No Name-Calling Week Begins in Thousands of Schools Nationwide

NEW YORK, Jan. 22 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Thousands of schools this week
are participating in the fifth-annual No Name-Calling Week, a project of
GLSEN, the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network, and Simon and Schuster
Children's Publishing, in collaboration with nearly 50 national education and
youth service organizations.

Aimed at grades 5-8 with additional lesson plans for earlier grades, No
Name-Calling Week is an annual week of educational activities aimed at ending
name-calling of all kinds and providing schools with the tools and inspiration
to launch an on-going dialogue about ways to eliminate bullying in their
communities.

"Name-calling and bullying begin to take hold as an everyday experience in
elementary and middle school," said Dr. Eliza Byard, GLSEN's Interim Executive
Director. "No Name-Calling Week is an opportunity for schools to address the
problem in a proactive, educational manner. Far too many students know how
important a week like No Name-Calling Week really is."

Haviland Avenue School in Audubon, N.J., wanted to find out just how prevalent
bullying is on its campus. The 2008 No Name-Calling Week "Creative Expression
Contest" winner in the school or school district category took a survey of its
6th graders. Nearly every student - 98 percent - said he or she had
experienced bullying.

No Name-Calling Week is inspired by the young adult novel, The Misfits, by
popular author James Howe. The book tells the story of four best friends
trying to survive the seventh grade in the face of all too frequent
name-calling, bullying and harassment. The students create a "No Name Day" at
school in hopes of creating a safer environment.

No Name-Calling Week Coalition partners include the National Association of
Secondary School Principals, the National Association of Elementary School
Principals, Girl Scouts of the USA, the National School Boards Association and
the National Education Association.

In GLSEN's 2005 report, From Teasing to Torment: School Climate in America, 47
percent of junior/middle high school students identified bullying,
name-calling or harassment as somewhat serious or very serious problems at
their school. Additionally, 69 percent of junior/middle high school students
reported being assaulted or harassed in the previous year and only 41 percent
said they felt very safe at school.

To learn more about No Name-Calling Week, visit www.nonamecallingweek.org.

About GLSEN
GLSEN, the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network, is the leading
national education organization focused on ensuring safe schools for all
students. Established nationally in 1995, GLSEN envisions a world in which
every child learns to respect and accept all people, regardless of sexual
orientation or gender identity/expression. For more information on GLSEN's
educational resources, public policy agenda, student organizing programs,
research, public education or development initiatives, visit www.glsen.org.

SOURCE Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network

Daryl Presgraves of Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network,
+1-646-388-6577, dpresgraves@glsen.org