Counselor Connection- Special Edition

Kentucky Department of Education sent this bulletin at 01/09/2020 09:04 AM EST

TO:                   Kentucky School Counselor

FROM:             GLSEN Bluegrass Board of Directors

DATE:              January 9, 2020

RE:                  No Name-Calling Week

CC:                  Damien Sweeney, KDE Program Coordinator for Comprehensive School Counseling

On behalf of GLSEN Bluegrass and in partnership with the KDE Comprehensive School Counseling Program Coordinator, we are pleased to provide you information about No Name-Calling Week (January 20-24, 2020). GLSEN’s mission is to ensure that every member of every school community is valued and respected regardless of sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression. GLSEN’s No Name-Calling Week focuses on ending name-calling and bullying in schools. Founded in 2004 with Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing and evaluated by GLSEN research, No Name-Calling Week was inspired by James Howe’s novel The Misfits about students who, after experiencing name-calling, run for student council on a No Name-Calling platform. The week is rooted in the idea of #KindnessInAction — not merely recognizing the importance of kindness, but actively adding kindness into our every action.

As a School Counselor, we know that you are intimately aware of the negative impact that name calling and bullying have on student well-being and learning. We hope you will take advantage of the vast array of materials available on the GLSEN website to register your school to participate in No Name Calling Week and help us put an end to name calling and bullying. Please visit the GLSEN website at https://www.glsen.org/no-name-calling-week to find a variety of ways to participate:

  • Register your school for No Name-Calling Week and receive free streaming of LGBTQ-inclusive classroom documentaries from Youth & Gender Media Project.
  • Use educator and student planning guides to help you organize activities for the week.
  • Download lesson plans for elementary, middle, and high school students on the topics of name-calling, bullying, and bias in schools.
  • Encourage your school board or mayor to pass a proclamation to raise awareness of No Name-Calling Week in your school and community.
  • Celebrate kindness by having students and staff sign pledge cards.

 

Thank you, in advance, for your service to Kentucky’s students and their families and for taking time to review the materials available on the GLSEN website. If you do participate in No Name-Calling Week, please let us know about your experience by emailing us at Bluegrass@chapters.GLSEN.org. We’d love to hear from you!