate example of how schools are often unable to create an environment where students can focus on their education. Victims of harassment and bullying spend more time worrying about what will happen to them on the playground or lunchroom rather than the lessons of the day.  Second, and perhaps more importantly, Ziainey’s story shows that students do reach out for help from the adults in their community.  She is looking for assistance from anyone who will listen and her persistence paid off.  Rather than enduring the harassment passively, Ziainey took action.  She wrote a letter to President Obama.  Out of the countless letters from students across the county, Ziainey’s letter caught his attention. In his response to her, President Obama underscores the importance of a safe school culture when he wrote, “You deserve a safe, engaging and enjoyable classroom, and together we will strive to make this a reality.” Ziainey took President Obama’s words to heart and started her own organization that she calls “No Kid Should Be Bullied.”  Ziainey’s goal is to help other kids feel accepted at school.  Ziainey believes people do not care but here she is mistaken.  The Safe School Ambassadors program provides students and staff with the strategies and tools they need to improve the environment at their school.  This program puts students in a position to take effective action at their school.  Safe School Ambassadors use these tools and support to create a school where everyone can feel secure.  Just like Ziainey, all of us can take action to improve our school community.  Ziainey chose to write to President Obama.  We can be that supportive adult for a student as well.  By writing letters or talking with the school staff, from the teachers to the school board, we let them know how much we value safe schools for our children.  Let’s put our values to work for our youngest citizens.  A great place to start is right here on the Community Matters website. We have a long track record of success with training students and staff across the country to prevent bullying and improve school environments. You’ll find different ways of getting involved from using our survey to assess school climate to purchasing our book.  Please forward our information to school administrators or community members who value cooperation over conflict and peace over discord. 2010-07-21T16:18:55+00:00 http://www.community-matters.org/blog/cm_executive_director_delivers_keynote_address_at_bullying_prevention_confe/ http://www.community-matters.org/blog/cm_executive_director_delivers_keynote_address_at_bullying_prevention_confe/#When:19:18:20Z by Jennifer O’Donnell, Senior Program and Media Coordinator In the wake of the suicide of Phoebe Prince and the new anti-bullying legislation it sparked, the Massachusetts Coalition of School-based Health Centers sponsored a conference focused on presenting solutions to the problem of bullying.  The conference, held June 8, included nearly 400 community-based organizations, educators, health professional, parents, and policy makers. As the Keynote Speaker, Community Matters Executive Director, Rick Phillips, shared with the audience that building a safer school climate is a complex process that requires a balance between attending to security as well as relationships. Too often schools have disproportionately focused on school safety from the “outside-in,” which focuses on security, is adult-driven and relies on rules and policies. Rick instead presented a complementary “inside-out” approach, which harnesses the power that students have to change things from within and puts them at the center of the solution. Following Rick’s presentation and the various bullying and violence prevention conference workshops and panels, audience members were asked to write down one personal and professional action that they would take to be the change that they wish to see in the world.  Click here if you would like to download a power point from the Keynote presentation. 2010-06-15T19:18:20+00:00 http://www.community-matters.org/blog/the_cost_and_benefits_of_caring_in_spite_of_bullying_and_violent_trauma/ http://www.community-matters.org/blog/the_cost_and_benefits_of_caring_in_spite_of_bullying_and_violent_trauma/#When:18:54:06Z by Annette Schyadre, SSA Trainer When schools tap into the power of the students and take time to show that they care, especially students affected by trauma, students become empowered.  Taking the time to understand and simply listening to students can give them hope and liberate them from anxiousness and the sense of worthlessness. When students come to school, they bring those traumas with them and these traumatic experiences can affect school performance. Students’ behaviors can fatigue teachers and the entire school staff. It is not only the children bringing their traumas, but adults have their own stresses and conflicts as well. Thus, the drama of the “cost of caring” for others is played out. With teachers and staff becoming fatigued and apathetic, it will affect their level of patience, compassion and creativity. The personal and professional consequences will be compassion fatigue and burnout. With the children watching, the role modeling of adults become a reflection of the compounded traumas of both the adults and the students. I propose that those in the helping professions have self-care plans that are integrated into their daily lives. Programs must be implemented that support consistent classroom management practices, respectful and caring adult interactions, and motivate teachers and staff members to foster connections with the students. Last week in Chicago, I facilitated the Safe School Ambassadors Program training with a selected number of students and teachers and staff.  