Participants of the 2nd Annual Greater Cincinnati Anti-Bullying Summit were treated to a sneak preview of the new Welcoming Schools film, What Helps, What Hurts: Lessons on Bullying and Diversity. The 12-minute professional development film shows elementary school classrooms where Welcoming Schools' lessons about bullying and respecting diversity are taught. The film and facilitation guide will be completed by July of this year.
Hosted by the Greater Cincinnati HRC Steering Committee, the YWCA of Greater Cincinnati, the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, the Greater Cincinnati GLSEN chapter, the Council on Child Abuse and Talbert House, the conference brought together 170 educators, administrators, youth workers and advocates. Organizers are already committed to finding a larger venue for next year to accommodate the growing urgency to address this topic.
Conference highlights included:
- Opening remarks from openly gay city council member Chris Seelbach
- The presentation of the Second Annual Spotlight Award to Cincinnati School Principal Craig Hockenberry, presented by HRC steering committee member and conference organizer, Kristin Shrimplin.
- A keynote address by Dr. Deb Tempkin from the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights
- A presentation of the results of HRC's groundbreaking youth survey by Welcoming Schools Director Kim Westheimer
- Breakout sessions that allowed participants to dig more deeply into programs such as Welcoming Schools and the Safe Space Training offered by GLSEN of Greater Cincinnati
This summit was sold out weeks in advance, showing that educators and others who work with youth recognize the urgency of creating welcoming environments for LGBT students. The mix of educators, advocates, politicians, administrators and representatives from local non-profits brought to life the saying, “it takes a village to raise a child.”
