It is exciting to be starting this new cohort together; I hope that all of you will continue to participate in our “All Teach, All Learn” model on future calls. You can access the recording from the February BP Topic Call here.
Our next BP Topic Call is scheduled for April 11th at 1pm.
We started this meeting with introductions and a brief reflection about some of your takeaways from the February 1-2 Learning Session. Then we moved into a discussion about the change ideas you all are considering, and the partnerships that you have already built or plan to develop during this cohort. Considering that at least two states (MA and GA) will be focusing some of their efforts on change ideas in the individual/relationship domain, there will definitely be opportunities for future collaboration and peer-to-peer learning across states. Specifically:
- The GA team has decided to focus their work during this cohort on youth-serving organizations (rather than schools), to leverage more community involvement and avoid the complexities of engaging with school districts.
- The MA team has a long history of working with community-based youth violence prevention programs. They plan to continue these efforts, while also collaborating with the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) and the branch of DPH that works in school health. They are going to continue implementing the Olweus program, while making adaptations to focus on groups that are disproportionately impacted by bullying, especially the LGBTQ+ community.
- KY has identified some possible change ideas and strategies, and will share more after a meeting later in February.
Special thanks to Jordan Tautges from HRSA, who joined our February call and shared some resources gleaned from her role on the editorial board of the StopBullying.gov website:
- Establishing Rules | StopBullying.gov - Tips for Parents: Talk to Your Child about Appropriate Digital Behavior and Content
- How to Prevent Cyberbullying: A Guide for Parents, Caregivers, and Youth
Another resource shared during our call:
I am looking forward to connecting with many of you over the next few weeks, as you work on populating your Operationalizing Forms, which can be found on your state page on the web portal.