Education professor to facilitate anti-bullying workshop for teachers, administrators Sept. 30

Experts say bullying and cyber-bullying have reached epidemic proportions in schools. The long-term negative effects include declining academic performance, behavior problems and violence against oneself or others. On a national level, 45 states have responded with anti-bullying legislation. However, immediate school level action must be taken to positively impact our students’ sense of safety and well-being.

Mara Sapon-Shevin, professor of inclusive education and director of the Safe and Peaceful Schools Project at the School of Education, will address these challenges and present strategies for bullying prevention at “Bully-Proofing Our Students: Creating Safe and Peaceful Schools.” The interactive workshop will be held at Drumlins Country Club on Thursday, Sept. 30, from 4-6:45 p.m. The cost is $20 per person, and the fee includes program materials, refreshments and parking. Registrations will be accepted onsite.

Concepts presented at “Bully-Proofing Our Students” will include:

• making schools safer and more accepting of all forms of diversity;
• teaching all members of the school community to move from being “bystanders” to being “upstanders,” challenging the bullying behavior of their peers;
• learning from the successfully incorporated anti-bullying strategies used by other administrators and teachers in ongoing going curriculum and staff development efforts; and
• experiencing anti-bullying strategies through academic lesson planning, music, video and children’s literature.

For more information or to pre-register, contact the School of Education at (315) 443-4696, or visit http://soe.syr.edu.