Nothing Works? Taking Stock of America’s “War on Bullying” post thumbnail

Nothing Works? Taking Stock of America’s “War on Bullying”

The Obama administration arguably declared war on bullying in the fall of 2010 when it convened the first federally-supported Bullying Prevention Summit. In 2011, stopbullying.gov was launched. That same year, I attended a conference hosted by President Obama at the White House, where he said: “If there is one goal of this conference, it is […]

Bullying, Students with Disabilities, and Federal Law post thumbnail

Bullying, Students with Disabilities, and Federal Law

At a recent conference in Chester County, Pennsylvania, I had the privilege of getting to know Andy Faust, who is an authority on special education law at Sweet, Stevens, Katz & Williams LLP. In particular, I was impressed by his level of expertise and intrigued by his astute observations about the Individuals with Disabilities Education […]

Setting up a Free Bullying and Cyberbullying Reporting System with Google Voice post thumbnail

Setting up a Free Bullying and Cyberbullying Reporting System with Google Voice

I have written in the past on anonymous reporting systems in schools, and I strongly advocate for them whenever I have the opportunity to speak to educators on how they should prevent cyberbullying. Based on your own observations, I am sure you’d agree with me that youth are way more comfortable texting/typing – especially when […]

Student Advisory Boards Can Inform Bullying Policies and Prevention post thumbnail

Student Advisory Boards Can Inform Bullying Policies and Prevention

Whenever I visit schools to give a cyberbullying assembly or presentation to parents in the community, I am also typically asked to sit down and chat with the administrators about the policies and programs they have in place. Here, they let me know what they have been doing to identify, address, and prevent teen technology […]

ITO Club – Student Leaders Transforming School Climate to Prevent Bullying post thumbnail

ITO Club – Student Leaders Transforming School Climate to Prevent Bullying

For a few years now, I have admired the leadership and initiative of Ms. Geraldine Johnson, Bullying Prevention Coordinator for Pennsylvania’s Cumberland Valley School District. She stands out in my mind as one of the most caring youth workers I have ever known, and it is so inspiring to see the love she has for […]

Getting Teens to Rethink Cyberbullying post thumbnail

Getting Teens to Rethink Cyberbullying

This year, I’ve enjoyed being in touch with Trisha Prabhu, a 14-year-old freshman at Neuqua Valley High School in Naperville, Illinois. In the fall of 2013, after hearing about a young girl’s suicide because of cyberbullying, she set out to design a long-term solution to cyberbullying. Her work led her to the product Rethink, which […]

A Girl and her Guitar, Inspiring Bullying Victims to Stay Strong post thumbnail

A Girl and her Guitar, Inspiring Bullying Victims to Stay Strong

Recently, I have been in touch with Kathleen, who won Seventeen Magazine’s 2013 Mean Stinks contest by sharing a song she wrote which has been played in over thirty schools nationwide. It’s not just any song, it’s a song rooted in Kathleen’s desire to use her talents to encourage teens like her who have experienced […]

Cyberbullying Prevention through Dance and the Spoken Word post thumbnail

Cyberbullying Prevention through Dance and the Spoken Word

As National Bullying Prevention Month rolls on, we continue to highlight extraordinary movements and projects designed to combat cruelty and rekindle kindness, tolerance, and respect. Today, I want to feature the efforts of MusEffect, a very talented dance company out of Los Angeles. I have been in touch with their director, Jessica Starr, because I […]

Natural Day – Love Yourself Before You Can Love Others post thumbnail

Natural Day – Love Yourself Before You Can Love Others

Recently, I had the amazing opportunity to get to know Sanah Jivani, who is a senior at Klein Collins High School, and the founder of the international #naturalday movement. I was blown away by her story, and told her how important it was for others to hear it and be inspired by it (as I […]

What Jennifer Lawrence can teach us about sexting among teens post thumbnail

What Jennifer Lawrence can teach us about sexting among teens

This week, the Washington Post proclaimed that “sexting is the new first base.” This assertion was grounded in the results of a research study first published in 2012 (based on data from 2010). Researchers found that over one-fourth (28%) of 948 teens from seven public high schools in southeast Texas had sent a naked picture […]