Stavanger University College Stavanger, Norway September 5-8, 2004 Deborah A. Price

1. Stavanger University College Stavanger, Norway September 5-8, 2004 Deborah A. Price Deputy Under Secretary Office of Safe and Drug-Free Schools U.S. Department of Education

2. AGENDA • OSDFS Organization • OSDFS Overview • School System Scope • Governance Overview • Problems in Our Schools • Bullying • Tools 2

3. ORGANIZATION Secretary of Education Rod Paige Policy and Cross Cutting Programs Deborah A. Price Deputy Undersecretary Bill Modzeleski Associate Deputy Undersecretary Camille Welborn Chief of Staff Executive Officer Center for School Preparedness Drug Violence Prevention State Programs Drug Violence Prevention National Programs Health, Mental Health, and Physical Education Character, Civic & Correctional Education 3

4. OSDFS OVERVIEW - MISSION • Support programs, as provided by the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), that foster safe, healthy and drug-free learning environments through: • Financial support for programs; • Policy; • Interagency partnerships and collaboration; • Research and evaluation, and; • Publications. 4

5. OSDFS OVERVIEW - PROGRAMS 5

6. OSDFS OVERVIEW - PROGRAMS 6

7. SCHOOL SYSTEM SCOPE • 53 million students in public and private schools (K-12). • 3 million teachers in public and private schools (K-12). • 15,000 public school districts (from 100 to 1 million students). • 113,000 schools (K-12). • 87,000 public • 26,000 private • Diverse school populations across several school districts. 7

8. GOVERNANCE OVERVIEW The United States has a highly decentralized education system. State Federal No National School System Exists Local 8

9. GOVERNANCE OVERVIEW Federal Government Role (U.S. Department of Education) • Ensure Equal Access to Education for All. • Support Research, and Collect and Disseminate Statistics and Information. • Focus National Attention on Major Issues and Challenges in Education (NCLB). • Administer Aid Programs that Support Educational Improvement and Help Students Attend College. 9

10. GOVERNANCE OVERVIEW State Government Role Generally, states: • Establish Curriculum Guidelines. • Administer Statewide Assessments. • Provide Additional Funding and Technical Assistance. • Regulate Teacher Licensing. • Set the School Calendar. 10

11. GOVERNANCE OVERVIEW Local Government Role Generally, school districts oversee: • Teacher Hiring, Salaries and Training (in service). • Building Construction and Maintenance. • School Transportation. • Interpretation and Application of State Curriculum Guidelines. • Teaching and Learning. 11

12. PROBLEMS IN OUR SCHOOLS Alcohol and Drug Use Fighting and Gangs Bullying Weapon Carrying Schools Deal with Host of Problems Sexual Abuse Sale of Alcohol and Drugs Unruly Students Truancy Attacks on Teachers/Staff Domestic Violence Drop Outs 12

13. BULLYING: WHAT IS IT? • There are many definitions. • Know how they affect the number or size of the problem. 13

14. BULLYING: WHAT IS IT? “Bullying is a specific type of aggression in which: 1) the behavior is intended to harm or disturb, 2) the behavior occurs repeatedly over time, and 3) there is an imbalance of power, with a more powerful person or group attacking a less powerful one.” Source: Bullying Behaviors Among Us Youth: Prevalence and Association with Psychosocial Adjustment, JAMA, April 25, 2001 – Vol. 285, No. 16 14

15. BULLYING: IS IT A PROBLEM? Percentage of students ages 12-18 who reported being bullied at school during the previous 6 months, by sex: 1999, 2001, and 2003. Percent Sex Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics, School Crime Supplement (SCS) to the National Crime Victimization Survey, 1999, 2001, and 2003. 15

16. BULLYING: IS IT A PROBLEM? Percentage of students ages 12-18 who reported being bullied at school during the previous 6 months, by grade and school sector: 2003. Percent Sector Grade Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics, School Crime Supplement (SCS) to the National Crime Victimization Survey, 2003 16

17. BULLYING: IS IT A PROBLEM? • U.S. Department of Education, U.S. Secret Service Safe School Initiative • 1974 – 2000: • 37 incidents of “targeted school shootings.” • 41 attackers. • Finding: Almost three quarters of the attackers felt persecuted, bullied, threatened, attacked or injured by others prior to the incident (n=29). 17

18. BULLYING: ANOTHER PERSPECTIVE “I have been bullied a lot at school. If I tell the teacher it only makes it worse. What should I do?” “The teachers here don’t do anything. After I tell them what happened, they tell the bully ‘Just don’t do it again.’” Letter from a student to President Bush, dated January 6, 2004. 18

