District Administration - January 2011 - (Page 58)

The Politicization of Bullying demic performance will be better,” Barnes adds. “Same thing in the work world: If your environment is good and you feel appreciated and helped, then your productivity will increase.” Feeling Bullying Firsthand Kevin Jennings, a lifelong educator, is the assistant deputy secretary of education, heading the oﬃce of Safe and Drug-Free Schools and the founder, in 1990, of GLSEN. Jennings, who co-chaired the August summit for Safe and Drug-Free Schools, knows about bullying ﬁrsthand. His father was a roving Baptist preacher who died when Jennings, the youngest of ﬁve children, was eight. His cousins and uncles were in the Ku Klux Klan. In school, Jennings was constantly bullied and harassed for eﬀeminate behavior and, as a result, attempted suicide. But after he and his mother moved to Hawaii, Jennings was able to graduate from high school and then went on to earn a bachelor’s degree magna cum laude in history from Harvard. He started teaching high school history in 1985. He then went on to found GLSEN and has authored six books on the issue of gay rights and education. At the August summit, representatives from various groups, including the Christian Educators Association International, helped strategize the eradication of intol- Kevin Jennings is assistant deputy secretary of education, of the erant school climates. oﬃce of Safe and Drug-Free Schools and GLSEN founder. Jennings’ appointment by President Obama has not gone moral citizens everywhere who oppose the without protest, however. Some groups, indoctrination of students in a pro-homosuch as Americans for Truth about Homo- sexuality, pro-gender confusion agenda.” sexuality, have called Jennings a “divisive” “I’m actually the ﬁrst educator to ever and “radical” nominee. According to the hold this job,” Jennings says. “My educagroup’s Web site, americansfortruth.com, tion and my work history focus on K12 the group had called for the withdrawal of education. at cannot be said of any of Jennings’ nomination, saying it’s an “aﬀront the people who have held this job before.” to Christians, parents’ rights and decent Is Jennings being targeted politically for having led GLSEN and now playing a leading role in education on the federal level? “I’m not seeing that,” says Jennings. “What I’m seeing is a lot of folks are really concerned that kids are getting hurt, kids are behind, kids can’t learn.” Activate your K-12 communities. Accelerate achievement. Take your district to a place where community connections run measurably deeper. Where parents are more engaged, and learners are more energized by tools more relevant to their digital lives. Where all your essential technologies and tools are uni ed around student, school and district success. Enter the world of the possible with Schoolwires Centricity2 The unifying web platform that goes beyond connecting K-12 communities: Centricity2 activates communities. See Schoolwires at AASA Booth 507 Learn more at schoolwires.com/centricity2 877.427.9413 | sales@schoolwires.com | www.schoolwires.com ™ Website & Community Management CONNECT Technology Ecosystem UNIFY Community Engagement ENGAGE The leading provider of community-based solutions that accelerate district and student success Redeﬁning Bullying Meanwhile, as a result of heightened public outcry, the Education Department’s Oﬃce of Civil Rights (OCR), which is working in tandem with Jennings’ oﬃce, recently issued a 10-page letter to schools redeﬁning bullying as potential harassment under federal harassment and discrimination laws, with an emphasis on lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) students. Not everyone sees the federal action as a plus. “ is is an unprecedented overreach into local school control of discipline, school climate, school safety,” Trump says. “I can’t believe that the education associations support such a move—that is, having federal civil rights investigators coming in to investigate them and meddle in how they administer discipline and school climate. But I think they’ve been biting their District Administration The platform of 58 January 2011 http://www.americansfortruth.com http://www.schoolwires.com/centricity2 http://www.schoolwires.com/centricity2 http://www.schoolwires.com http://www.schoolwires.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of District Administration - January 2011

District Administration - January 2011
Contents
From the Editor
Letters
News Update
Administrator Profile
District Profile
Conversations
Crisis Response
Going Mobile
Online Edge
Professional Opinion
K12 Guide to Audio/Visual Solutions
Product Focus
What’s the Value in Value-Added?
The Politicization of Bullying
Holding On to Parent Voices
Tough New Issues Refocus Health Education
New Products
Books

District Administration - January 2011