Dear Safe Schools Coalition members and friends:
Minutes 6/17/08, 3-5 p.m. PST
Safe Schools Coalition Meeting
Chairing: Marsha Botzer; Recording: Beth Reis
HELP NEEDED & “TO DO” ITEMS IN RED.
Present in person: Marsha Botzer, Ingersoll Gender Center and SSC Co-Chair; Beth Reis, Public Health – Seattle & King County and SSC Co-Chair; Penny Palmer, SSC Intervention Chair and Co-Secretary; Frank Couch, SAMA (Science and Management of Addictions) Foundation and SSC Intervention Specialist; Kyle Rapinan, UW undergraduate student and SSC Intern; Yuko Komatsu, UW MSW student; Helen Stillman, Lambert House, AFSC, and SSC Speakers’ Bureau Coordinator; Ethan Blustein, Solid Ground/Justserve Americorps and SSC staff.
Present by phone: Heather Murphy, school psychologist and SSC Intervention Specialist; Gabi Clayton, PFLAG Olympia, Families United Against Hate, and SSC Webspinner.
INTROS … welcome new faces/voices
(1) Marsha made a point of expressing the Coalition’s sincere gratitude to Kyle, whose internship is almost up, and Ethan, whose Justserve Americorps service year has another 6 weeks, for their phenomenal work for the Coalition.
(2) SPECIAL EVENTS – Beth, Lisa, Ethan, Helen
a) The Coalition’s 20th birthday party, reunion and volunteer appreciation event! June 7th. Huge thank you to the Foundation for Early Learning for a grant to support the event. American Friends Service Committee also made a big contribution. And thank you to Helen Stillman for a beautiful job of coordinating the event. We have a favor to ask: If you attended the June 7th party and you are willing to have photos that include you posted to the SSC web site so we can share the celebration, please fill out this photo release form ASAP: http://www.safeschoolscoalition.org/staff/SSC_releaseform.pdf
b) Seattle Pride parade, Sunday June 29. Yay, Pride month is here. As it has in recent years, the Safe Schools Coalition will have a "float" in the Seattle Pride parade, consisting of a rockin' yellow school bus. Lisa Love has agreed to arrange for the bus and apply to SOaP. As always, member orgs will be welcome to hang their banners on the bus; the SSC banner will be on the front, but the rest of the bus is open.
· As always we welcome aboard the bus member org staffers and SSC volunteers and their families; GSA's and their families; and folks with disabilities for whom walking the parade route would be challenging. We will even provide you with food and drinks. But we ask that you RSVP to Lisa at llove@seattleschools.org or 206-252-0982. There are 3 ways to join the contingent:
· Meet the bus between 8:30 and 9 am sharp at the parking lot at the Seattle Center just north of Experience Music Project where we will all decorate it and hop aboard. Park there and ride the bus to the parade staging area. It is a pay lot, but we do have a limited number of parking permits -- contact Lisa Love (LLove@seattleschools.org). And then get delivered back to that parking lot at the end of the parade. If you work or volunteer with a member organization, by all means bring your banner or sign to hang on the sides of the bus. The SSC banner will go on the front.
1 Join the contingent at the parade staging area between 10 and 11 a.m. We’ll be on University between 4th and 6th avenues – look for the yellow school bus.
2 Join the contingent anywhere along the parade route.
· The Safe Schools Coalition is proud and excited to have been chosen Honorary Grand Marshal of the Seattle parade. Look for us there!! Seattle Out and Proud’s media release apparently doesn’t list the grand marshals. Penny agreed to contact both SOaP and one or more radio stations to ask if they would mind giving us that nod. And to suggest they could use these pre-recorded easy-to-use PSAs, too: http://www.safeschoolscoalition.org/RG-PSAs.html
c) Other Pride events (Ethan, Helen)
(3) INTERVENTION TEAM REPORT – Penny, Ann
a) Recent & ongoing interventions … We (Jim, Penny and Frank) have received several calls from Kentucky, ordinarily outside our Intervention Team’s service area (it is one of the few things we do in Washington State only). We do try at least returning out-of-state calls to problem solve and refer. However, after multiple attempts, we’ve concluded that the numbers folks have left have not been working or else these were prank reports.
b) Gabi and Penny have made some changes to the reports that Intervention Specialists fill out, to preserve basic information in case we need to do follow-up.
c) Survey of school nurses re: SSC posters (see http://www.safeschoolscoalition.org/RG-posters.html and scroll down for “Bigotry Hurts” and “Tu No Estas Solo”). Ann conducted a survey of a few school nurse managers to determine how widely the SSC posters are actually being displayed in schools.
