Organizations and activities appeal to a wide array of student interests. While athletics may involve the most students in a school, respectful schools provide outlets for all kinds of student interests -- from forensics and mathematics to the arts and computer science. A variety of active organizations offers virtually all students a place to fit in, to find friends, and to make contact with an adult mentor. Significantly, respectful schools not only provide opportunities for students with diverse interests, but also provide equal promotion of all activities (i.e. press releases about the chess club`s victory, as well as the football team`s victory).

All students and staff know where to report problems and find assistance and trust that the system actually works. Respectful schools have clearly defined systems in place to manage incidents of bullying and harassment. All members of the school community are aware of the system, know where to report problems, and know what services the school provides to help victims. All members of the school community understand that the victim`s privacy will be carefully guarded (most importantly to protect the victim from retribution). Yet while both the victim and perpetrator should have their privacy protected, the system communicates the consequences of actions to the entire school community. In respectful schools, everyone knows that hate-motivated harassment and violence really are not tolerated because they are made aware of the ramifications of such actions.

Students from different racial, ethnic, and socio-economic backgrounds regularly interact outside the classroom. Whether informally around lunchroom tables or via involvement in student organizations, students from diverse backgrounds are seen interacting with each other. Such visible interaction within a school (among older students) signals to new students that it is "cool" to get to know individuals and, thus, helps break down the strict group lines that too often divide students into cliques. Once such interactions are part of a school`s culture, they self-perpetuate as younger students copy the behaviors and attitudes of older students.

Faculty and staff are actively involved in student activities. Respectful schools provide students with access to adult role models outside the classroom. As students find their niche within the student activity offerings of a school, they also find organization advisors with whom they share a common interest (i.e. debate or tennis). The relatively informal interactions with a group advisor or coach (compared to classroom interactions) give students an opportunity to forge a bond with an adult to whom they may turn in times of crisis.

Inter-grade-level interactions. Particularly in large schools, students often are segregated by grade-level -- not only in classes, but also on teams and in clubs. Such segregation by age reduces the odds that a student will encounter others who share his/her actual interests and goals. By opening up interactions across grade levels, respectful schools increase the chances of students forging bonds based on authentic interests and, thus, discourage focus on the kinds of more superficial bonds that tend to cement cliques (i.e. same socio-economic background).

Systems are in place to facilitate regular faculty/staff exchange of information about students, in particular those who are at-risk either as likely victims or as perpetrators. While respectful schools do not "profile" students from particular backgrounds as likely perpetrators, they do closely monitor students whose behavior signals a propensity for harming others (i.e. a student who has threatened another student or who already has behaved violently.) Whether via regular full-school staff meetings or through some other system of reporting, all members of the faculty and staff need to be made aware of situations which have been and/or are likely to become hateful or violent. (Note: for obvious reasons this poses special challenges for very large schools. Yet regardless of the school`s size and the attendant difficulty of sharing information, only schools with a fully informed staff can pro-actively prevent violence and effectively support victims of harassment.)

Parents and the community are actively involved in the life of the school. Respectful schools work hard to develop positive community relations and to involve parents from all backgrounds in the school. Respectful schools view parents and the community at large as partners in preparing the next generation of citizens. From an active PTA to parent booster clubs for all student organizations (not just varsity athletics), respectful schools help demonstrate to students that adults at school, at home, and throughout the community care about their success and well-being. Such schools provide parents and other adults in the area with a variety of different ways to get involved based on their own interests and available time.

Students are placed in courses based on their demonstrated skill level. Sadly, de facto tracking of students by race or socio-economic class still occurs in some schools. This is a systemic form of prejudice. Respectful schools assess students solely on their individual achievement in the classroom when making decisions about enrollment. Such authentic assessment and placement proves to students that hard work and ability have rewards and that they are judged by their merits not pre-judged by their background.

Student government and other school-wide bodies actually represent the diversity of the student population. Whether at the level of demographic factors such as ethnicity or at the level of academic/social factors such as grade-point-average or interest areas, respectful schools create systems that ensure all types of students within a school feel that they have representation. Some schools achieve this by providing each homeroom with a seat on student council; others rely on student organizations to elect representatives. No matter how authentic representation is achieved, respectful schools guard against representation systems that seem to be nothing more than popularity contests among the members of the most powerful social cliques.

The curriculum fosters respect by providing realistic, yet authentic challenges for students. Ultimately, respectful schools are defined by the presence of students who respect themselves and others. A school that provides students with on-going opportunities to challenge themselves, to grow, and to develop their skills is a school that provides students with the opportunity continually to earn respect for themselves, their peers, and their teachers. Respectful schools provide students with all the help they need to learn, but asks students to prove---most profoundly to themselves-that they are learning.

* Note: This list of hallmarks of respectful schools is not exhaustive. The presence of any or all of these traits does not insure that a school is immune from risks of hate-motivated violence. Educators are advised to use this list as a starting point for discussion of local attitudes, behaviors, and systems in hopes of creating a set of ideals that define a culture of respect within the particular school.

(This information is reprinted from SAVE`s How We Hate, Why We Hurt: A Guide for Parents, Educators, and Other Everyday Role Models.)