Not in Our School | Not in Our Town

Not in Our School

NIOS Identity Safe and Inclusive Schools Program
A Guide to Eradicating Bullying and Creating Belonging.
New Film: Our Family
Check out "Our Family," a new short film about celebrating diversity in families.
Not In Our School Workshops
Hands on training for teachers, administrators, and parents who want to address bullying.
Not in Our School: Quick Start Guide
Start a campaign in your campus! Photo Credit: Paly Voice
Watch Video: Break Bullying
Upworthy featured this Not In Our School video. 2.2M views!
Parent Guide to Prevent & Address Bullying & Intolerance
The Not In Our School (NIOS) Parent Guide for Preventing and Addressing Bullying and Intolerance highlights what you—as a parent—should do when your child is a victim of bullying.

About NIOS

Not In Our School is a program that creates safe, accepting and inclusive school communities. Not In Our School provides training, films, lesson plans and resources that inspire students to take the lead in standing up to bullying and intolerance in their schools.

Find Lesson Plans

  • Leaving a Positive Footprint
    In this new video geared toward elementary schools, students from Grimmer Elementary School in Fremont, CA explore the impact of bullying and...
  • Waking in Oak Creek
    Waking in Oak Creek: A Community Rocked by Hate is Awakened and Transformed As the Sikh community in Oak Creek, Wisconsin prepares for Sunday...
  • Our Family: Film Lesson Guide
    Download the full lesson guide that accompanies Our Family. Background: Families in the United States today come in many different types...
  • GUÍA DE ACTIVIDADES: PILETA DE ESTEREOTIPOS
      Este video destaca una actividad interactiva llamada “Disolviendo estereotipos.” Se puede usar de manera efectiva con alumnos o adultos...
  • Deja Una Huella Positiva
      En este video los estudiantes de Grimmer Elementary School en Fremont, California exploran el impacto del acoso escolar o “bullying” y...
  • Inténtenlo: Representación Anti-Acoso Escolar
      Estudiantes líderes de la escuela secundaria  Del Sur en Lancaster, California visitan una escuela primaria local y enseñan a...
  • Try it Out: Anti-bullying Role-Play
      Grade Level: Elementary grades K-5 Film Run Time: 4:51 En Español: Inténtenlo: Representación Anti-Acoso Escolar  ...
  • Class Actions Screening Questions, Part 3: California
    Find previews and information about Class Actions at niot.org/ClassActions Written by: Julie Mann, Newcomers High School...
  • What is Not In Our School
     Description: This video provides a brief overview of the purpose and goals of NIOS. It includes brief interviews with Patrice O’Neill,...
  • White-Out to Erase Bullying
     Students at Watchung Hills Regional High School in New Jersey were fascinated when they heard about an Orange Out against bullying in...
  • Laurence Tan - TEACH
      The son of Filipino immigrants, Laurence Tan was studying to be a doctor when the vision of becoming a teacher presented itself in a dream. Now a fifth grade teacher in Watts, CA, Laurence uses the tool of TEACH to inspire and educate students in an area where opportunities are slim. Laurence has also helped establish the Watts Youth Collective with former students, an organization that promotes social change through media. Laurence’s 12-hour teaching days and his work with the collective are efforts to produce positive changes in each individual and the community.
  • Deja Una Huella Positiva
    En este video los estudiantes de Grimmer Elementary School en Fremont, California exploran el impacto del acoso escolar o “bullying” y modos de ser una persona que defiende a las víctimas del acoso escolar o de ser un Defensor o “Upstander”.
  • Activity Guide: Sample Not In Our School Week from Gunn High School
    Gunn High School in the Palo Alto Unified School District has held a Not In Our School campaign at their school for nearly a decade. The objective of the weeklong campaign is to “promote acceptance, awareness and identity within the PAUSD community” and “to help the Gunn community increase understanding and encourage discussion about the diversity and race relations Gunn.”
  • Break Bullying: Not in the Break Room, Not on the Playground
    The Public Service Announcement (PSA), “Break Bullying,” depicts adults in an office environment re-enacting the director’s personal bullying experience from middle school. His point: If we would not stand for this in the office, why do we stand for it happening to kids in schools? 
  • Leaving a Positive Footprint
    In this new video geared toward elementary schools, students from Grimmer Elementary School in Fremont, CA explore the impact of bullying and ways to be an upstander. 
  • GUÍA DE ACTIVIDADES: PILETA DE ESTEREOTIPOS
    Este video destaca una actividad interactiva llamada “Disolviendo estereotipos.” Se puede usar de manera efectiva con alumnos o adultos para explorar experiencias que han tenido en relación con los estereotipos y palabras hirientes, así como formas para “disolver” el daño causado.
  • Using Short Clips and Post-Screening Discussion
    From Facing History teacher Julie Mann, who is screening the full-length documentary Not In Our Town: Light in the Darkness with her students at Newcomers High School in Queens, NY.   There are two documents. The first begins discussion using several short clips available on NIOT.org: the Light in the Darkness trailer, Joselo's Journey Part 1, Raising the Curtain on Unity and Embracing Differences, all of which can be found here. 
  • Watching "Lancaster, CA: A City Unites to End School Bullying" In Your Classroom
    The video, "Lancaster, California: A City United to End School Bullying," profiles students, educators and community members working to create change after two teen suicides, resulting from bullying, devastate two nearby towns. In the aftermath, a local middle school counselor initiates an anti-bullying program throughout the district and students take the lead in standing up to bullying and intolerance in their schools and community. 
  • Profiling Kevin
    Palo Alto High School student Kevin Ward challenges the stereotype of African-Americans as "gangsters," and says that "smart is the new gangster." The 16-year-old is working to bridge the achievement gap for students of color, through the school's Unity Club and a program called Bridge, connecting students from affluent Palo Alto and East Palo Alto, a neighboring low-income community. This lesson addresses the following SEL strategies. You can have students look for these issues and examine them in themselves.
  • Inténtenlo: Representación Anti-Acoso Escolar
     
