Bullying Prevention Workshops

The PA Masonic Youth Foundation is pleased to announce the 2012 training schedule for educators and agency personnel involved with elementary and secondary education. The workshops are subsidized by the generosity of the Pennsylvania Freemasons to ensure the affordability for school and agency personnel. All trainings are conducted by Mrs. Deborah McCoy, of Educational Development Services, Ltd. Size of the workshops is limited, so register now to avoid missing out!

Trainings are held at the following locations:

Masonic Conference Center (MCC), Elizabethown, PA:
$10 registration fee.
Trainings are from 9 AM to 2 PM.
A continental breakfast, lunch and all training materials are included.
Click here for registration form, or contact Amy Nace at (717)367-1536, ext. 2.
Directions to the MCC are here.

Masonic Village at Sewickley (MV-S), Sewickley, PA:
$10 registration fee.
Trainings are from 9 AM to 2 PM and are held in the Star Points Assembly Room.
A continental breakfast, lunch and all training materials are included.
Click here for registration form, or contact Amy Nace at (717)367-1536, ext. 2.
Directions to the MVS are here.

Counseling or Referral Assistance (CORA), Philadelphia, PA:
No registration fee.
Trainings are from 8:30 AM to 1 PM.
A continental breakfast, light morning snack, and all training materials are included.
Register by calling Gen Walker at (215) 342-7660.

BH10 Services (BH10), Philadelphia, PA:
No registration fee.
Trainings are from 8:30 AM to 1 PM.
All training materials are included.
Register by calling Stephen at (215) 923-2116 x 289 .

2012 Training Schedule
Click each title for a full description
Jan. 19, 2012 The New Bullying 101 - FULL
Trauma, Illness & Other Public Health Issues 		CORA
Jan. 31, 2012 Generation DIVA - FULL
Facebook, Frenemies & Mean Girl Bullying 		BH10
Feb. 16, 2012 Bullying, Sex and Tech CORA
Feb. 24, 2012 Generation DIVA - FULL
Facebook, Frenemies & Mean Girl Bullying 		BH10
Mar. 13, 2012 Generation DIVA
Facebook, Frenemies & Mean Girl Bullying 		MCC
Mar. 20, 2012 Generation DIVA
Facebook, Frenemies & Mean Girl Bullying 		MCIU
April 17, 2012 Bullying, Sex and Tech MCC
April 24, 2012 Bullying, Sex and Tech BH10
May 8, 2012 The New Bullying 101
Trauma, Illness & Other Public Health Issues 		MCIU
May 11, 2012 Bullying, Sexual Harassment, Hazing & the Law
What All Schools Need to Know 		BH10
June 7, 2012 Generation DIVA
Facebook, Frenemies & Mean Girl Bullying 		CORA
The New Bullying 101
Trauma, Illness, and Other Public Health Issues

Extraordinarily high numbers of students report being targeted for bullying both in school, and outside of school, via cyber-bullying. Bullying is a form of youth violence that can result in physical harm, social and emotional distress, and even death. Targeted youth are at increased risk for mental health problems, psychosomatic illnesses, and poor academic performance. Youth who engage in bullying are at increased risk for substance abuse, poor academic performance, and violence later in adolescence and adulthood.

Significant research has illustrated that bullying has become a public health issue for our youth, impacting all areas of their lives. Studies examining the impact of chronic bullying on youth found that children and adolescents who were frequent targets of bullying often experienced high levels of trauma. In a new 28-country study the health symptoms of students who were being bullied were universal and recognizable. This workshop is of interest to guidance counselors, teachers, school nurses, and health professionals serving youth.

This workshop examines:

• The latest research and information on bullying, trauma and illness;
• Cyber-bullying, and how youth use technology to harass, humiliate, and intimidate each other;
• Characteristics, health symptoms & warning signs of students targeted for bullying;
• Characteristics & warning signs of aggressors;
• The populations of students that are at a particularly high-risk for bullying;
• How to provide direct care to students being targeted for bullying;
• How to serve as a an advocate for targeted students.

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Bullying, Sex and Tech


This workshop addresses the collision of bullying, technology, sexting and boundary-defying behavior among youth. Participants will review current research and trends involving cyber-bullying, youth’s involvement with technology and sexting. Social and psychological issues related to digital cruelty will be examined, as well as the ramifications of the technological sharing of TMI (too much information) among youth. Current court cases and legal issues surrounding youth, sex and tech will be looked at. The role and responsibility of schools and agencies in addressing the current digital dramas among you will be discussed. Realistic intervention and prevention methods and programs will also be discussed, as well as how to deal with the culture that reinforces it.

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Generation Diva
Facebook, Frenemies, and Mean Girl Bullying

Most educators agree the bullying behavior that girls engage in is far more difficult to address than the aggression boys use against one another. While the movie “Mean Girls” was fictional, there is nothing imaginary about the mean-spirited, sometimes cold-blooded behavior that girls use to harm another.

This workshop will address the bullying behavior and relational aggression that our girls use on a daily basis. Unique to this generation of females is the online social networking tool, Facebook, and all it has to offer. Much of the aggression that girls engage in against one another is in the realm of cyber-bullying, where they are often the masters of that digital universe. Cyber-bullying, partnered with some of the toxic media diets our girls consume, leads to a population of girls abounding in full-out “divatude”.

