Creating an ally for students (School for Bullied & Harassed to open) [View All]

[truthpusher]

http://www.jsonline.com/news/metro/mar05/307446.asp

Creating an ally for students
Alliance School to open doors to those who feel bullied, harassed
-----------------------------------
By SARAH CARR
Posted: March 6, 2005
-----------------------------------
(snip)

The school will be the first of its kind in the state, and possibly the nation, its founders say.

(snip)

"I saw a lot of students who were being bullied and no one was doing anything about it," said Tina Owen, a teacher at Milwaukee's Washington High School who will leave her job to become the lead teacher at Alliance. Some students who look and act different from the mainstream are "really tormented," she said. "I've even seen teachers be really hard on them."

The school will be open to all students, but the focus is on kids who are floundering socially or academically in traditional schools because of harassment or abuse.

(snip)

Luke Ashauer, who attends Clintonville High School, is thinking of moving to Milwaukee this summer to go to Alliance. He said his fellow students "are not exactly open to new concepts, such as being gay or just being different."

(snip)

"High schools are often the last opportunity to instill basic citizenship values, including tolerance for a pluralistic society, and removing victims from that environment is, in many ways, a concession. . . . If these administrators cannot guarantee a healthy and safe environment, the solution is to get new administrators, not create a new school."

complete story:
http://www.jsonline.com/news/metro/mar05/307446.asp