  • Our Family: Film Lesson Guide
    Download the full lesson guide that accompanies Our Family. Background:
  • Azim Khamisa
    In 1995, Azim Khamisa's 20-year-old son, Tariq, was delivering a pizza when he was shot to death by a 14-year-old gang member. Experiencing the pain, grief, frustration, and anger that a parent would, Azim decided that the only way he could better the situation was to use the tool of FORGIVE to ensure that this type of tragedy happens less frequently in the future. After meeting with the father of the boy who shot Tariq, Azim decided that he would bring his message of forgiveness and mutual respect to groups of young people all over the country. The foundation in his son's memory, the Tariq Khamisa Foundation, raises awareness and engages youth to resist a culture of violence and learn to live in harmony with one another. This lesson addresses the following SEL strategies and you can have students look for these issues and examine them in themselves.
  • Brian Cox - ORGANIZE
    As a former pro football player, Brian Cox understands the value of teamwork and community in achieving a goal. After retiring from the NFL, Cox came back to his native Los Angeles, witnessing the destruction that gang violence had wrought on his old neighborhood. As an administrator for the Parks Department, Cox became the director of the South Park Recreation Center and began efforts to improve the park. Through the common bond of football and community, Cox and his supporters led a campaign to improve the park to create a safe space for youth to gather and practice sports. Eventually gaining the trust of the community, Cox has transformed the park from a gang hangout to a vibrant family destination, improving the surrounding neighborhood at the same time. This lesson addresses the following SEL strategies and you can have students look for these issues and examine them in themselves.
  • Profiling Kevin
    Palo Alto High School student Kevin Ward challenges the stereotype of African-Americans as "gangsters," and says that "smart is the new gangster." The 16-year-old is working to bridge the achievement gap for students of color, through the school's Unity Club and a program called Bridge, connecting students from affluent Palo Alto and East Palo Alto, a neighboring low-income community. This lesson addresses the following SEL strategies. You can have students look for these issues and examine them in themselves.
  • Leaving a Positive Footprint
    In this new video geared toward elementary schools, students from Grimmer Elementary School in Fremont, CA explore the impact of bullying and ways to be an upstander.  After intermediate students share personal experiences, they decide to take action and invent the "Leaving a Positive Footprint" activity, where the pupils paint blue footprints with positive messages "walking" though their campus. Later, they work with first grade buddies to discuss bullying and speaking up, and together they make paper footprint cut-outs and create their own upstander messages to post around the school.
  • Laurence Tan - TEACH
      The son of Filipino immigrants, Laurence Tan was studying to be a doctor when the vision of becoming a teacher presented itself in a dream. Now a fifth grade teacher in Watts, CA, Laurence uses the tool of TEACH to inspire and educate students in an area where opportunities are slim. Laurence has also helped establish the Watts Youth Collective with former students, an organization that promotes social change through media. Laurence’s 12-hour teaching days and his work with the collective are efforts to produce positive changes in each individual and the community. This lesson addresses the following Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) strategies and you can have students look for these issues and examine them in themselves.
