In conjunction with Bullying Awareness Week (November 15-21), Allen Davidson, Assistant Superintendent of Employee Services, updated Trustees on employee participation in the Respect in School program, Canada’s only on-line bullying, abuse, harassment and neglect prevention education program for school-based employees. The related Respect in Sport program is geared to coaches and volunteers working with children and youth in schools and throughout the community.
Foothills School Division was the FIRST school division in Canada to commit to having ALL of its employees as well as volunteers who work with students on a regular basis undergo one of the Respect training programs. To date more than 806 employees and guest teachers have completed the program, while approximately 160 have yet to complete or send confirmation of a completed program.
In FSD we are committed to fostering respectful relationships with our students, the community and each other. The Respect programs provide us with another mechanism to develop consistent practices across the school division and employee response to these programs has been overwhelmingly positive.
FSD schools also observed Bullying Awareness Week in a number of ways, from holding Pink Shirt days to participating in the Province’s Post-It Forward campaign, encouraging Albertans to write an inclusive, kind and respectful message on a Post-It note and put it up in their school, workplace or community, and share pictures on social media with the hashtags #Post-it-Forward and #BAW2015.