Reflections From The First Federal Bullying Summit

GLSEN Executive Director Dr. Eliza Byard and GLSEN student leader David Aponte today and yesterday attended the first Federal Partners in Bullying Prevention Summit, a gathering of bullying prevention experts from around the country, in Washington. The following is Dr. Byard's open letter to supporters who believe that all students should be safe and respected in school, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity/expression.

Dear GLSEN colleagues and friends:

I write to you from day two of the Federal Partners in Bullying Prevention Summit, a remarkable convening of educators, advocates and practitioners brought together by the Department of Education to provide insight and comment on the national public health crisis of bullying and harassment in our nation's schools. This federal summit is a critical moment for dialogue and collaboration among government agencies, nonprofit organizations and the students whom we all seek to serve.

For those of us who work on issues at the intersection of societal bias and school culture, sustained federal leadership is particularly crucial. That's why the Safe Schools Improvement Act is so important, and that's why the bill has such a broad base of support among education, youth service and human and civil rights organizations. That's why GLSEN and our allies continue to press this Administration and all relevant federal agencies for clear and visible commitments to those actions and programs that make a difference in the lives of all young people, including lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender students.

The summit's panels and breakout sessions have been productive and thought-provoking.

They have also powerfully confirmed three things for me that make me very proud:

1) Our pioneering research effort and ongoing focus on model policy and legislation that defines bullying and harassment, enumerates categories and calls for staff training and mandated reporting at the school level has put us in a leadership position in terms of the current interest in basic national standards for anti-bullying efforts and evidence-based programming;

2) Our new strategic direction - with its emphasis not only on safety but a more robust approach on ways that the whole school can serve the whole child - is absolutely right on target. This more holistic approach to climate and culture change in schools is squarely at the center of the evolving discussion of bullying taking place at this summit. Secretary Duncan himself in his opening remarks described schools not just as places where students learn to take tests, but as places where students "learn and grow." And our focus on LGBT issues places us in an interesting position in relation to both federal leadership and local practice in the service of better schools for all students;

3) Summit participants strongly endorsed a principle that has been at the core of GLSEN's approach for a long time: changing school culture and climate requires strong, authentic partnerships between student and adult advocates. Further, the summit as a whole was shaped by the thoughtful participation of one of the many truly remarkable young advocates that we've partnered with over time. David Aponte, a recent high school graduate, an alumnus of GLSEN's National Student Leadership Team and current coordinator of GLSEN Northern Virginia's student work, was invited to attend this summit to help represent the student experience.

Throughout the summit, David made point after point cogently, succinctly and to positive effect in terms of the broader discussion. At the end of day one, the head of a major national bullying prevention organization came up to me and said, "I just need to tell you that I went up to that young man [David] to thank him for his comments and ask him where he got the kind of support that made him so remarkable. And he told immediately me that it was his work with GLSEN." Not a bad way to end the day.

As the summit now ends, we must turn our attention to harnessing the tremendous energy in that room to ensure real progress is made. I hope to report to you soon that I have secured the follow-up meeting we seek with Secretary of Education Arne Duncan. Our task in the near term is to raise a clear call for sustained federal leadership on LGBT inclusion in all school climate and culture change initiatives, and to get the provisions of SSIA included in the reauthorization of No Child Left Behind - making at least one aspect of that leadership commitment codified in federal law.

I guess I've said a mouthful in this update, but that's just a reflection of how GLSEN is so well-positioned for this moment of national focus, and the genuine connection of our work to so many of the communities and approaches represented at this historic gathering. And we've helped to bring this moment about with years of advocacy, knowledge production and programmatic innovation. As always, I am so grateful to everyone reading this message for your support of GLSEN and your work to advance our mission. You have truly made a difference.

Best,

Eliza Byard, Ph.D.
GLSEN Executive Director

PS - While not there in person, GLSEN Board member Sirdeaner Walker was an important presence at the summit, as was the tragic story of her son Carl. Participants saw video of Sirdeaner speaking at three separate moments during the conference, including the Department of Education's opening video. Assistant Secretary of Education for Civil Rights Russlynn Ali met with Sirdeaner and me in July, and said in her remarks this morning that meeting Sirdeaner led her to commit herself to ending bullying and harassment in schools. Many thanks to Sirdeaner, Dominique and the whole Walker family for their partnership with GLSEN in this work.