19. BULLYING: ANOTHER PERSPECTIVE “I, as a concerned parent, is [sic] in need of help. This letter is in regards to our local school and my boys and their friends being threatened and bullied on a daily basis. I have been to my children’s school…and our police department. …I don’t know where else to turn. If the schools and the police aren’t going to protect them who is? So far my children have tried many things at school to get this problem to stop. They have moved where they hang out, walked away and even reported the problem with no help from school officials. They have things thrown at them, called names, hit and constantly threatened. I know, first hand how these other kids work, because my oldest child was jumped thirty on three. He ended up with six staples in his head, while his friends [sic] got six stitches in his eye and the other one a broken wrist. This took place at their home. Yet, my other two sons and their friends get stuff thrown at them in class and throughout the day. My youngest yells in his sleep nightly. They are followed after school. …I, is [sic] a parent, am doing everything to protect my children, but I can’t always be with them. So where does this all stop?” Letter from a parent to President Bush, dated April 26, 2004. 19

20. BULLYING: ED’s PHILOSOPHY Bullying: • Must be dealt with in comprehensive approach; it cannot be ignored. • Should be a part of a variety of activities engaged in by schools; e. g., approach it directly and indirectly. 20

21. BULLYING: ED’s PHILOSOPHY Bullying: • Decisions about what programs, policies, and practices to adopt are made at state and local level. • Decisions need to follow ED’s Principles of Effectiveness, e.g., use of scientifically based programs. 21

22. BULLYING: ED’s RESPONSE Safe Schools/Healthy Students Mentoring Program National Center for Education Statistics/Bureau of Justice Statistics Collection Efforts National Drug Prevention and School Safety Coordinator Program HHS/ED Partnership Challenge Newsletter 22

23. BULLYING: ED’s RESPONSE Safe Schools/Healthy Students • Joint Project of ED, Health and Human Services (Center for Mental Health Services), Justice (Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention). • Funds provided to school districts ($1M-$3M/year for 3 years) to create safe schools and healthy students. • 190* sites funded since inception in 1999. • Bullying addressed directly through programs like Oleweus, and indirectly through change in school climate and culture. 23

24. BULLYING: ED’s RESPONSE Mentoring Program • Grants are used to support mentoring programs for students in grades 4-8. • ED provided $17.3 million in FY 2002, $17.4 million in FY 2003, and $48.3 million in FY 2004. • ED will award 195 grants in FY 2004. • Approximately 16,000 mentors were hired over a three-year project period (2002 grants). 24

25. BULLYING: ED’s RESPONSE National Drug Prevention and School Safety Coordinator Program • Provided (since FY 99) $117M to support hiring of Drug Prevention and School Safety K-12 coordinators. • Funds used to hire over 1280 coordinators. • Coordinators help school districts translate “research to practice.” • All coordinators have been trained on bullying issue. • Web course developed – Exploring the Nature and Prevention of Bullying (February 2004). www.k12coordinator.org 25

26. BULLYING: ED’s RESPONSE National Center for Education Statistics/Bureau of Justice Statistics Collection Efforts • Information regarding bullying and other issues related to violence and violent behavior collected by ED, Justice and CDC. • The National Center for Educational Statistics and Justice’s Bureau of Justice Statistics collaborate on “Indicators of School Crime Report.” • ED/OSDFS provides support to National Center for Educational Statistics to conduct survey of school principals and students. • Information regarding “bullying” collected as part of BJS’s School Crime Supplement to the Victim Crime Survey. 26

27. BULLYING: ED’s RESPONSE HHS/ED Partnership • ED partners with HHS’s Maternal and Child Health Bureau on a national campaign to prevent bullying. • Campaign theme - Take a Stand Lend a Hand: Stop Bullying Now - is a multi-faceted media campaign designed to increase awareness about the problem of bullying among the “tween” population (ages 9-13). • Campaign offers information and resources for parents, educators, and public affairs officers. • Campaign offers web-based animated story featuring a cast of young people who deal with bullies in middle school. • www.StopBullyingNow.hrsa.gov 27

28. BULLYING: ED’s RESPONSE Challenge Newsletter • OSDFS dedicated edition of “Challenge Newsletter to bullying. • Challenge distributed to 40,000 teachers and administrators. • Challenge promoted development of scientifically based bullying prevention programs. 28

29. TOOLS Tools to Assist Schools, Parents and Communities • U.S. Department of Education, Office of Safe and Drug-Free Schools - www.ed.gov/osdfs • Exploring the Nature and Prevention of Bullying – www.k12coordinator.org/onlinece/onlineevents/bullying • HHS/ED National Campaign – www.StopBullyingNow.hrsa.gov • Challenge Newsletter – www.thechallenge.org • New Jersey Cares About Bullying Campaign – http.njbiascrime.org/njcab.htm • Center for the Study and Prevention of Violence – www.colorado.edu/cspv/ 29

30. CONCLUSION Deborah A. Price deborah.price@ed.gov 202-260-3954 www.ed.gov/osdfs 30