Dear Safe Schools
Coalition members and friends:  

 

CORRECTION: Safe Schools Coalition will be the Grand Marshall
for the Pride Parade on June 29^th!! Come out and march with the Big
Yellow School Bus!

 

HELP NEEDED ITEMS IN RED.

 

Meeting Minutes

5/20/08, 3-5 p.m. PST

Safe Schools Coalition Meeting

 

Chairing:
Beth Reis; Recording: Ethan Blustein

In
attendance: Arnold Martin, Settle Counseling
Service; Beth Reis, Safe Schools Coalition (SSC) and Public Health Seattle
& King County; Ethan Blustein, SSC and Solid Ground; Heather Carter, Youth
Suicide Prevention Program; Helen Stillman, SSC and Lambert House; Kyle
Rapinan, SSC, American Friends Service Committee and Gay
Lesbian Straight Education Network (GLSEN); Gabi Clayton, SSC, Families United
Against Hate, PFLAG Olympia; Penny Palmer, SSC; Aidan Key Gender Spectrum; Lisa
Love Seattle Public Schools

 

(1)    
Youth
Suicide Prevention Program Conference- Heather

a)       Registration starts June 9^th. Folks need to register
early because of the limited number of spots. To register and for more
information visit the Conference
Website.

(2)    
 “You are perfect just the way you are” PSA’s – Beth

a)       Ethan has already contacted these stations: Hot Jamz 88.9 FM,
Northwest Public Radio, KUGS 89.3 FM, KBCS 91.3 FM, KAOS 89.3 FM

b)       Other stations already contacted are: 1090 AM and 89.5 FM

(3)    
SPECIAL
EVENTS – Beth, Lisa, Ethan, Helen

a)       The Coalition’s 20^th birthday
party, reunion and volunteer appreciation event! June 7^th.  Location Cal Anderson Park Shelter. This is a
FREE event! RSVP to Helen: [email protected].

b)       Seattle Pride parade. Yay, Pride month is almost here. As it has
in recent years, the Safe Schools Coalition will have a "float" in
the Seattle Pride parade, consisting of a rockin‘ yellow school bus. Lisa Love
has agreed to arrange for the bus and apply to SOAP. As always, member orgs
will be welcome to hang their banners on the bus; the SSC banner will be on the
front, but the rest of the bus is open.

§        
As always we welcome aboard the bus member org
staffers and SSC volunteers and their families; GSA’s and their families; and
folks with disabilities for whom walking the parade route would be challenging.
We will even provide you with food and drinks. But we ask that you RSVP to Lisa
at [email protected] or
206-252-0982

§        
HELP NEEDED:

J    
volunteers to ride the bus and be
the “bus mom.”

J    
volunteers to decorate the bus.

J    
folks to "staff" the
bus … to walk/run alongside, giving Safe Schools Coalition trinkets to
the crowd.

If you can volunteer in any of these ways, please
contact Lisa at
[email protected] or 206-252-0982.

§        
We nominated the Safe Schools
Coalition as Honorary Grand Marshal of the Seattle parade. No word yet; we
should hear in “late May.” (We
have been appointed Grand Marshall of the Parade!!)

§        
Heather is bringing pop and water. Please let her know if you can bring a
cooler or two!!

§        
Beth will bring one cooler and some ice. 

§        
Penny will get food from Costco and bring it to the bus.

§        
Lisa Love is requesting
Parking Permits for the parking lot near the Experience Music Project. To
request a Parking Permit contact Lisa: [email protected]

c)       Ethan and Helen are planning to attend some Pride events in Washington State. The ones they cannot attend will
be sent Safe Schools literature.

(4)    
INTERVENTION
TEAM REPORT – Penny, Ethan, Kyle, Ann

a)       Recent & ongoing interventions

§        
Shorecrest High School and the WA State Human Rights Commission

The WA State Human Rights Commission met with
the GSA Advisors and the Administration of Shorecrest to discuss the bullying
and harassment of GSA students and goals for creating a safes environment for
all students at the school. The outcome was very positive and the Administration
is grateful to the GSA members for speaking up about their experiences. They
intend to have the staff and the whole student body go through Safe Schools
Training. Overall a positive meeting.

§         
KY mom
whose son was severely beaten. The Intervention team is addressing this.

§         Reminder there are 3 ways to get a hold of Intervention
Specialists:

o        877-SAFE-SAFE

o        [email protected]

o        http://www.myspace.com/safeschoolsintervention

b)       Survey of school nurses re: SSC posters

§         Ann has been contacting school nurses across the state and so far
2 schools don’t have them and 3 schools want more!

