October is Bullying Prevention Month

September 29, 2016

rusch-elementary-2014-rword

Starting this Saturday, schools, communities, organizations and individuals across the country will come together to observe National Bullying Prevention Awareness Month – an entire month to be reminded that, together, we can stop bullying.

It is apparent that school and social environments for young children today can be fraught with challenges. In the United States alone, nearly 1 in 3 students ages 12-18 report being bullied at school. To that end, children with disabilities are 2 to 3 times more likely to be bullied than their peers without disabilities. Through extensive research, Special Olympics has identified a clear need to promote an environment at schools that focuses not only on academic needs of students with intellectual disabilities, but also their need for inclusion within the school community.

Enter Special Olympics Unified Champion Schools. Through Unified Champion Schools, schools across the globe are providing students with and without intellectual disabilities opportunities to learn and play together thereby creating inclusive friendships and environments of respect and acceptance.

With another school year underway and National Bullying Prevention Awareness month upon us, we encourage you as parents, caregivers, teachers, students and fans of Special Olympics, to come together to create more inclusive, bully-free environments for individuals with and without intellectual disabilities.

Get Involved:

√  Help your school become a Unified Champion School

Join us for National R-Word day on March 1, 2017 and Spread the Word to End the Word

Contact us about creating a Unified Sports program in your community


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