Thank you for joining the final Cohort 3 Topic Call for bullying prevention! It is always good to hear about the progress happening in your states. Welcome new HRSA staff member Jordan Tautges!
During the first part of the meeting, we reviewed the Change Package Harvest Survey, and received useful feedback from many of you, such as the recommendation to focus some of the BP calls on communications strategies during the next cohort, including the use of terminology by young people (e.g. no distinction between “cyberbullying” and regular bullying). We also discussed the complex relationship between bullying and teen dating violence, and the value of incorporating bullying prevention into broader messages and strategies for violence prevention.
State updates:
In Massachusetts, innovative strategies are being implemented throughout the state. LUK is working with multiple local school districts to conduct a 6-week program focused on “becoming upstanders instead of bystanders”. Additionally, they have restructured the framework of the MVP program (https://mvpstrat.com/) to be more inclusive of gender-fluid youth. Jane Ayers noted that since joining CSLC they have learned a great deal from other states, which has led to the adoption of the Olweus Bullying Prevention Program as part of a larger array of comprehensive programming.
The team from Pennsylvania recently received quarterly reports from their grantees and are responding by providing whatever supports are needed. They noted that during the past year, they accomplished most of what they set out to do as described in last year’s storyboard!
The Wisconsin team noted that they are still figuring out how to effectively engage and onboard high schools in their bullying prevention campaigns. They have made strong progress using innovative communications strategies, and have been documenting their process with qualitative data that tells the “stories behind the numbers.”
Upcoming dates:
- March 29th – deadline for your storyboards – please email to Clare Grace Jones: cjones@edc.org
- April 18 & 19, 2023 1:00-4:00pm ET – Learning Session 7
- Continue to submit monthly reports through the beginning of May (to include April 2023) – and remember that the narrative is just as important as the quantitative data!
Please be in touch if you have questions about any of this or if you would like to request TA.
It has been a pleasure working with you all over the past 6 months!
Lauren