(5)     MEMBERSHIP REPORT — Beth

a)      The Safe Schools Coalition is STILL IN NEED OF A
MEMBERSHIP CHAIR. It could be your organization’s
in-kind alternative to dues! Or your personal way of ensuring that others have
what you didn’t when you were in school! You do NOT need to be located in Washington State
to do this job. It is mostly a 30-90 min/wk commitment. More in January and
February each year, as we remind member organizations to renew. Less most of
the year. Please think about stepping up. Let Beth know:  http://www.safeschoolscoalition.org/contact/?id=4 

§        
Heather could step up after Sept. ’08.

b)       New org member applications: 

§         Both East
Hartford High School and Gender Spectrum were approved unanimously to be new
members. We want to ask all member orgs to work to include gender
identity/expression in their policies by   January 2009.

c)      
Join or renew for 2008
now!!! It’s easy and painless!!! Go to: http://www.safeschoolscoalition.org/members_join-renew.html

(6)     SPEAKERS BUREAU/TRAINING TEAM/OUTREACH REPORT
– Helen, Ethan

a)       Recent speaking, training, and tabling/outreach events

Speakers Bureau

§         
MLK Vista/Americorps:  Nathan
Shara, Kristina Armenakis, Helen Stillman

§         
Giddens School Trans 101:
Kathy Kaminski and Ethan Blustein

§         
EarthCorps Trans 101/Anti-Oppression:
Ethan Blustein and Dylan Colt

§         
UW It’s Elementary Panel:
Ethan Blustein, Beth Reis, Kyle Rapinan

Tabling

§         
Day of Silence at Mt. Si H.S.: Ethan Blustein

§         
Can I Sit With You?: Ethan Blustein

§         
Washington PTA Conference:
Heather Carter and Barbara Clark-Elliot

AFSC Panels

§         
NOVA H.S.

§         
Forest Ridge H.S.

§         
Trans Ally Training

Other Projects

§         
Helen facilitated a roundtable
discussion on equity in schools at the Mayor’s Youth Summit. She also
participated in an allyship day at Seattle Girls School
and co-facilitated a piece on allyship for a  group of 6th graders.

§         
Trans Training–May 10–We had a
great training with about 15 people. In the evening, 5 youth panelists spoke
about their experiences and answer questions–It was awesome!

§         
Volunteer Appreciation–Saturday,
June 7. Location Cal Anderson Park Shelter. Mark your
calendars! Let me know if you have input, ideas, want to help out.

       b)      
Upcoming events:

§         Casey Family Programs

§         Roosevelt High School

§         GSA Summit
at Lambert House

§         Seattle Girls School 

§         White Privilege Training

(7)     WASHINGTON STATE LEGISLATIVE ISSUES – Ethan, Beth 

a)       This committee is a combination of Lobbyists and Executives working
on proposing Safe Schools legislation. They are currently looking at what other
states have done in the past and what they want the upcoming legislative
sessions to look like.

b)       Youth voices needed!! If interested contact Beth
Reis: [email protected]

 

(8)     OCA Bias/Hate Crime & Incident Survey- Beth

a)       Kyle will be
the point person for SSC.

(9)     LISTSERVE REPORT – Beth

a)       Welcome to recent subscribers from Colorado,
Massachusetts; Nebraska;
Ohio; Pennsylvania;
and Bainbridge Island,
Bellevue, Bellingham,
and Bothell, WA.

(10)  WEB SITE REPORT – Gabi, Ethan/Kyle

a)       This month, we added a blog to the web site. Check out recent postings
entitled:

§         “What is
‘Safe’ in Middle School?” by 2^nd year teacher Loren Krywanczyk, from Brooklyn, NY

§         “Hazing gone awry?!
What’s that?!” by SSC
Co-chair, Beth Reis

We are seeking diverse voices to contribute regularly to the
SSC blog. Like to write? Got opinions? Are you interested? If so, please apply, today!  Just send us a short bio, what your interests are,
and two samples of your writing (no more than 300 words each). Write to us at

[email protected]

b)       In April, we served individuals in 108 countries including places
as geographically and culturally diverse as Mozambique, Luxembourg,
Togo, the Palestinian Territory,
Cuba, Samoa,
Qatar and Latvia.

c)       After Google, the next most frequent referrer to the site was http://www.stumbleupon.com

d)       We are on
the verge of adding video interviews to the site. We need a video editor willing to work
closely over the next month with a high school intern. If that’s you,
please contact Ethan immediately (mailto:[email protected]
or 206-330-2099)

e)       Kyle and
Ethan are on track with the Youth page project! Thank you so much for Joyful Freeman for all her help on
this. Also Kyle’s Senior Project was voted the best in his class!
Congratulations J 

(11)  FISCAL UPDATE – Beth

a)       Gabi and Helen are contracted for another 6 months.

(12)   SAFE SCHOOLS COALITION – IDAHO CHAPTER UPDATE
– Nadine, Shane

a)       SSC-IC will work with Idaho Women’s Network to hold a
preview for the movie, “It’s Still Elementary.”

b)       They’ve recently done a training for middle school
counselors.

c)       The recently provided intervention services for students who were
threatened at a Coeur d’ Alene area high school.

d)       They are planning a school climate survey in the fall, a survey of
freshmen in two large classes at Boise State, the findings of
which will also be analyzed by BSU students.

