No Name-Calling Week Kicks Off In Schools Nationwide

CONTACT: Riley Snorton
press@nonamecallingweek.org
rsnorton@glsen.org
(212) 727-0135 x138

More Than 5,000 Educators and Administrators Officially Register To Take Part;
Thousands More Download Free Resources at www.nonamecallingweek.org

New York, NY – No Name-Calling Week, a project of GLSEN and Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing, in collaboration with more than 40 national education organizations, officially kicked off in schools nationwide today. The project is aimed at grades five through eight, but students and educators at other grade levels can easily adapt the program and materials. Last year more than 5,000

Photo Credit: Richmond Times Dispatch

educators and administrators registered to take part, and we expect that No Name-Calling Week, now in its third year, will have even greater participation. Results from 2004 bullying surveys in schools indicated that students reported a significant decrease in the amount of bullying and harassment in school after taking part in the first No Name-Calling Week and its activities.

“I, along with over 40 organizational partners, am proud to be a part of the solution to the problem of bullying and harassment in America’s schools,” said GLSEN Executive Director Kevin Jennings. “Every week should and can be a No Name-Calling Week and every school should be a place where students feel safe and respected.”

This year approximately one-third of the participants in the No Name-Calling Week Creative Expression Contest were in elementary school. Students age 8 –18 submitted original entries including songs, poems, video and more.

No Name-Calling Week seeks to draw national attention to the problem of name-calling in America’s 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. Recent studies on name-calling and bullying include:

• A 2001 study by the American Association of University Women found that 83% of girls and 79% of boys report having ever experienced harassment at school, with over 1 in 4 students experiencing it “often.” 76% of students have experienced non-physical harassment while 58% have experienced physical harassment.
• A 2001 study funded by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) of over 15,000 public, private, and parochial school students in grades 6-10 reported that almost a third of 6th to 10th graders—5.7 million children nationwide—have experienced some kind of bullying.
• The National Center for Educational Statistics reports that 77 percent of middle and high school students in small mid-western towns have been bullied.
• In August 1999, CNN reported that four out of five middle school students admit that they act like bullies at least once a month.
• A 2005 study conducted by Harris Interactive found that nearly half of students (47%) and a majority of teachers (64%) in junior high/ middle schools consider harassment a serious problem.

No Name-Calling Week was inspired by The Misfits, a book written by popular author James Howe and published by Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing. Educators can purchase a resource guide with lesson plans, a video for classroom use and other promotional materials to assist in facilitating the week’s activities.

In 2004, for the first No Name-Calling Week, over 3,000 educators, administrators, parents or students registered, and over 600 schools across the country reporting their participation. Many teachers conducted bullying surveys in their schools (a resource available on the NNCW website).

For a complete list of the national partners, sample resources and more information on No Name-Calling Week, visit www.nonamecallingweek.org. Media inquiries can be sent to press@nonamecallingweek.org.

About No Name-Calling Week
Coordinated by GLSEN in collaboration with over 40 national education organizational partners, No Name-Calling Week is an annual week of educational activities aimed at ending name-calling of all kinds and providing schools with the tools and inspiration to launch an on-going dialogue about ways to eliminate bullying in their communities. For more information about No Name-Calling Week sponsors, a list of events planned, or the No Name-Calling Week resource kit for educators, please visit www.nonamecallingweek.org.