The two days together gave them the hope and the vision of a new way of being. In the training, they were able to revel in a climate conducive to truth, trust, sharing, community, and character-building, support, and compassion. It was a celebration of each voice and self-realization, coupled with acquiring the skills to speak up safely and effectively. After the training, the students and adults returned to their school environment, and one adult expressed, “There was a glow with the greetings and hugs,” amongst those who had the opportunity to be a part of the Safe School Ambassador Training. Adults in the training acknowledged that much of what is present in the day-to-day school environment is hard even for them to deal with. That said, it is that much more important for them to learn some strategies for responding in healthy and effective ways when challenges with others are presented. The art of respectful and effective communication takes consistency, patience and much practice.  And that’s one of the outcomes of the Safe School Ambassadors Program!   2010-05-24T18:54:06+00:00 http://www.community-matters.org/blog/bullying_stress_and_health_a_crisis_in_the_making/ http://www.community-matters.org/blog/bullying_stress_and_health_a_crisis_in_the_making/#When:17:02:03Z by Dr. Sally Ember, Outreach Director There is now so much evidence, based on research of current bullies, targets and bystanders, as well as research studies that have followed children into adulthood, or checked in with adults now in their 50’s or 60’s who said they had been bullied or been a bully as a child. I realized it was best just to let the studies speak for themselves…. Here are some facts we have collected (and there are hundreds more) about the short- and long-term effects of bullying: 1.  “Studies of bullying suggest that there are short- and long-term consequences for both the perpetrators and victims of bullying.” 2. “Students who are chronic victims of bullying experience more physical and psychological problems than their peers who are not harassed by other children and they tend not to grow out of the role of victim.” 3. “…[V]ictims of bullying in early grades also reported being bullied several years later.”. 4. “…[C]hronically-victimized students may as adults be at increased risk for depression, poor self-esteem, and other mental health problems, including schizophrenia.” 5. “It is not only victims who are at risk for short- and long-term problems; bullies also are at increased risk for negative outcomes.” 6. “…[E]lementary students who were bullies attended school less frequently and were more likely to drop out than other students. “ 7. “…[B]ullying in early childhood may be a critical risk factor for the development of future problems with violence and delinquency.” 8. “…[B]ullies were several times more likely than their nonbullying peers to commit antisocial acts, including vandalism, fighting, theft, drunkenness, and truancy, and to have an arrest by young adulthood.” 9. “Aggressive behavior at the age of 8 was a powerful predictor of criminality and violent behavior at the age of 30.” #1 – 9, from: http://www.ojjdp.ncjrs.gov/jjbulletin/9804/bullying2.html 10.  “Victims of chronic childhood bullying are more likely to develop depression or think about suicide as adults compared with those who weren’t bullied, while former bullies are more likely to be convicted of criminal charges.” 11. “Recognizing such long-term consequences, the American Academy of Pediatrics recently revised its policy statement about preventing youth violence to include information about how to identify and help children who are being bullied.” #10 – 11, from: http://www.health.harvard.edu/press_releases/school-bullying-has-long-lasting-effects 12. “The injury to health caused by prolonged negative stress include: fatigue, anxiety, depression, immune system suppression, Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), aches, pains (fibromyalgia), numbness and panic attacks.” 13. “…[T]he symptoms of being bullied are congruent with those of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).” 14. “With bullying, the injury is caused by an accumulation of small events rather than one major event.” 15. “The related diagnosis of Prolonged Duress Stress Disorder (PDSD, which is PTSD over time) may be more appropriate….PDSD, or Complex PTSD, as it is now becoming known, is a more appropriate diagnosis for people who experience distressing events every day…as well as those in abuse situations.” 