To the Editor:
As a private, not-for-profit agency focusing on bullying prevention and intervention in northern Virginia since 2009, we at Fairfax Partnership for Youth, Inc. are pleased to see your recent pieces focusing on this critical issue for youth. We have been encouraged by the Fairfax County Public School System’s efforts to provide a structure within which each individual school can improve its bullying prevention and intervention response, and have been pleased to offer feedback as they have developed it. However, this issue is not the concern of the schools alone; youth can be bullied anywhere they interact. And providing safe environments for them to interact is a tremendously complex job that requires the cooperation and leadership of all of the adults in the community, especially parents. We are hosting our third Bullying Prevention Symposium to promote this kind of community-wide cooperation on April 25, and all 224 seats were reserved within 1 week of the day we opened registration. It’s clear our community is dedicated to eliminating bullying, but we must all contribute to the effort, by learning, sharing what works, and supporting the local schools and private organizations that are working hard to provide clear solutions that promote respect and understanding among youth.
Kristen Brennan
Executive Director, Fairfax Partnership for Youth, Inc.
www.fairfaxyouth.org