ThinkB4YouSpeak

Angie Wright, Kimberly Printup, Kiersten VanSteele

Middle America School

795 students grades 7-12 (approx. 105/class)
Eligible for free lunch
Eligible for reduced lunch
Population
Annual attendance
Student Suspensions

8%
4%
97% white; 3% hispanic/black
96%
4%

Dignity for All Students Act

No student shall be subjected to
harassment, discrimination, or
bullying by employees
or students

The Dignity Act

The Dignity Act is intended to give students in
public schools an educational environment free
from discrimination and harassment. It protects
against all forms of harassment, particularly those
based on a students actual or perceived race,
color, weight, national origin, ethnic group, religion,
religious practice, disability, sexual orientation,
gender or sex.

The Dignity Act

The Dignity Act prohibits activities that create a hostile
environment at school and school sponsored events. These
activities can include aggressive conduct, threats,
intimidation or abuse that unreasonably and substantially
interferes with another students educational performance.
The Dignity Act also creates a framework for promoting a
more positive school culture through sensitivity training and
classroom curricula on diversity.

Background on ThinkB4YouSpeak

Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) teens in the U.S. experience homophobic
remarks and harassment throughout the school day, creating an atmosphere where they
feel disrespected, unwanted and unsafe.

Research shows that these slurs are often unintentional and are a part of teens vernacular.
Most do not recognize the consequences.

Research also shows that many of the bystanders to acts of harassment experience
feelings of helplessness and powerlessness, and develop poor coping and problem-solving
skills.

Clearly, homophobic and all types of harassmentand the toxic effects they produceare
whole school problems that all educators must confront.

Middle America School

Why is this program important for this
particular school?

LGBTQ youth underreported

Students may have friends or family
members who are LGBTQ as well.

GLSEN (Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network)

reported the following:
82% of LGBT youth had problems with bullying
about sexual orientation.
64% felt unsafe at school due to sexual orientation
LGBTQ youth is two or three times more likely to
attempt suicide than other teens
23% of students regularly heard negative language
from staff regarding gender expression.

More from GLSEN

42% of LGBTQ youth have experienced cyber bullying including:
o 33% reported being sexually harassed online (Four times greater than
others students)
LGBTQ youth have higher risk of alcohol and substance abuse
LGBTQ youth are twice as often physically assaulted than others

Only 23% of LGBTQ youth attended a school that has a comprehensive antibullying policy that specifically includes protection for LGBTQ.

Did You Know?

9 out of 10 LGBT students hear the word gay used in a negative way
3 out of 4 LGBT students report hearing their peers make homophobic remarks
83.1% of LGBT students report that hearing gay or queer used in a negative
manner at school causes them to feel bothered or distressed to some degree.
18% of LGBT students report that school personnel frequently intervene when
hearing homophobic remarks and only 8% report that other students frequently
intervene.

(ThinkB4YouSpeak, 2008)

Assaults and Harassment

Almost 90% of LGBT students are verbally harassed and 44% are physically
harassed
LGBT students who experience high frequencies of verbal harassment are twice
as likely as other LGBT students to skip school, and LGBT students who are
frequently physically harassed report lower grades than other students.
30% of LGBT students who experience high frequencies of physical harassment
say they will go on to college (as compared to 41.5% of other students).
(ThinkB4YouSpeak, 2008)

Think B4 You Speak Campaign

To address this disconcerting reality, GLSEN, together with The Ad Council, has
created the first national multimedia public service advertising (PSA) campaign
designed to address the use of anti-LGBT language among teens.
The campaign aims to raise awareness among straight teens about the
prevalence and consequences of anti-LGBT bias and behavior in Americas
schools.
Ultimately, the goal is to reduce and prevent the use of homophobic language in
an effort to create a more positive environment for LGBT teens.
The campaign also aims to reach adults, including school personnel and parents,
because their support of this message is crucial to the success of efforts to
change behavior among the target age group.

A Little Star Power Never Hurt

TV ads feature scenarios in which
the term thats so gay is used
casually in an effort to help teens
recognize that their anti-LGBT
language is harmful. The ads
conclude by asking teens, When
you say thats so gay, do you
realize what you say?, and with a
message from celebrities,
including Wanda Sykes and
Hilary Duff, urging teens to
knock it off.

Twitter Feed
http://www.thinkb4youspeak.com/
If you click on the live feed you can see the actual Twitter phrases go by.
Click on the weekly and monthly counters for more startling statistics.
There is one flaw noticed with the word Dyke because Van Dyke is a
common last name with variations of it, street addresses, etc.
This is only just for Twitter

Our Plans
1 full day program--half in morning and half in afternoon
Inform Parents/Guardians and the Community
o School website--video links, campaign, presentation
o Letter home
o Encouraged to support safe school efforts

Presentation
o
o
o
o
o
o
o

Safe place for discussion--ground rules

About the campaign--Celebrity PSAs
Use of Language & Definitions--Whats in a Word?
Statistics
Twitter feed
Break the students up
Explanation of Procedures

Activities
Where Do I Stand?
Impact vs. Intention
From Bystander to Ally

Stand Up! Don't stand for

homophobic bullying video
http://www.glhv.org.au/video/stand-dont-stand-homophobic-bullying

What We Need

9th grade students

Gymnasium
Auditorium
Faculty
Projector

Providing a Safe School Community

Moving Forward
Encourage student groups to follow up on
the campaign
Service learning projects
No-Name Calling Week
Ally Week

Resources
The Capital District Gay & Lesbian
Community Council/Capital Pride Center
Trainings & Education
Programs/Events
GLSEN - NY Capital Region Chapter
Educator Webinars
Kits, materials and guides for school programs
Events
Volunteer opportunities
PFLAG.ORG

Ethical Considerations
(Ethical Standards for School Counselors, 2010)

A.1 Responsibilities to Students

A.2 Confidentiality
A.4 Dual Relationships
a. Maintain appropriate professional distance with students at all times.

