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In: *Connecting the Dots Blog*, Uncategorized

  A friend of mine recently shared this link to an anonymous note with me: I wonder how many other teachers feel like this?   I wonder how many teachers go home at the end of the day drained from dealing with bullying directed at them?   I wonder how many students go home drained at the end of the day drained from dealing with bullying?   In talking to my friends who are teachers, they are getting tired of dealing with bullying related problems in their classroom because it takes time from their teaching and because it has a negative effect on every student’sRead More →

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In: *Connecting the Dots Blog*, Education, School Safety, Uncategorized

  Bullying has been going on since people set foot on this planet and people have been writing about bullying all the way back to Cain and Abel.  So why does bullying still exist and continue to escalate? Why has bullying escalated to a level that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC] declared bullying a “significant health problem”? Bullying exists and bullies exist in nearly every school, nearly every college and nearly every organization.  Evidence is overwhelming and it is time to accept the facts and admit status quo bullying approaches are not working, are not solving and are not preventing bullying. WhyRead More →

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In: *Connecting the Dots Blog*, Uncategorized

  Have we reached a tipping point…the point at which a series of incidents becomes significant and obvious enough to cause a larger, more important change? Is this a national teachable moment…the time at which learning about a particular topic becomes obvious and easiest? Call it what you want, but obviously now is the time for action to change the future for the better. So how do you and I change the future for the better? Lots and lots and lots of people SAY they want to change the future and many more will SAY they are a leader of positive change…however after years ofRead More →

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In: *Connecting the Dots Blog*, Incident Reporting, Risk Management, School Safety

  Last month, A 17-year-old Texas student committed suicide in a high school courtyard.  The student posted two Facebook updates that morning–one saying he was planning on committing suicide, and another with him pointing a gun at his head. In his message, he said, “I don’t know if this is going to affect people or if ya’ll are even going to care but I just want to say I’m taking my life away…” A quote from another student after the shooting  – “He said he was going through a lot of stuff. He put pictures up before he did it. Nobody believed him until heRead More →

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In: *Connecting the Dots Blog*, School Safety, Uncategorized

  A child or parent reports bullying during the parent-teacher conference.  Then what?  What constitutes bullying?  What should a teacher do with this report?  Who does the information get shared with?  What type of investigation needs to be done?  Do you talk with the bully and victim together or separately or both?  Should you call in the other parents?   How much information can you give them?  What are the consequences for bullying? Is the situation getting better?  How do you know?  Has it gotten worse?  Are you monitoring behaviors ongoing?  Maybe the bullying stopped in your classroom, but do you know if it is goingRead More →

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In: *Connecting the Dots Blog*, School Safety, Uncategorized

  If you or your child is being bullied by classmates, you have probably reported the bullying to someone at the school.  But, then what?   How was the issue addressed by the school?  Did they talk to the bully or punish the bully?  Did the situation get better?  Did the situation get worse? Regardless of how serious or small the issue is or feels, one of the most important steps for students and parents to remember when reporting a situation is DOCUMENTATION! DOCUMENT EVERYTHING. If you are meeting with a teacher or principal, come prepared with proof and examples of when and where the bullyingRead More →

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In: *Connecting the Dots Blog*, School Safety

  Headlines from the first month of school are troubling with stabbings, suicides, murder, bullying, cyberbullying and numerous other incidents. Even more troubling is that most of the incidents look like they were PREVENTABLE had the schools had the right tools to get the right information (concerning behaviors, threats, escalations, etc.) to the right people in the right places at the right time so the right people could do the right things…right away. For example, the following messages were released on social media days/weeks BEFORE this student committed suicide on the first day of school: “I have chosen to go with 3 peoples advice andRead More →

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In: *Connecting the Dots Blog*, Business Continuity, Emergency Management, Risk Management

  Can you prevent acts of Mother Nature?  No. Can you prevent tragic acts of Humans?  YES! Over 30 years ago, I started working for a large data processing organization and we processed data for nearly 400 banks.  One of my job responsibilities was to be part of the Disaster Recovery Team – yes that is what it was called back then.  Our goal was to be prepared to react to different types of disasters and make sure our clients (nearly 400 banks) were still delivering their services to their customers. Today most organizations have renamed their Disaster Recovery department/team to Business Continuity, Emergency Response,Read More →

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In: *Connecting the Dots Blog*, Education, Regulatory Compliance, Risk Management, School Safety, Success

Awareity’s Rick Shaw recently had the opportunity to speak with Tulsa Public Schools’ Assistant Athletic Director Mick Wilson.   TPS is always looking for ways to save time and improve the way the athletic department manages their obligations and Wilson shares several tips for improving compliance and touches on hot topics like concussions, training, etc. A quick excerpt from the interview is below.  To hear the full 15 minute segment, click here.   How is TIPS improving the way you make coaches aware of new information and training? The biggest thing we have been able to do so far is really to get the information outRead More →

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In: *Connecting the Dots Blog*, School Safety

  Guest Post from Tina Long After her son Tyler’s peer abuse driven bullycide in 2009, Tina Long has worked along with her husband, David, to stop bullying and make schools accountable for our children’s safety. She has traveled the country to promote awareness of the severity and damage that bullying can cause. David and Tina have appeared on The Ellen Show, 20/20, Nightline, and many other programs. They both spoke at a caucus on bullying in Washington, D.C.  Tina is currently working on the project Everything Starts with 1 along with Awareity and continues to be an anti-bullying advocate.     I Remember: *I rememberRead More →