National Bullying Prevention Month Aims To Empower Parents And Community Members

Bullying Prevention Month is in October, and with several prominent nationwide cases of bullying, schools are using the opportunity to sharpen their policies against bullying and raise awareness of ways to combat it.

Bullying has become a hot topic nationally, with several high-profile cases. Bullying has led to suicide for some students who see no other way out, like Jamey Rodemeyer, a 14-year-old New York student who killed himself after relentless bullying. In June a group of middle school students made national headlines when a video they made taunting bus monitor Karen Klein went viral on the internet.

National Bullying Prevention Month is sponsored by PACER’s National Bullying Prevention Center. The organization has several events planned in conjunction with the month, including the Run, Walk, Roll Against Bullying, an event in Bloomington, Minnesota that attracts dozens of businesses and organizations. This is also replicated nationwide.

National Bullying Prevention Month also includes Unity Day on Wednesday, Octover 10.

As the site explains:

In 2011, Ellen DeGeneres promoted the cause on television by wearing orange and reminding millions of viewers about the importance of bullying prevention. Facebook supports the cause during October by providing users with information on PACER activities on its safety, educator, and privacy pages. Again in 2012, students will wear orange and use PACER resources to support the cause, hand out orange “UNITY” ribbons at school, and write “UNITY” on their hands or binders. Be sure to ‘Attend’ and ‘Share’ the Unity Day Facebook Event!

Several schools are using National Bullying Prevention Month to push forward initiatives of their own. Delaware County News Network reported about an initiative at a local school that aims to raise awareness and give support to parents, teachers, students, and community members. The initiative will bring in Dr. Claudio Cerullo, a noted national leader on bullying prevention.

The program in Delaware County, any many others like it nationwide, focuses on warning signs that a child is being bullied or is bullying others, the effects of bullying on students and families, and how educators, parents and the community can come together to prevent bullying.

More information about National Bullying Prevention Month can be found here.