Ulster County is a No Name-Calling County

Approximately one year ago, GLSEN Hudson Valley and the LGBTQ Community Center convened a Safe Schools Roundtable, where community and school district leaders could come together to address the issues of bullying and safety in our schools. We recognized that the ownership of issues around safety must be a community concern, and that effective solutions must come from the community at large.

The research and statistics support the need to address bullying in its many forms, and tell us that no child is immune from its often devastating impact. The stresses and fears of bullying interfere with a student’s engagement in the classroom, and create a climate of fear and disrespect in schools. Bullying has been linked with serious school violence, shootings, and hazing incidents. With your help, we want to reverse this trend. We want to make change in schools, and out of school. We want to make community-wide change.

We have asked the county, municipalities, and school districts to declare the week of April 11-17, 2010 as Ulster County No Name-Calling Week. We invite your participation. Our committee can provide you with display posters, and a calendar of community events that bring importance to this message. We encourage you to plan your own event. Ask us for ideas – let us add you to our calendar! We have also developed an “Activities Menu” with unique ideas for different age groups, and suggest you incorporate some of this into your planning. You can download the "Activities Men" on this page under Related Documents

Verbal bullying is the most frequent form of bullying. The old adage is not true: Words DO hurt. We too often hear and read of the devastating effect of bullying in the lives of children, sometimes tragically, suicide. Please help us send a strong message that the only name I am to be called by is my name.