· Eight school districts responded to the survey with 14 schools represented.
1 Two schools have the “Yeah I’m Different” posters in various places around school including a main office and a hallway.
2 Five have the “All Families Welcome” posters displayed in various places including, in some cases, classrooms, but in others, just in counselors’’ or nurses’ offices
3 Half the schools (7) do not have SSC posters up; some say they never remember receiving them
4 Twelve of the 14 asked for replacement posters and we will see they get them in August.
5 Other things they said they would like include bullying brochures and translations of posters – Spanish, Tigrina, Amharic, Somali, Vietnamese, Chinese, Tagalog. If you know professional translators interested in doing a little pro bono work for the Coalition, please contact us here.
6 Penny and Ann are planning to work with WEA to hopefully survey counselors, statewide.
(4) MEMBERSHIP REPORT -- Beth
a) Chris Beahler has agreed to serve as Membership Chair. Thank you, Chris.
b) New org member applications:
· Shorecrest Gay Straight Alliance – unanimously accepted, welcome Shorecrest GSA
c) Renewals: none this month but 41 invoices went out today or will go out tomorrow. More later in the week.
d) Thank you to the following organizations which have joined or renewed or made significant in-kind contributions for 2008 (including those who joined since October 2007):
· Ally Action
1 American Friends Service Committee
2 Diversity Productions
3 East Hartford High School
4 Families United Against Hate
5 Gender Spectrum
6 GLOBE (Snohomish County GLBTQ youth group)
7 Greater Seattle Business Association
8 GroundSpark
9 Ingersoll Gender Center
10 King County Sexual Assault Resource Center
11 Lake Washington Education Association
12 Lifelong AIDS Alliance
13 North Carolina Healthy Schools Initiative
14 Oregon Safe Schools & Communities Coalition
15 Public Health - Seattle & King County
16 Ravenna United Methodist Church
17 Safe Schools Coalition of Idaho
18 St. Vrain Valley School District (Colorado)
19 University of Washington - Q Center
20 Washington Education Association
21 Western Washington Fellowship of Reconciliation
22 YouthAware Educational Theatre
23 Youth Guardian Services
e) Join or renew for 2008 now!!! It’s easy and painless!!! Go to: http://www.safeschoolscoalition.org/members_join-renew.html
(5) SPEAKERS BUREAU/TRAINING TEAM/OUTREACH REPORT – Helen
a) Recent speaking, training and tabling/outreach events:
· Rosalinda Noriega provided training to 23 teachers at the Washington State Bullying Prevention Conference.
1 Beth Reis and Ethan Blustein provided a bullying workshop for 30 eighth graders at Jewish Day School.
2 AFSC youth panelists provided education to 203 youth at a Seattle Public Schools Inter-GSA meeting, a SOAR conference and Roosevelt High School.
3 We held a focus group for the National Center for Lesbian Rights' research on LGBTQ youth in the juvenile justice system.
b) We have an upcoming AFSC youth panelist workshop for the youth staff at King County Crisis Clinic’s Teen Link.
c) New brochures have been printed. They will be delivered to AFSC and PHSKC this Friday.
d) American Friends Service Committee will be training a new group of LGBTQ youth as panelists sometime in July. If you are a queer, Seattle-area youth (up to age 22) interested in getting trained, if you want to earn money by sharing your life story in some of the most important education anybody does around LGBTQ issues, contact Helen: Helen@safeschoolscoalition.org
(6) WASHINGTON STATE LEGISLATIVE ISSUES – Marsha, Beth
a) The Safe Schools Coalition has convened a Washington State-specific work group with representatives from ACLU of Washington, American Friends Service Committee, Children's Home Society, Educational Services District 105, Equal Rights Washington, Gay Lesbian Straight Education Network – WA, Lifelong AIDS Alliance, National Organization for Women, Northwest Women's Law Center, Planned Parenthood Network, Vista Youth Center, the Washington Academy of Pediatrics, and the Washington Coalition of Sexual Assault Programs, as well as student and parent voices.
b) The group is charged with answering these questions:
· What concerns of LGBTQ students, educators and parents/guardians need legislative fixes? What should SSC and its member orgs be discussing with legislators about introducing in the 2009 or 2010 legislative sessions?