This workshop will:

• Examine the current research on girls, media influences, female bullying, relational aggression, and their friendship patterns;
• Look at the digital behavior of our girls using texting, Facebook, and other social networking mediums;
• Review current legal concerns surrounding bullying and cyber-bullying, focusing on issues involving our girls;
• Discuss the friendship patterns of females, focusing on the development of healthy, well-balanced friendships;
• Examine prevention and intervention strategies in addressing the bullying, cyber-bullying and relational aggression specific to girls.

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Bullying Prevention of LGBT Students
The School's Role

Bullying, harassment and name-calling are significant problems for many students in schools nationwide, and according to a study, GSLEN’s From Teasing to Torment: A Report on School Climate in Pennsylvania, particularly those in Pennsylvania.  In addition to physical appearance, students reported that the most common reasons other students were bullied were sexual orientation and gender expression.  Less than half of the students who responded to the study felt very safe in their schools (6% of students reported being lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender - LGBT). 

The study also highlighted the troubling reality that many teachers and school staff did not intervene when hearing students use biased language, with 20% of those students reporting hearing staff use biased language as well.  All students have a right to be safe in their schools, regardless of how others perceive them.  Federal courts have also weighed in on this issue, and have spoken with clarity about the duty of schools to protect and provide a safe and orderly environment for all students.  This workshop will:

  • Examine the most recent research addressing the bullying and harassment of LGBT students;
  • Provide an overview of the difficulties of school life for many of our LGBT students;
  • Review current legal issues and cases involving schools and LGBT students;
  • Outline the schools’ legal role and responsibility to address the bullying and harassment that LGBT kids experience;   We will also l
  • Look at the guidance provided by the U.S. Department of Education specific to the bullying and harassment of LGBT students;
  • Assess specific policies, procedures, guidelines, discipline codes and programs that help provide a safe learning environment for all students and meet the requirements of both PA and the U.S. Dept. of Education;
  • Discuss realistic strategies to deal with the bullying and harassment of LGBT students.

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Threat Assessment in Schools:
Keeping Schools Safe

Several federal organizations have responded to recent youth violence and school shootings by developing violence prevention programs and intervention methods. At the forefront have been the U.S. Secret Service's National Threat Assessment Center and the U.S. Department of Education's “Threat Assessment in Schools: A Guide to Managing Threatening Situations and to Creating Safe School Climates”.

Through their collaborative efforts, extensive research was conducted on 37 school shootings. The "Safe School Initiative" was created by the Secret Service's National Threat Assessment Center, in conjunction with the U.S. Department of Education. Their research and "Threat Assessment Guide" provides invaluable information for educators and gives schools a clear process for identifying, assessing and managing students who may pose a threat of violence. 

This workshop examines the research behind the development of the Threat Assessment Guide, and its implications for violence prevention programs in schools.  Copies of the Guide are provided, and participants will examine the threat assessment process in its entirety outlined in the Guide.  Accompanying worksheets will also be provided and reviewed, enabling participants to return to their schools with the materials necessary to begin the development of their threat assessment process.  Other violence prevention program resources will be highlighted during the workshop.

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Swimming in a Sea of Mean:
The Bullied Lives of Boys and Girls

Both boys and girls engage in bullying, and researchers continually examine the role of gender in bullying behavior.  While gender can impact how students bully, there are many other influences that effect the behavior of our youth.  Kids are overwhelmed with negative and harmful influences that create the “sea of mean” many of them live in day after day.  Adults both in and out of school must work together to both intervene in and prevent the “sea of mean” that threatens to tear down any semblance of kindness and decency left among our youth’s culture.  

This workshop will examine:

  • the latest research specific to gender and bullying;
  • current cultural norms and influences that encourage bullying and harassment among youth;
  • the most recent research on the development of empathy in youth;
  • how to create climates of respect both in and out of school;
  • specific strategies to facilitate the development of empathy among youth;
  • appropriate and creative disciplinary measures that engender accountability for bullying behavior;
  • the digital life of youth and how to cross the “digital divide” to encourage safe and healthy electronic engagement;
  • realistic methods to create respectful, empathetic environments for our youth.

Bully, Sexual Harassment, Hazing, and the Law:
What Schools Need to Know

Bullying and harassment among our youth have moved to the forefront of the news and daily discussions among adults in recent years. Much of the news is not positive or encouraging. Research tells us that 30% of school-age students are directly involved in bullying within a school semester. In one study, 50% of high-school students reported engaging in cyber-bullying. Grim reports dominate of desperate kids committing suicide after an endless barrage of hateful, destructive harassment. There is often little encouragement offered regarding bullying and harassment among our youth, yet there is definitely good news to celebrate.

Research and practical experience have demonstrated there are proven and successful strategies to address bullying and harassment in our schools. Involving students, creating climate change, empowering youth, and educating school staff, parents and the community are essential in a successful bullying and harassment prevention process.

This workshop will:

  • Review the research that identifies what works in schools’ bullying prevention efforts;
  • Examine the practices and programs that are successful in addressing bullying in schools K – 12;
  • Identify the characteristics and skills of students that enable them to intervene on behalf of their peers in bullying and harassment situations;
  • Explore the training and educational programs that empower students to no longer be inactive bystanders;
  • Look at successful strategies in the development of empathy, which is key to truly bullying prevention.