16. “How many…suicides are caused by bullying [in adults or youth]? Consider the following: bullying…causes…prolonged negative stress…which includes…reactive depression …which results in…fluctuating baseline of one’s objectivity…which leads to… contemplated suicide ...culminating in…attempted suicide …which may end in… suicide (or murder/suicide).” 17. “It’s likely that many suicides are the result of bullying, but the target’s lack of awareness of what is going on, their unwillingness to confide what is happening, the traumatization, and the inability to articulate, everyone else’s denial, the bully’s accomplished lying and Jekyll and Hyde nature, plus the general lack of knowledge and awareness of society, prevent the real cause from being identified.” #12 – 17, from: http://www.bullyonline.org/stress/health.htm 18. “Bullied kids are more prone to feelings of loneliness, depression and low self-esteem, as well as physical ills, like headaches, abdominal pain, nausea, and recurrent upper respiratory infections and sore throats.” 19.” [Many of those who were bullied] are left with scars — in terms of poorer mental and physical health — that can last a lifetime.” #18 – 19, from: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/35020704/ns/health-kids_and_parenting/ We are living in a time in which researchers and experience have also informed us as to what can prevent, reduce and even stop bullying: engaging, equipping, and empowering the bystanders (who are also adversely affected, as witnesses to bullying) to intervene, to change the social norms that condoned bullying into norms that do not condone bullying.  When the social leaders, and then the majority of the youth in a school or community are able and willing to stand up, speak up, refuse to accept these behaviors, the bullies will have no audience, the targets will have support and protection, and the bullying will cease. Across the continent, we see evidence of this in the hundreds of schools that have implemented the Safe School Ambassadors program since 2000. It’s time for every school (and there are over 86,000) to see youth as the powerful contributors and peacemakers they can be.    2010-05-17T17:02:03+00:00 http://www.community-matters.org/blog/chicago_public_schools_violence_and_death_or_peacemakers_prevail/ http://www.community-matters.org/blog/chicago_public_schools_violence_and_death_or_peacemakers_prevail/#When:21:28:17Z by Rick Phillips, Executive Director In September 2009, 16 year-old Derrion Albert, was viciously beaten to death on his way to school by three other teenage boys. The escalating violence in Chicago Public Schools captured the attention of the nation, particularly Secretary of Education Arne Duncan who was the Chief Executive Officer of Chicago Public Schools prior to his cabinet appointment by President Barack Obama, who is also from Chicago. Like many urban areas, Chicago faces many challenges. The turf wars in various neighborhoods, the gang activity among youth, and the lack of resources for safe schools has compounded the obstacles facing school administrators and teachers. Thanks to $30 million in federal stimulus money, the Chicago Public Schools “Culture of Calm Initiative” intends to build and implement a comprehensive, anti-violence plan. Chicago Public School officials state that the goal here is to reduce the likelihood that at-risk students will engage in, or become victims of, violence; and to create a safe, secure and supportive environment for students to improve attendance and excel academically. Requests for proposals have gone out to community organizations to develop a Safe Passage program and to create a Culture of Calm program at 38 high schools that have experienced high incidents of violence.  The intention is clear: invest in the young people to become peacemakers.  It is an objective that is in sync with the mission of Community Matters—to collaborate with schools and communities to engage, equip and empower young people to become change agents and peacemakers. Community Matters has been contracted by Chicago Public Schools to launch the Safe School Ambassadors Program in 14 high schools in their Area 23 during the month of May.  It is hoped that the Program will be expanded to more Chicago schools next fall so that more student peacemakers will be engaged, equipped, and empowered to use nonviolent communication skills to prevent and stop bullying and violence among their peers. It is a clear choice between allowing the violence to escalate or having students involved with changing the culture on their campuses.  Community Matters advocates for the choice for peace. 