1 What current Washington State laws and policies need to be more widely disseminated, better understood, better implemented? How can SSC & legislators possibly work together to accomplish that?
c) It will be meeting monthly at least for the rest of 2008 with the intention of meeting with legislators about possible creative legislative fixes (for bullying, teacher/administrator training, inclusive and effective curriculum, and other issues the group is still identifying). They will also likely issue a list of legislation that member organizations may want to consider supporting or opposing in 2009.
d) If you are a youth or work with youth in Washington State, we are seeking your/their opinions about these questions. You can email answers to beth@safeschoolscoalition.org putting "LAW & POLICY" in the subject line. We want to know from WA youth:
· What issues you feel LGBTQ youth face at school that there ought to be laws about?
1 Do you feel you know what your legal rights are (regarding GSA's, prom, Day of Silence, bullying, etc.) and, if so, how did you find out?
2 Do you feel you know where to get help if your legal rights get violated and if so, how did you find out where to get help?
3 If not, how can we help get the information to you? A myspace page? A wallet card? A poster? Some other way … thinking outside the box?
(7) LISTSERVE REPORT – Beth
a) Welcome to recent subscribers from Alaska, California, Oregon, and Wyoming; and from Bellevue, Seattle, Tacoma, Vancouver, and Yakima, WA.
b) We currently have 860 subscribers, up 10% over this time last year, in at least (not everyone tells us where they are from) …
· 11 countries: Australia, Belize, Canada, China, Finland, Pakistan, Serbia and Montenegro, South Africa, United Kingdom, the U.S. and New Zealand.
1 In Canada, the 5 Provinces we serve include at least Alberta, British Columbia, New Brunswick, Ontario and Quebec. In the U.S., we serve people in at least 43 states (AK, AL, AR, AZ, CA, CO, CT, FL, GA, HI, IA, ID, IL, IN, KS, KY, LA, MA, MD, ME, MI, MN, MO, MT, NC, NE, NH, NJ, NM, NV, NY, OH, OK, OR, PA, SC, SD, TX, UT, VA, WA, WI, WY) plus Washington D.C. and Puerto Rico.
2 Within Washington State, we serve at least 26 counties: Benton, Chelan, Clallam, Clark, Cowlitz, Ferry, Franklin, Grant, Grays Harbor, Island, Jefferson, King, Kitsap, Kittitas, Mason, Pacific, Pierce, San Juan, Snohomish, Spokane, Thurston, Walla Walla, Whatcom, Whitman and Yakima.
c) YOUR HELP NEEDED ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD: Can you offer 3 hours/week researching, formatting and sending list serve messages? We’ll train you. It could earn you service learning credit if you are a student and great karma no matter who you are. Interested? Contact Beth.
(8) WEB SITE REPORT – Gabi, Ethan/Kyle
a) The SSC web site, www.safeschoolscoalition.org, is relatively unique in that it serves as a clearinghouse for resources (posters, lesson plans, model policies, etc.) from all sorts of organizations, including Groundspark, GSA Network, Haworth Press, ADL, NCLR, ACLU, GLSEN, Lambda Legal, Teaching Tolerance, PBS and many hundreds of other schools and organizations. It aims to serve as a one-stop shopping site for teachers and other school staff, parents, community members and youth looking for information about sexual diversity and schools.
b) In May, we got 198,838 hits (on track for nearly 2.4 million in 2008), serving 31,464 visitors from 113 countries including places as geographically and culturally diverse as Jordan, Kazakhstan, Jamaica, Nicaragua, Armenia, Brunei Darussalam, Papua New Guinea, Iceland, China and Luxembourg. In many parts of the world, resources like ours are tough to find.
c) News for June: We’ve had 17 posts to the new Safe Schools Coalition BLOG and 6 comments.
d) We are working (Kyle, Ethan and Gabi) on a major revision of the youth pages on the web site, including new and revised pages on suicide prevention and harm reduction, cyberbullying, education, health, trans/gender and more. We’ll make an announcement on the listserve when the changes go live.
