Committee for Children Blog

Congressional Briefing, New Bill on Social-Emotional Learning

What’s Happening

On April 30, 2014, Seattle-based Committee for Children and the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL) hosted a congressional briefing that focused on effective social-emotional learning (SEL) programs in all stages of the educational system from preschool through college…

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The (Near) Future of Abuse Prevention: A Conversation with Joan Duffell

Child Abuse Prevention Month (April) is just around the corner, so PR Manager Allison Wedell Schumacher sat down with Joan Cole Duffell, executive director of Committee for Children, to talk about the organization's past, present, and future in abuse prevention, and about our new Child Protection Training that will be released later…

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Bullying in Kindergarten? Prevention Means Starting Early

by Allison Wedell Schumacher

When most of us think of bullying, we think of the stories we’ve seen in the news: high school kids being maligned on social media; middle schoolers shunning or teasing each other.

So when we see bullying prevention lessons that begin in kindergarten, we might think, “Overkill! Those sweet little five-year-olds wouldn’t hurt a…Read More


Chicago: A First Day of School Like No Other

By Allison Wedell Schumacher

Making the transition to a new school is never easy. But imagine the challenge of making that transition because your school was actually shut down. Imagine the questions flooding your mind: How will I get to my new school? Will the kids there like me and be nice to me? Will I fit in?

Thousands of children and their families in Chicago have been asking these questions and more in the wake of Chicago Public…

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On the Importance of Being Crazy About a Child

“Somebody’s got to be crazy about that kid, and vice versa! But what does ‘crazy’ mean? It means that the adult in question regards this particular child as somehow special—even though objectively the adult may well know that this is not the case… For the child, the adult is also special—someone to whom the child turns most readily in…Read More


The Accidental Advocate

Allison Schumacher, Committee for Children's PR and Communications Manager, wakes up one morning to realize she has somehow become a bullying prevention advocate. How did this happen, and will she use her power for good? Read on.Read More


Lucky

I was one of the bigger kids until sixth grade, and bullying wasn’t much of an issue for me back then. Still, I’d be lying if I pretended that my bully-free existence continued through middle and high school.Read More