2010-05-10T21:28:17+00:00 http://www.community-matters.org/blog/cancel_out_the_effects_of_mean_girls_with_support/ http://www.community-matters.org/blog/cancel_out_the_effects_of_mean_girls_with_support/#When:19:06:58Z by Helen Perdue, SSA Trainer As a secondary school teacher, and a Trainer for the Safe School Ambassadors Program here at Community Matters, I have heard hundreds of “mean girl” stories. The horrifying story of Phoebe Prince’s suicide brought national attention, again, to the deadly impact of bullying. Phoebe was the new girl in town, a 15-year-old who had recently moved with her family from Ireland to Massachusetts. Because she was perceived as favored, as popular, she became a threat to some, and then was made the target of cruel treatment by her peers, mostly by a few girls. She was harassed, stalked, and egged, enduring “a nearly 3-month campaign of verbally assaultive behavior and threats of physical harm,” but then, on January 14, she killed herself. (http://www.cnn.com/2010/CRIME/04/06/massachusetts.bullying.suicide/index.html). The media response raised the likely questions: How could this have happened? Why didn’t anyone do anything to stop it? Who is to blame? How can this be prevented from happening again? In search of answers, many of us reflect back on our own memories of the “mean girls” in school. Many of us have our own stories, as I do. In 7th grade, I was the target of the “mean girls.” As the new girl in town, I wanted to be liked by everyone—the “cool” kids, the “nerds,” the teachers—everyone. At first, this seemed to work. But shortly after I received some extra attention and awards from the school staff and was perceived as the new “teachers’ pet,” in the middle of 7th grade, a group of “mean girls” decided I was their new target. They snarled, snickered, stared, and glared. They talked behind my back, they yelled slurs as I walked by. They were relentless, but it was just a few girls. Then, it got a lot worse, fast. In what seemed like overnight, they started the “I HATE HELEN CLUB.” By March, most of the 7th-grade kids were members.  In order to belong, members had to sign an agreement to follow a list of ever-worsening “rules,” which changed weekly. For example: “Throw food at Helen when she walks into the lunchroom; Make sure Helen sits alone.” What hurt most was that my two closest friends had succumbed to the pressure of the “mean girls” and joined the club, throwing food and refusing to sit with me. I dodged food daily and sat down to eat my lunch alone. But, even more than who hurt me most, I remember the few who stood by me during that terrible time and helped me to survive it. To me, they were heroes, but, really, they were just regular people: Dominic, the boy who sat next to me in English class, chose me for his partner when no one else would; Mr. Van Wart, my social studies teacher, let me eat lunch with him in his room instead of making me face the lunchroom; a few students in the other grades who would talk to me after school, as I anxiously waited for my mom to pick me up. And of course, I remember my mom. She would listen to me cry all the way home, almost every day, during those months. She would tell me she loved me and ask if there was anything she could do.  I wailed: “Please, take me out of this school!!!”  And, she heard me. At the end of that school year, she transferred me to a new school. In 8th grade, I made lots of new, nicer, friends. It seemed like a miracle. I was able to move on. But I was forever affected by that 7th-grade experience. I told myself that I never, ever, wanted to see that happen to anyone else. Partly because of that promise, I work for Community Matters, a nonprofit organization that trains and empowers young people through the Safe School Ambassadors Program to intervene effectively when they notice mistreatment among their peers. One of the intervention strategies that we teach young people is called Supporting. Supporting is a simple, but VERY powerful act: show someone that you care. Anyone can support the target of the “mean girls” or any other bullies.  You can sit next to her, you can talk to her, and you can listen to what she has to say. Just by doing these small acts of kindness, you can make all the difference in the world. You can help her cope, and perhaps, save her life. Thank you, Dominic. Thank you, Mr. Van Wart. Thank you, Mom.  Thank you, all those youth and adults who support those who need it. And, I beg all of you: search out those girls (or boys) who are being harassed, bullied, excluded, defamed, and SUPPORT them. You will change, and maybe save, many lives.   2010-05-03T19:06:58+00:00 http://www.community-matters.org/blog/bullying_will_not_be_tolerated/ http://www.community-matters.org/blog/bullying_will_not_be_tolerated/#When:20:24:57Z by Donny Giovannini, sophomore, Stanford University Montgomery High (Santa Rosa, CA), Safe School Ambassador Alum 2007 When I think about what makes a program like Safe School Ambassadors so great, I think about self-responsibility.  SSA makes students take ownership of their actions and their community.  In middle school and high school I saw a fair amount of bullying.  In the old system of discipline there was an inherent friction between the enforcers and the students.  When I joined SSA, the leaders of the program told us, “This is your school, and bullying is something that will not be tolerated.  We can give you the tools to help the problem, but you are going to have to put those tools to good use.”  I looked at my school in a different light after becoming a part of SSA.  I banded together with students from all different backgrounds and took a genuine ownership of my school.  By influencing the root of the problem, we were preventing potentially violent and hurtful confrontations from ever happening.  