(9) FISCAL UPDATE – Beth
a) Beth and Gabi have begun having conversation with corporations about possible web sponsorships and with donors about a new endowment and a possible grant to fund services Oct 08-Sept 09. More to come on that. Penny agreed to join the fundraising team.
b) Huge thanks to these individual and family donors to the Coalition so far in 2008:
· L. Ann Baker
1 Danica Bornstein
2 Gabi and Alec Clayton
3 Cris Elkins
4 Tracy Flynn and Sheri Simonsen
5 Duncan Gibbs
6 Pam Jensen
7 Ted and Joyce Liljeholm
8 John Mifsud
9 Bill Mowat
10 Valerie Murdock
11 Julie Peterson
12 Karen Prussing
13 Shad Reinstein and Jody Laine
14 Maureen Shadair
15 Beverly Sims
And a number of other dear people who donated at the holiday party or at Laugh Out Loud or the It’s Still Elementary premiere.
And these organizational donors:
· American Friends Service Committee
1 The Foundation for Early Learning
2 Garfield High School Gay-Straight Alliance
3 The Greater Seattle Business Association
4 Inter Vivos Trust
5 Solid Ground
If you haven’t donated so far this year, now is the time to step up. Go to: https://anauel.youth-guard.org/safeschools/donate.asp
(10) No Name-Calling Week -- Penny
Penny intended to join a national No Name Calling Week conference call earlier today, but didn’t get phone information in time. She will do that and report back on the next NNCW call. NNCW is a national even sponsored by GLSEN in January, for middle and elementary schools and involves, often, art projects.
(11) March for Youth – Ethan/Frank
The March for Youth is an event planned for this coming Saturday (Jun 21; Seattle, WA) March Against Violence, March in Prayer, March in Silence. March to get your Voice Heard, March in Protest, March in Remembrance. March in Reconciliation, Just be Sure to Come out and March on …Call Denise Gloster for more information and to find out how you can be involved: 206-723-4637 or 206-795-5824; or e-mail: denisegloster@yahoo.com The plan is to start at 10:00 am and march south from Franklin H.S. and north Rainer Beach H.S. at the same time, moving along Rainier Ave S. and then meeting in the middle at Aki Kurose MS for food, entertainment, inspirational speeches, resource tables, and “what next.” We need help with everything. CALL TODAY!! If you are interested in helping to carry a banner for the Safe Schools Coalition, please contact Ethan ASAP: ethan@safeschoolscoalition.org
UPCOMING MEETINGS … contact the chair if you have agenda items to suggest or if you need instructions about attending (in person) or calling in (by conference call). All are welcome- you do NOT need to be a Coalition member to attend.
July 15th, 2-4 pm, Pacific Time. Frieda chairs and Ethan records … NOTE: A hour earlier for summer
Frieda: 253-765-7062; ftakamura@washingtonea.org
Aug 19th, 2-4 pm, Pacific Time. Beth chairs and _____ records … NOTE: A hour earlier for summer
Beth: 206-296-4970; elizabeth.reis@metrokc.gov
Sept 16th, 3-5 pm, Pacific Time. Marsha chairs and ______ records
Marsha: 206-601-8942; mbotzer@botzerconsulting.com
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Safe Schools Coalition
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1002 E. Seneca
Seattle, WA 98122-4203
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About Safe Schools Coalition
The Safe Schools Coalition is a public-private partnership of 80+ organizations (government agencies, schools, community agencies, churches, youth/student groups, gay/lesbian groups, human rights groups) and 400+ individuals working to help schools become safe places where every family can belong, where every educator can teach, and where every child can learn, regardless of gender identity or sexual orientation.
Safe Schools' website: http://www.safeschoolscoalition.org
Got a problem at school with anti-gay harassment?
In Washington State:
1-877-SAFE-SAFE (1-877-723-3723) 24 hours a day - the phone line is answered at the Sexual Assault Hotline and they will have a Safe Schools Coalition Intervention Specialist volunteer get back to you within 24 hours. Or contact us by email: Intervention
For non-emergencies:
Questions
Speakers’ Bureau (student/community workshops, professional training)
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Website
For donations: "Safe Schools Coalition" c/o Lifelong AIDS Alliance, 1002 E Seneca, Seattle, WA 98122-4203 (or call 206-957-1621)
Co-Chairs:
Frieda Takamura, Washington Education Association, 253-765-7062
Elizabeth “Beth” Reis, Public Health - Seattle & King County, 206-296-4970
Marsha Botzer, Ingersoll Gender Center and The Task Force, 206-601-8942
Listserv Managers:
Beth Reis, for news and action items, resource messages (books, films, curricula, etc.) and help needed by reporters/authors, researchers, and member orgs
Ethan Blustein, jobs and events messages
Chris Beahler, for professional journal messages
Gabi Clayton, for legislative/elective and fundraising messages
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