(13)   March for Youth- Ethan

a)       Ethan and Stefanie of King County Public Health are representing
the Coalition in planning this amazing upcoming event.

b)       The March and Rally is on June 21^st at 1pm starting
from Franklin H.S. For more information contact Denise Gloster at [email protected]

 

 

UPCOMING
MEETINGS … contact the chair if you have agenda items to suggest or if
you need instructions about attending (in person) or calling in (by conference
call). All are welcome- you do
NOT need to be a Coalition member to attend.

 

Jun 17^th,  3-5 pm,
Pacific Time. Marsha chairs
and ____________ records

Marsha: 206-601-8942; [email protected]

 

July 15^th,  2-4 pm, Pacific Time. Frieda chairs and Ethan records … NOTE: A hour earlier for
summer

Frieda: 253-765-7062; [email protected]

 

Aug 19^th,  2-4 pm, Pacific Time. Beth chairs and ____________ records

Beth: 206-296-4970; [email protected] 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`

From East Hartford High School’s 2007-2008 Student
– Parent – Teacher Handbook

 

A
comprehensive program, involving everyone
in the schools and the community, to address bullying at all school levels is
essential to reducing incidences of bullying. Such a program must involve
interventions at all levels, school wide, classroom and individual.

 

The
District’s program:

 

1. Permits anonymous reports of bullying by students
and written reports by parents or guardians;

 

2.
Requires teachers and other school staff to notify school
administrators of bullying acts they witness and students‘ reports they
receive;

 

3.
Requires school administrators to investigate parents‘ written reports
and review students‘ anonymous reports;

 

4.
Requires each school to maintain a publicly available list of the
number of verified bullying acts that occurred there;

 

5. Requires each school to have an intervention
strategy for school staff to deal with bullying, including language about
bullying in student codes of conduct; and

 

6.
Requires notice to parents or guardians of all students involved in a
verified act of bullying. The notice must describe the school’s response and
any consequences that may result from further acts of bullying.

 

The
Board expects prompt and reasonable investigations of alleged acts of bullying.
The Principal of each school or his/or designee is responsible for handling all
complaints of alleged bullying.

 

In
addition, the norms that are established by adults through consistent
enforcement of all policies pertaining to conduct and modeling appropriate
behavior at school and at home will reduce the instances and damage of
bullying. It is necessary for students to promote the concept that caring for
others is a valued quality, one that is accepted and encouraged.

 

qqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqq

DONATE
TO THE SAFE SCHOOLS COALITION:

Click here to
make a donation online or mail this
pdf formatted form

with
your check made to "Safe Schools Coalition":

Safe
Schools Coalition

c/o
Lifelong AIDS Alliance ~ Attn: Dan Phillips

1002 E. Seneca

Seattle, WA 98122-4203

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About Safe Schools Coalition

The Safe Schools Coalition is a public-private partnership of 80+ organizations (government
agencies, schools, community agencies, churches, youth/student groups,
gay/lesbian groups, human rights groups) and 400+ individuals working to help
schools become safe places where every family can belong, where every educator
can teach, and where every child can learn, regardless of gender identity or
sexual orientation. 

Safe Schools‘ website:
http://www.safeschoolscoalition.org




Got a problem at school with
anti-gay harassment?

In Washington State:

1-877-SAFE-SAFE (1-877-723-3723) 24 hours a day –
the phone line is answered at the Sexual Assault Hotline and they will have a
Safe Schools Coalition Intervention Specialist volunteer get back to you within
24 hours. Or contact us by email: Intervention

For non-emergencies:


Questions

Speakers’
Bureau
(student/community workshops, professional training)


Membership


Publications
and Listserve


Website


For  donations: "Safe Schools Coalition" c/o Lifelong AIDS Alliance,
1002 E Seneca, Seattle, WA 98122-4203 (or call 206-957-1621)



Co-Chairs:


Frieda Takamura, Washington
Education Association, 253-765-7062

Elizabeth
“Beth”
Reis,
Public Health – Seattle & King County, 206-296-4970


Marsha
Botzer,
Ingersoll Gender Center and The Task Force, 206-601-8942




Listserv
Managers:


Beth
Reis,
for action items, resource messages (books, films, curricula, etc.) and help
needed by reporters/authors, researchers, and member orgs

Beth
Reis,
for news messages



Ethan
Blustein, jobs and events messages



Chris
Beahler,
for professional journal messages



Gabi
Clayton, for legislative/elective
and fundraising messages

Buy cool Safe Schools T-Shirts
& Gear





This
message has been distributed as a free, non-profit informational service, to
members of the Coalition and others who have expressed a prior interest in
receiving this information for non-profit research and educational purposes
only. Please do not publish or post in a public place on the Internet,
copyrighted material without attribution. Forwarding of this material should
not necessarily be construed as an endorsement of the content.

Send
Events to be Posted on the Safe Schools Coalition Calendar

 

Ethan Blustein

JustServe Americorps Volunteer

Safe Schools Coalition

1605 12th Avenue

Suite 35

Seattle, WA 98122

w 206-330-2099

c 206-369-9588