I could feel a shift in atmosphere of the school.  Instead of worrying about external influences on behavior like getting caught and punishments, students were starting to put themselves in others’ shoes and appreciate what they were feeling.  I started to notice and interact with kids that were never even on my radar before.  When I got to college the lessons of SSA still resonated.  During the fall of my freshman year I started a social experiment that tested my political science professor’s stance that people are naturally competitive when it comes to available resources.  I thought about how everyone locks their bike whenever they park it anywhere.  While a lock may be an effective means of keeping possession of your bike, in some ways it assumes what my professor assumes— that given the opportunity people will take it.  So, I decided to take my lock off of my bike for an entire quarter and replace it with a sign that read, “If this bike is stolen, $450 will not be donated to the St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital.” So like the SSA program, I focused not on external means of safety like bike locks (or in the case of schools — metal detectors, cameras and police), but rather on the morality of the issue at hand.  Forcing a potential bike thief to stop and think about the consequences of his/her actions might make them reconsider stealing all bikes. The results of the experiment?  Despite consistently parking my bicycle in a part of the quad known for thefts, my bike was never stolen and at the end of the quarter I donated the $450 I had raised to the St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital.  I can truly say that SSA changed my perspective on communities and reminded me that empowering people to make the right choice pays off for society in the end. 2010-04-26T20:24:57+00:00 http://www.community-matters.org/blog/cyberbullying_digital_bullying/ http://www.community-matters.org/blog/cyberbullying_digital_bullying/#When:17:57:44Z by Kathy Fong, Associate Director It’s fast, it’s perceived as anonymous, it’s viral and it can be crueler than a physical blow. I’m referring to the cyberbullying that is occurring on MySpace, Facebook and cell phones and growing exponentially.  If it seems like every child in your neighborhood has a cell phone, it’s probably not far from the truth. The Pew Research Center, in December 2009, published the findings of their Internet & American Life initiative on Teens and Sexting. The numbers of children equipped with cell phones is astounding: “In Pew Internet’s 2004 survey of teens, 18% of teens age 12 owned a cell phone. In 2009, 58% of 12 year-olds own a cell phone. [Pew] also … found that cell phone ownership increases dramatically with age: 83% of teens age 17 now own a cell phone, up from 64% in 2004.” Source: http://www.pewinternet.org/~/media/Files/Reports/2009/PIP_Teens_and_Sexting.pdf In 1981, when Bell Systems/AT&T created the tagline, “reach out and touch someone,” they probably had no idea that the cell phone would become an instrument that in the hands of bullies could reach out and hurt someone. It’s not surprising to learn that the investigation into the “bullycide” death of 15-year-old Phoebe Prince has alleged that her tormentors used cell phone text messages to hound and humiliate her.  Like any instrument that can be used as a weapon, the cell phone has to be used responsibly with the knowledge and understanding of the pain it can inflict.  Children, young people, even adults need to think of the impact that abbreviated texts can have on the psyche of the recipients.  Learning to understand how it feels to be the target of bullying and learning empathy is key in the training of Safe School Ambassadors.  By sharing the emotion and pain of receiving mean messages, young people can help their peers acknowledge the cruelty of cyberbullying.  Contrary to the children’s chant, “sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me,” we all know that words do hurt.   2010-04-19T17:57:44+00:00 http://www.community-matters.org/blog/being_rfp_ready_for_bullying_prevention_funding/ http://www.community-matters.org/blog/being_rfp_ready_for_bullying_prevention_funding/#When:18:56:49Z by Sally Ember, Ed.D., Outreach Director Applying for U.S. Department of Education funding by developing winning projects and proposals is a more challenging task in 2010 than before. For example, Safe and Drug-Free Schools & Communities (Title IV) has become competitive instead of automatic (based on applications rather than attendance), and many schools will be unable to access needed funding for bullying- and violence- and other prevention programs, staff and services.  