No Name-Calling Week Expands to Include High School Component that Focuses on Anti-LGBT Bullying

NEW YORK – A new No Name-Calling Week high school component created by GLSEN and Stories of Us that focuses on anti-LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) name-calling, bullying and harassment in schools is being used across the country this week as part of the seventh annual No Name-Calling Week.

Though No Name-Calling Week was originally designed for grades 5-8, demand from high school educators to develop a way to incorporate No Name-Calling Week into their classrooms inspired the new component, which includes a lesson plan and category in the Creative Expression Contest.

“Despite being one of the most pervasive forms of bullying, many schools do not adequately address anti-LGBT bullying,” GLSEN Executive Director Eliza Byard said. “We are proud to work with No Name-Calling Week Coalition partner Stories of Us to help foster a respectful dialogue between students. Discussing anti-LGBT bullying has a tremendously positive impact on school climate.”

The lesson plan, Lights, Camera, Action: Using Film to End Anti-LGBT Name-Calling, Bullying and Harassment encourages students to engage in discussion and activity about the prevalence of anti-LGBT bias in schools, and consider how anti-LGBT bias in schools hurts all students and begin to think about how they might address these issues through creation of their own anti-bullying film.

Likewise, the Creative Expression Contest will expand to allow high school students an opportunity to create a short film about anti-LGBT bullying and how it affects school climate. Deadline for entries is Feb. 26.

“By working together as a team to develop their films, students collectively reflect upon anti-LGBT behavior in their lives and in the process develop empathy and move beyond the social barriers which foster bullying and other negative peer relationships,” said Christopher Faull, Founder of Stories of Us, a bullying prevention program that seeks to harness the power of creating film to reduce bullying.

No Name-Calling Week, which as of three years ago also includes lesson plans for grades K-4, was inspired by the young adult novel The Misfits by James Howe, a story about four students who have experienced name-calling and decide to run for student council on the platform of creating a "No Name Day" at school. Hundreds of thousands of students have participated in No Name-Calling Week since its inception.

No Name-Calling Week is a project of GLSEN, the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network, in collaboration with more than 50 national education and youth service organizations including the National Association of Secondary School Principals, the National Association of Elementary School Principals, Big Brothers Big Sisters of America , the National School Boards Association and the National Education Association. To learn more about No Name-Calling Week, visit www.nonamecallingweek.org, and for more information on Stories of Us, visit www.storiesofus.com.

About GLSEN
GLSEN, the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network, is the leading national education organization focused on ensuring safe schools for all students. Established in 1990, GLSEN envisions a world in which every child learns to respect and accept all people, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity/expression. GLSEN seeks to develop school climates where difference is valued for the positive contribution it makes to creating a more vibrant and diverse community. For information on GLSEN's research, educational resources, public policy advocacy, student organizing programs and educator training initiatives, visit www.glsen.org.

About Stories of Us
The Stories of Us Promoting Positive Peer Relationships (P3R) bullying prevention program is composed of a unique series of film-based education resources developed and produced with students, for students. The films are compelling to young viewers as they authentically reflect their peers' collective experience of bullying – which is why the resources are so effective. The program has been developed with three of America’s leading specialists on bullying and school violence, with the support of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, the University of California, Santa Barbara and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. For more information about P3R including online film previews, Guide and Curriculum extracts and ordering options, visit: www.storiesofus.com.