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America's Promise Partner Lauds
Promise Effort to Stamp Out Bullying
America's Promise Bulletin #478
Recently an Erie, Pa., high-school student, reportedly unable to
continue enduring relentless teasing and bullying from her peers,
committed suicide. Preventing similar deaths, and the other tragic
outcomes that can stem from bullying, including depression,
substance abuse and eating disorders, are the focus of The Ophelia
Project, an Erie-based nonprofit organization dedicated to creating
a safe social and emotional climate in schools and communities.
In partnership with Erie's Promise, the organization's Creating a
Safe School (CASS) program stepped up its presence in the Erie
schools, and has since spread nationwide. The National Crime
Prevention Council, an America's Promise partner, has taken notice
and recently recognized CASS as an example of "what works" in
preventing youth bullying. The idea that preventing bullying among
Erie youth had to be a collaborative effort is what attracted the
Ophelia Project to America's Promise, says Erika Dauber, the
organization's communications director.
"We were founded on the belief that good role models and positive
mentors can make all the difference," Dauber says. Plus, she adds,
"the Five Promises just make sense. Giving kids caring adults to
stop bullying and safe places in school—that’s what we're all
about."
CASS is based on a two-pronged approach to eliminating bullying:
reaching out to parents and reaching out to youth in schools. "We're
involving parents, because they are the number one influence on
children, " Dauber explains. CASS's resources include fact sheets
for parents on how to deal with a child who is a bully or being
bullied. Also, "we encourage them to change their attitudes, because
kids learn from adults," she says. "So if they see their parents
gossiping or talking behind people's back," precursors to bullying,
according to Dauber, "then they're going to do it, too."
In targeting youth, CASS conducts seminars in schools and trains
high-school mentors to lead similar outreach among middle-school and
even elementary-age children. "It starts young," Dauber says. "Young
children are just direct about it. 'They say, 'I won't play with you
if you do X.' As they get older, the aggression just gets more
subtle."
To be effective, Dauber asserts, CASS also must reach beyond parents
and schools. "It's a process as opposed to a program, and it has to
be system-wide." The Ophelia Project partners with national
organizations such as the YMCA, Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts, as well
as local organizations like Erie's Promise to reach as many youth
and youth-serving adults as possible to spread its message.
The Ophelia Project's efforts to convene local and national partners
likely earned them distinction from National Crime Prevention
Council as part of its Be Safe and Sound campaign. "We're obviously
very honored, and it's exciting to see the movement take shape in
people's minds," says Dauber. "They're starting to see that a
climate of relational aggression and exclusion in schools feeds
violence. Columbine set the bar for what safety means at a whole
different level, and unless we address [bullying], we're not getting
the whole picture."
To learn more about the Ophelia Project, visit
www.opheliaproject.org. For
details about the National Crime Prevention Council Be Safe and
Sound campaign, visit
www.ncpc.org/besafe. And for facts and statistics about
bullying, download information from the U.S. Office of Juvenile
Justice and Delinquency Prevention at
www.ncjrs.org/pdffiles1/ojjdp/fs200127.pdf. |
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