The “Investing In Innovation” (i3), Race To The Top, and other grants are massive, and difficult to be eligible for, while competition is quite stiff. It’s important for all school funding-seekers to keep the fundamental rationale clear: recognize the importance of improving school climate and connectedness in order to focus on the most-funded purposes: A. turning around Low-Achieving/Low Performing Schools (LAS), and B. serving high-need students. Each school or LEA needs to develop a team of community partners and learn how to be ready quickly for violence-prevention RFPs. That’s the only way to develop the best projects and proposals for current and upcoming federal Dept. of Education funding and many state and private funding sources for 2010-11 and beyond. We’d like to help schools learn strategies for - project development, - proposal preparation, and - identifying and selecting the best working team, so that fund-seekers can develop proposals that show: - your strong collaborations between public and private sector partners - evidence- and research-based logic models and best-practices - independent and in-house evaluation methods - appropriate cash and in-kind funding matches. In this era when school funding for improving school climate is harder to acquire, more seekers are competing for fewer resources, and the eligibility guidelines are more restrictive, it’s important to find the best collaborators to be on your team and increase your chances of success. Choose well, and good luck!  For more information, attend our free, one-hour webinar on Wednesday, April 14, 2010, noon PDT, or listen to the recording on our website later in April. Click here to register for the webinar and improve your chances of acquiring funding for 2010-11! 2010-04-07T18:56:49+00:00 http://www.community-matters.org/blog/schools_face_lawsuits_liability_for_bullying/ http://www.community-matters.org/blog/schools_face_lawsuits_liability_for_bullying/#When:16:22:49Z by Kathy Fong, M.A., Associate Director “Those kids picked on me again.”  What do parents do when they hear these or similar words from their child?  Beyond the visceral reaction of wanting to protect their child, the angst of many parents drives them to try to find ways to get help. Many parents turn to the schools to resolve the conflicts or at least implement safeguards to minimize or prevent the bullying.  For the most part, schools want to intervene effectively, but often are reluctant or not sure how to create safe school environments. However, when the reported incidents of bullying go unheeded and the targeted children and anguished parents see no progress being made by schools to curtail the problems, the growing response is to pursue litigation. Recently, a court in Michigan ruled that the Hudson Area School District did not do enough to stop a student from bullying another.  The court awarded the bullied student $800,000 in damages.  Essentially, the federal court ruled that schools can be held responsible for what students do, if there is a pattern of harassment, or if they don’t do enough to provide a safe environment. (Click link for news story) http://www.freep.com/article/20100306/NEWS06/3060306/1318/Bullied-student-awarded-800000 In Lynn, Massachusetts, another set of parents are suing the city for $35 million, claiming it failed to protect him from a school bully who allegedly shoved him down a staircase, leaving him wheelchair-bound. Doug Sheff, one of the family’s attorneys, said,  “Hopefully, schools will see there is not only a moral obligation, but a financial one, to address bullying when it’s brought to their attention.  (Click link for full story) http://news.bostonherald.com/news/regional/view/2010032035m_lawsuit_lynn_failed_to_protect_bullied_kid/srvc=home&position=also Also gaining a foothold in court are cyberbullying cases in which children who have been bullied online are bringing litigation against the perpetrators.  In Southern California, the 2nd District Court of Appeals recently ruled that threats, posted on a teen’s Web site, are not protected free speech. The teen set up his Web site to promote his interests in movies and music. Schoolmates, including some who thought that the boy was gay, left messages that threatened to pound his head in with an ice pick and to rip out his heart and feed it to him. (Click the link for the full story.) http://sdgln.com/news/2010/03/18/cyber-bullying-case-going-forward-state-appeals-court-decides And, tragically, in Georgia, the parents of a special needs student who allegedly hung himself because he could no longer tolerate being bullied at school have filed a federal lawsuit against their son’s principal and school district. (For more on this story, click link) http://www.ajc.com/news/parents-sue-district-principal-385837.html Unfortunately, lawsuits will not result in any real “winners”.  The pain of the targeted children and their parents can not be fully mitigated by courts finding in their favor.  Any monetary damages awarded will be locked in ongoing appeals that will surface more charges, counter-charges and probably years of painful conflict. Unfortunately for schools already strapped for resources by extreme budget cuts, the cost of litigation drains their already stressed coffers. How much better spent those lawyers’ and court fees would have been if school administrators had invested in programs such as Community Matters’ Safe School Ambassadors Program.  The Safe School Ambassadors Program wakes up the courage of young people to speak up and intervene on behalf of their peers, resulting in fewer incidents that can lead to tragedies.   2010-04-06T16:22:49+00:00