Stavanger University College

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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
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AGENDA

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

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ORGANIZATION
Secretary of Education Rod Paige
Policy and Cross Cutting Programs
Deborah A. Price Deputy Undersecretary Bill
Modzeleski Associate Deputy Undersecretary Camill
e 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
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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.

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OSDFS OVERVIEW - PROGRAMS
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OSDFS OVERVIEW - PROGRAMS

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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.

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

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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.

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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.

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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
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BULLYING WHAT IS IT?

• There are many definitions.
• Know how they affect the number or size of the
  problem.

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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.
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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.
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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
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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 (n29).

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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 dont do anything.
After I tell them what happened, they tell the
bully Just dont do it again.
Letter from a student to President Bush, dated
January 6, 2004.
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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 childrens schooland our police
department. I dont know where else to turn.
If the schools and the police arent 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
cant always be with them. So where does this
all stop?
Letter from a parent to President Bush, dated
April 26, 2004.
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BULLYING EDs 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.

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BULLYING EDs PHILOSOPHY

• Bullying
• Decisions about what programs, policies, and
  practices to adopt are made at state and local
  level.
• Decisions need to follow EDs Principles of
  Effectiveness, e.g., use of scientifically based
  programs.

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BULLYING EDs 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
Challenge Newsletter
HHS/ED Partnership
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BULLYING EDs 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.

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BULLYING EDs 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).

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BULLYING EDs 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

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BULLYING EDs 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 Justices 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 BJSs School Crime Supplement to the
  Victim Crime Survey.

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BULLYING EDs RESPONSE
HHS/ED Partnership

• ED partners with HHSs 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

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BULLYING EDs 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.

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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/bul
  lying
• HHS/ED National Campaign www.StopBullyingNow.hr
  sa.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/

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CONCLUSION
Deborah A. Price deborah.price_at_ed.gov 202-260-3954
www.ed.gov/osdfs
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