A.6 Group Work

b. Recognize that best practice is to notify the parents/guardians of children participating in small
groups.
c. Establish clear expectations in the group setting, and clearly state that confidentiality in group
counseling cannot be guaranteed. Given the developmental and chronological ages of minors in
schools, recognize the tenuous nature of confidentiality for minors renders some topics
inappropriate for group work in a school setting.

A.10 Technology
e. Consider the extent to which cyberbullying is interfering with students educational process
and base guidance curriculum and intervention programming for this pervasive and potentially
dangerous problem on research-based and best practices.

B.1 Parents Rights and Responsibilities

d. Inform parents of the nature of counseling services provided in the school setting.

B.2. Parents/Guardians and Confidentiality

b. Recognize that working with minors in a school setting requires school counselors to collaborate with
students parents/guardians to the extent possible.
d. Provide parents/guardians with accurate, comprehensive and relevant information in an objective and
caring manner, as is appropriate and consistent with ethical responsibilities to the student.

C.1. Professional Relationships

a. Establish and maintain professional relationships with faculty, staff and administration to facilitate an
optimum counseling program.
b. Treat colleagues with professional respect, courtesy and fairness.
c. Recognize that teachers, staff and administrators who are high functioning in the personal and social
development skills can be powerful allies in supporting student success. School counselors work to develop
relationships with all faculty and staff in order to advantage students.

C.2. Sharing Information with Other Professionals

e. Recognize the powerful role of ally that faculty and administration who function high in personal/social
development skills can play in supporting students in stress, and carefully filter confidential information to
give these allies what they need to know in order to advantage the student. Consultation with other
members of the school counseling profession is helpful in determining need-to-know information. The primary
focus and obligation is always on the student when it comes to sharing confidential information.

D.2. Responsibility to the Community

a. Collaborate with community agencies, organizations and individuals in students best interest and without
regard to personal reward or remuneration.
b. Extend their influence and opportunity to deliver a comprehensive school counseling program to all
students by collaborating with community resources for student success.

E.1. Professional Competence

a. Function within the boundaries of individual professional competence and accept responsibility for the
consequences of their actions.

E.2. Multicultural and Social Justice Advocacy and Leadership

d. Affirm the multiple cultural and linguistic identities of every student and all stakeholders. Advocate for
equitable school and school counseling program policies and practices for every student and all stakeholders
including use of translators and bilingual/multilingual school counseling program materials that represent all
languages used by families in the school community, and advocate for appropriate accommodations and
accessibility for students with disabilities.

F.1. Professionalism
e. Adhere to ethical standards of the profession, other official policy statements, such as ASCAs position
statements, role statement and the ASCA National Model and relevant statutes established by federal, state
and local governments, and when these are in conflict work responsibly for change.

ASCA Standards for Counselors

ASCA
I-A: Knowledge
I-A-3. Barriers to student learning and use of advocacy and data-driven school
counseling practices to close the achievement/opportunity gap
I-A-6. Collaborations with stakeholders such as parents and guardians,
teachers, administrators and community leaders to create learning
environments that promote educational equity and success for every student
I-A-7. Legal, ethical and professional issues in pre-K12 schools

Standards Continued
I-B: Abilities and Skills
An effective school counselor is able to accomplish measurable objectives
demonstrating the following abilities and skills.
I-B-1c. Applies the school counseling themes of leadership, advocacy,
collaboration and systemic change, which are critical to a successful school
counseling program
I-B-2. Serves as a leader in the school and community to promote and support
student success
I-B-3b. Identifies and demonstrates benefits of advocacy with school and
community stakeholders

ASCA Student Standards

Personal/Social Development
Standard A: Students will acquire the knowledge, attitudes and interpersonal skills
to help them understand and respect self and others.

PS:A1 Acquire Self-knowledge

PS:A1.1 Develop positive attitudes toward self as a unique and worthy person
PS:A1.2 Identify values, attitudes and beliefs
PS:A1.5 Identify and express feelings
PS:A1.6 Distinguish between appropriate and inappropriate behavior

Student Standards continued

PS:A2 Acquire Interpersonal Skills
PS:A2.1 Recognize that everyone has rights and responsibilities
PS:A2.2 Respect alternative points of view
PS:A2.3 Recognize, accept, respect and appreciate individual differences

Standard B: Students will make decisions, set goals and take necessary
action to achieve goals.
PS:B1 Self-knowledge Application
PS:B1.7 Demonstrate a respect and appreciation for individual and cultural differences
PS:B1.8 Know when peer pressure is influencing a decision

References
ASCA National Standards for Students (2004). American School Counselor Association. Retrieved from
http://static.pdesas.org/content/documents/ASCA_National_Standards_for_Students.pdf
ASCA School Counselor Competencies (2012). American School Counselor Association. Retrieved from
https://www.schoolcounselor.org/asca/media/asca/home/SCCompetencies.pdf
Ethical Standards for School Counselors (2010). American School Counselor Association. Retrieved from
http://www.schoolcounselor.org/asca/media/asca/Resource%20Center/Legal%20and%20Ethical%20Issues/Sa
mple%20Documents/EthicalStandards2010.pdf
LGBT Bullying Statistics (2014). Retrieved from http://nobullying.com/lgbt-bullying-statistics/
ThinkB4YouSpeak (2008). Educators Guide. Retrieved from
http://www.thinkb4youspeak.com/ForEducators/GLSEN-EducatorsGuide.pdf