Mary Wakefield, Administrator of Health Resources and Services Administration, Department of Health and Human Servicesīullying does not just occur at schools and its effects can be felt throughout a community. This breakout will focus on how schools can achieve the support necessary to implement effective bullying prevention strategies.ĬOMMUNITY BASED PROGRAMS – Led by John Gomperts, Director of AmeriCorps and Dr. Yet, few evidence-based programs have proven effective at reducing bullying in the United States and those that have are cost-prohibitive for many schools. Preventive education and supportive school structures are important elements in reducing bullying in schools. IN–SCHOOL PROGRAMS – Led by Director of the Domestic Policy Council Melody Barnes and Michael Strautmanis, Deputy Assistant to the President & Counselor to the Senior Advisor for Strategic Engagement This breakout will focus on the need for policies, their key components, and the tools for implementation.

Effective policies rely not only on carefully crafted policies but also on consistent implementation and messaging about the policies. Rights, Department of Justice and Russlynn Ali, Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights,Įstablishing clear and consistent policies in schools is key to establishing a climate in which it is clear that no bullying, regardless of form, type or severity, will be tolerated in school. IN-SCHOOL POLICIES – Led by Tom Perez, Assistant Attorney General for Civil Below is a list of the Conference on Bullying Prevention breakout sessions. The opening and wrap-up sessions will be live streamed on /live. In order to engage audiences across the country, two of the White House Conference on Bullying Prevention breakout sessions will be live chats with Facebook and iVillage. Today’s Conference will also include breakout sessions (pooled press) to discuss effective policies and programs to prevent bullying followed by a wrap-up session in the South Court Auditorium at 2:00 pm ET, in which Secretaries Duncan and Sebelius along with Domestic Policy Advisor Melody Barnes will deliver remarks (open press). The Conference will begin at 10:30 am ET in the East Room with opening remarks from the President and First Lady on bullying prevention (open press), followed by a conversation with experts on effective programs and policies to prevent bullying, led by White House Senior Advisor Valerie Jarrett, at 11:00 am ET also in the East Room (open press). provides information from various government agencies on how kids, teens, young adults, parents, educators and others in the community can prevent or stop bullying. The Conference will also showcase the work and commitments made by several non-profit and corporate leaders on this issue.

Participants will speak about the effects of bullying and the work of students, parents, and teachers nationwide. The Conference will bring together communities from across the nation that have been affected by bullying as well as those who are taking action to address it. On Thursday, March 10, President Barack Obama, First Lady Michelle Obama, the Department of Education, and the Department of Health and Human Services will welcome students, parents, and teachers in addition to non-profit leaders, advocates, and policymakers to the White House for a Conference on Bullying Prevention.

White house press conference