  • Dr. Joseph Marshall, Jr. - ADVOCATE
      Dr. Joseph Marshall Jr. is an author, activist, and veteran street soldier. Founder of the anti-violence movement Alive & Free, Marshall draws audiences from across the country to his weekly radio program, Street Soldiers—a name Dr. Marshall uses to describe people working to eliminate violence in their communities. To help keep his own community safer, Dr. Marshall co-founded the Omega Boys Club after years of working as a middle school teacher and seeing too many of his students lost to drugs and violence. This lesson addresses the following Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) strategies and you can have students look for these issues and examine them in themselves. Self-awareness: Dr. Marshall helps students become aware of their own lives and make the choice to be part of “the solution.”
  • Erica Fernandez - PROTEST
      "Once social change begins, it cannot be reversed. You cannot uneducate the person who has learned to read. You cannot humiliate the person who feels pride. And you cannot oppress a people who are not afraid anymore. We are the future, and the future is ours." Erica Fernandez has memorized these words, originally spoken by Cesar Chavez, and put them into action. Beginning in Oxnard, CA, Erica used the power of PROTEST to rally against a large energy corporation that planned to erect a liquefied natural gas (LNG) pipeline around affluent California coastal communities and through Oxnard, primarily occupied by monolingual Spanish-speaking immigrants. Not only would the LNG pipeline cut through the agricultural land vital to the economy of Oxnard, it would bring millions of tons of pollutants to one of the most beautiful areas in California.
  • Chukou Thou - ORGANIZE
      Chukou Thao, executive director of National Hmong American Farmers, immigrated to Fresno, CA with his family at age 8, after Laotian citizens were granted asylum in the US after the Vietnam war. Many of the first Hmong farmers suffered from discrimination, so Thao left his "cushy" job at the city of Fresno to ORGANIZE his community in a fight against injustice. Using the experiences of community members, Thao has grown NHAF to promote economic development, training and assistance to create positive social change in his community. This lesson addresses the following Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) strategies and you can have students look for these issues and examine them in themselves. Self-awareness: Chukou Thao recognizes the injustice happening to the Hmong community and realizes that he has the ability to help fight for those that are unable to speak for themselves.
  • Slater Jewell-Kemker - EXPRESS
      Slater Jewell-Kemker is a 17-year-old filmmaker and reporter who celebrates the best of humanity, empowering young people to change the world with media and technology. Through her work, Slater has empowered a global network of young environmentalists and met with important trendsetters and lawmakers. By using the tool of EXPRESS, Slater and the youth that join her are creating positive social change. This lesson addresses the following Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) strategies and you can have students look for these issues and examine them in themselves. Self-awareness: Slater is confident in her own abilities and is therefore able to talk to all sorts of different people. Self-management: Slater started filmmaking from an early age and realizes that although she is young and sometimes not taken seriously she doesn’t let it stop her from being a prominent voice of change for her generation.

School Groups

Across the country, NIOS groups are creating new ways to make their schools safe for everyone. Start your own NIOS group page, and share how you're standing up for acceptance and inclusion!
Learn More About School Groups