Press Releases:

MYCP Supports No Name-Calling Week in all Monroe County Middle Schools

KEY WEST (871 words) – The “Fall 2006 School Shootings Position Statement” written by the National Consortium of School Violence Prevention Researchers and Practitioners states, “Depression, anxiety, bullying, incivility, and various forms of intimidation in schools need to be taken seriously. Every school should have the resources to maintain evidence-based programs designed to address bullying and other forms of student conflict.” This position statement was written in response to recent school shootings around the nation. Everyday on the job, Monroe County Superintendent Randy Acevedo, does just what the paper recommends through a partnership with Monroe Youth Challenge Program who provides anti-bullying and other prevention activities.

“We, the Safe School Coordinator Sunny Booker, and I, have read the position statement and we take bullying seriously. Kids succeed when they feel connected. Our team wants to do whatever it takes to help them succeed,” said Acevedo. The School Shootings Position Statement was endorsed by 26 agencies including the American Psychological Association, the National Association of School Psychologists, and the National Education Association as well as 103 Ph.Ds and noted professionals in the education and mental health fields. The statement goes on to say, “Shocked by these senseless shootings, our nation naturally asks: Why did this happen? What can be done to prevent such events from happening again?” They believe research supports an approach to safer schools should be guided by four key elements: Balance, Communication, Connectedness, and Support.

Historically, MYCP has addressed connectedness and support which are stressed in this paper. No Name-Calling Week is just one more way MYCP further strives to do what this paper outlines.

The report points out the value of students having a feeling of, connectedness referring to what binds people together as a social unit. MYCP bases their work on showing youth they belong at their school and that the school staff and the school community as a whole care for them and has provided community service activities for the students to take part. The report notes local neighborhoods and communities are better and safer places when neighbors look out for one another, are involved in community activities, and care about the welfare of each other. Research indicates students most at risk for delinquency and violence are those who are most alienated from the school community.

The report goes on to say, support is critical for effective prevention. Both in schools and the local community, many people experience minor and major life stresses and difficulties. Nationally, the mental health needs of youth and adults are often shortchanged or neglected. According to the endorsing officials, that needs to change. MYCP follows the research-based violence prevention and related comprehensive support programs three-tier approach outlined in the report: operating at the universal (school-wide), targeted (for at-risk students), and intensive (for the most chronically and intensely at-risk students) levels.

This week’s No Name-Calling Week campaign kit includes a 27-minute video about name-calling accompanied by teacher-led discussion and fact sheets available to middle school teachers as requested. In addition to the resource materials and video, posters and stickers are available. Finally, all students are encouraged to take part in a “Mix It Up at Lunch” social everyday where they purposely sit with someone they’ve never had lunch with before. “We’re excited to see the Mix It Up at Lunch effort combined with this week’s No-Name-Calling campaign, to further our student’s ability to be the change they want to see on their campuses,” said Sunny Booker, Director for Monroe Youth Challenge Program.

No Name-Calling Week was inspired by a young-adult novel entitled "The Misfits" by James Howe. The book tells the story of four best friends trying to survive the seventh grade in the face of all too-frequent taunts based on their weight, height, intelligence, and sexual orientation/gender expression. Motivated by the inequities they see around them, the "Gang of Five" (as they are known) creates a new political party during student council elections and run on a platform aimed at wiping out name-calling of all kinds. Though they lose the election, they win the support of the school's principal for their cause and their idea for a “No Name-Calling Day” at school.

Motivated by this idea, the No Name-Calling Week Coalition, created by GLSEN and Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing, and consisting of more than 40 national partner organizations, organized an actual No Name-Calling Week in schools across the nation in 2004. The project seeks to focus national attention on the problem of name-calling in schools, and to provide students and educators with the tools and inspiration to launch an on-going dialogue about ways to eliminate name-calling in their communities.

Booker adds, “If someone wants help in getting this activity off the ground with a group of youth, please call me. We can work through churches, private schools and even a public school teacher who might want it but didn’t hear about it yet.” Monroe Youth Challenge Program is a project of the Monroe County Education Foundation to foster acceptance, respect, and success in the youth of Monroe County. For more information about this project or any other MYCP-sponsored program call MYCP Director Sunny Booker at (305) 293-1400 ext. 53319 www.monroe.k12.fl.us/mycp. For general information about No Name-Calling Week, email info@nonamecallingweek.org or visit www.nonamecallingweek.org. For information about the “Fall 2006 School Shootings Position Statement” visit www.ncsvprp.org.