Kevin Jennings Assistant Deputy Secretary Office of Safe and Drug Free Schools

U.S. Department of EducationFederal Education Priorities and Creating Safe Schools NCSSWA Annual Fall Conference North Carolina School Social Workers Association November 12, 2010 Kevin JenningsAssistant Deputy Secretary Office of Safe and Drug Free Schools Department of Education

President Obama: “Produce a higher percentage of college graduates than any other country in the world by the end of the next decade.” What’s the goal at ED?

Sources: The College Board, Education Pays 2010, Figure 1.1; U.S. Census Bureau, 2009; Internal Revenue Service, 2008; Davis et al., 2009; calculations by the authors

More Education, Longer Life Source: National Longitudinal Mortality Study, 1988-1998

The US is Falling Behind in HS Graduation RatesApproximate percentage of persons with high school or equivalent qualifications in the age group 25-64 1 13 27 1 Source: Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), Education at a Glance 2008 • Year of reference 2004. • Including some ISCED 3C short programs • Year of reference 2003.

High School Graduation Rates among OECD nations, 2007 Note: 1995 graduation rates are calculated on a gross basis whereas 2007 are calculated as net graduation rates (for countries with available data). 1. Year of reference 2006. Countries are ranked in descending order of the upper secondary graduation rates in 2007. Source: Education at a Glance 2009: OECD Indicators. Table A2.2. (www.oecd.org/edu/eag2009).

U.S. : Higher Ed Leader in the Sixties, the Laggard Today Percent of Adults with an Associate Degree or Higher by Age Group - U.S. & Leading OECD Countries Source: OECD, Education at a Glance 2008

North Carolina Lags the Nation in Graduation RatesAverage Freshman Graduation Rate, School Year 2007-2008 U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data. "NCES Common Core of Data State Dropout and Completion Data File." School Year 2007–08, Version 1b. Retrieved at http://nces.ed.gov/pubs2010/graduates/tables/table_01.asp

National Center for Education Statistics. (2010). Public School Graduates and Dropouts From the Common Core of Data: School Year 2007-2008. NCES 2010-341.

It’s simple. Students can’t learn if they don’t feel safe.Period. Where does the Office of Safe & Drug Free Schools fit in?

(Safe Schools)(Healthy Students)=Academic Success Success? It’s a Basic Equation

In a Truly Safe School Every Student Feels Like… • They Belong. • They are Valued. • They Feel Physically and Emotionally Safe.

Substance Use

Center for Disease Control and Prevention. (4 June 2010). Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance- United States 2009. Surveillance Summaries, MMWR 2010;59 (No. SS-5)

*five or more drinks within a couple of hours on at least one day during the 30 days before the survey. Center for Disease Control and Prevention. (4 June 2010). Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance- United States 2009. Surveillance Summaries, MMWR 2010;59 (No. SS-5)

Physical Safety

Who Bullies, Who Gets Bullied, Who Enables: Understanding Roles in Bullying

Some Groups are Singled Out for HarassmentQuestion: “At your school, how often are students bullied, called names or harassed for the following reasons?” Source: From Teasing to Torment: School Climate in America 2005

Rivers, I., Poteat, V.P., Noret, N., Ashurt, N. (2009). Observing Bullying at School: The Mental Health Implication of Witness Status. School Psychology Quarterly. 24:4, 211-223.

What Characterizes a Bully? • High rates of “externalizing behavior” • Having behaviors consistent with ADD, ADHD, Oppositional/Defiant Disorder, or Conduct Disorder • Being Highly Aggressive • Having negative perceptions of “others”: people unlike themselves Cook, C. R., Williams, K.R., Guerra, N.G., Kim, T.E.m & Sadek, S. (2010). Predictors of bullying and victimization in childhood and adolescence: A meta-analytic investigation. School Psychology Quarterly, 25(2), 65-83.

What Characterizes a Victim? • Low Social Competence • Lack basic social skills • - Unable to easily make friends • Peer Rejection Cook, C. R., Williams, K.R., Guerra, N.G., Kim, T.E.m & Sadek, S. (2010). Predictors of bullying and victimization in childhood and adolescence: A meta-analytic investigation. School Psychology Quarterly, 25(2), 65-83.

What Characterizes a Bully-Victim? • A bully-victim is someone who is both the perpetrator and the target of bullying behavior • Bully-victims show similarly low-levels of social competency as only-victims. • Bully-victims are more easily influenced by their peers than only-victims. Cook, C. R., Williams, K.R., Guerra, N.G., Kim, T.E.m & Sadek, S. (2010). Predictors of bullying and victimization in childhood and adolescence: A meta-analytic investigation. School Psychology Quarterly, 25(2), 65-83.

Role of Bystanders in Instances of Bullying Witnesses Assistants Reinforcers Outsiders Defenders Rivers, I., Poteat, V.P., Noret, N., Ashurt, N. (2009). Observing Bullying at School: The Mental Health Implication of Witness Status. School Psychology Quarterly. 24:4, 211-223.

Why the Problem Persists…and What We Can do

Teachers and Students Make a Difference In classrooms where both students and teachers had strong attitudes and actions against bullying and aggression rates of aggression were 1/3 to ½ of classes where peers alone (and not teachers) had strong attitudes against aggression Henry, D., Guerra, N., Huessmann, R., Tolan, P., VanAcker, R., & Eron, L. (2000). Normative influences on aggression in urban elementary school classrooms. Amerian Journal of Community Psychology, 28(1), 59-81.

Peer Intervention Works, but Isn’t Common • Of bullying episodes in which peers intervened, 57% of the interventions were effective (i.e., the bullying stopped within 10 seconds). • Peers intervene in only 11-19% of all bullying incidents. Source: Hawkins, Pepler and Craig 2001

Petrosino, A., Guckenburg, S., DeVoe, J. and Hanson, T. (2010). What characteristics of bullying, bullying victims, and schools are associated with increased reporting of bullying to school officials? (Issues & Answers Report, REL 2010- No.092). Washington, DC: US Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance, Regional Education Laboratory Northeast and Islands. Retrieved from http://ies.ed.gov/ncee/edlabs.

EverySchoolShould…

Every Teacher Should…

Every Student Should… Source: HRSA Stop Bullying Now!

Every Parent Should… Source: HRSA Stop Bullying Now!

Cyber Bullying

Today’s Teens Love Technology Percentage of teens who… Source: The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy.

Victimization Perpetration

“Sexting” is CommonPercentage of teens sending or posting sexually suggestive messages (text, email, IM) Source: The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy.

Peer Pressure?Percentage of teens who said pressure from a member of the opposite sex is a reason to send sexy messages or images Source: The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy.

Vegas Syndrome 61% of teens “strongly” and “somewhat agree” that “People my age are more forward/aggressive using sexy messages and pictures/video than they are in real life” Source: The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy.

Every Parent Should… • Talk to your kids about what they are doing in cyberspace. • Know who your kids are communicating with. • Consider limitations on electronic communication. • Be aware of what your teens are posting publicly. • Set expectations. Source: The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy.

Kevin Jennings Assistant Deputy Secretary Office of Safe and Drug Free Schools