1. Seattle Public Schools 26 October 2010

2. CARE Agenda  Defining & Evaluating CARE  District Climate Survey Trends 2008 – 2010  Bullying at TOPS  2010 – 2011 Action Plan & Strategic Planning  Q & A

3. What is CARE at TOPS?  Coaching All to Respect Everyone  CARE should be a critical part of what defines TOPS and integral to all our activities  CARE is a violence prevention program we developed in 2005 using the internationally accredited Olweus framework  The Olweus framework outlines elements we need to have at our school to proactively combat bullying  We use nationally recognized programs Second Step (K – 3) and Steps to Respect (4- 8) in our classrooms to implement this framework

4. Evaluating our Programs  Olweus, Second Step and Steps to Respect all have evaluation components built into their programs  We would like to leverage those components and conduct evaluations of the 3 programs during 2010-2011 and 2011-2012  The Seattle School District has an annual Climate survey that it conducts with our students 3-8 grades  We’d like to share some of the results from the 2009 – 2010 Climate Survey; we will also link to these results in on our new website under the CARE section

5. Bullying at TOPS  We, as with most schools, have bullying incidents at TOPS.  We have no tolerance for bullying at our school. When teachers and administration find out about an incident the target is interviewed and listened to with respect.  We make efforts to identify the bully(ies) and interview the individual(s) to learn more about the incident.  Depending on the severity of the offense we may involve the parents and circle back to the target, the bully and their parents.  In some instances we will consult with the district to get guidance on what, if anything needs to be communicated to the larger parent community  If you, as a parent feel that these steps were not followed in a case involving a child we ask you to speak to Jennifer, Jeanne or Jo.

6. Bullying at TOPS – high level There are a range of bullying events that occur at our school  Most events are 1 to 1 child interactions  Historically we have had very few events of multiple children physically targeting an individual  Types of incidents that occur are exclusion; name calling; fighting; rough jostling in the hallways  Events occur in the hallways; lunchroom; bathrooms; on the playground and on our busses – we call these our “bullying hot spots”  Areas that warrant our current focus:  Teasing based on sexual orientation or assumptions around sexual orientation  Exclusion or teasing based on appearance  Racial or economic-based teasing  Children using religious or sexual orientation verbal slurs

7. 2008-2009 Climate Survey Summary  126 3-5th graders and 161 6-8 graders completed the survey in 2009  The students generally feel like adults care about them, and in the aggregate students report having >4 good friends  Approximately 25% of TOPS Middle School students and 46% of Elementary Students who completed the survey indicated that they had been bullied in the two months prior to taking the survey  Of those that reported being bullied, more than half of the MS students didn't tell anyone, and 2 in 5 ES students didn't tell  We have a lot of strengths to work with and build on, but far too many TOPS students report being bullied  Critical: What can we do to get more students to report bullying incidents? http://www.seattleschools.org/area/siso/test/schoolpages/935.xml

8. 2010 – 2011 Planning and Activities  Create a 3 year plan to revitalize the CARE program – moving from a passive and reactive program to a progressive, proactive and sustainable program  Leverage program elements in place now - Act while we Plan  Monthly CARE meetings with teachers, administration and parents  CSJ Forum for parents and administration to come together to discuss bullying  Communicate to parents about what they can be doing at home  Better integration of monthly CARE themes into all our activities  TOPS partnerships – CSJ and TOPICS and teaching staff  In school viral campaigns/activities – comes from students and involves everyone  i.e. Gay – Straight Alliance  Chain for CARE  Leverage resources & partnerships with other schools and district leaders  Send teachers, staff and parents to the National Anti-Bullying conference November 15-17  Have our kids engage in forums with other schools – i.e. Salmon Bay GSA  Lisa Love, Seattle Educator / chair for the GLBTQ Advisory Committee  Safe Schools Coalition  + More

9. 2010 – 2011 Planning and Activities  Based on our evaluation results create an actionable plan to make TOPS CARE program the leader in our state if not the nation  Ask: Is there a way to better leverage the CARE assets we have?  Ask: How do we make our program both sustainable and relevant to each family, teacher and student we serve?  Ask: Are there gaps in our CARE needs – if so, what is the most sustainable way to bridge that gap?

10. Questions – Thank You Get Involved! email: Merran at qafamily@hotmail.com Jennifer at jmurray@seattleschools.orgqafamily@hotmail.comjmurray@seattleschools.org