Seattle Public Schools senior program consultant Mike Donlin will unveil a new Cyberbullying Prevention Curriculum, made possible by a $20,000 grant from the Qwest Foundation, to 250 educators at the third annual Washington State Bullying Prevention Conference on May 22-23.

Donlin led a team of educators and industry leaders to develop the K-12 curriculum to help Seattle Public Schools meet the requirements of its model cyberbullying policy, which was created in response to SB5288 and will go into effect on Aug. 1, 2008. The bill requires Washington schools to include cyberbullying in school district harassment prevention policies.

“In recent years, cyberbullying has become a real barrier to learning,” said Donlin. “With Qwest’s support, we have been able to develop classroom lessons and resources that will help teachers address the significant impact cyberbullying has in their classes and help students find ways to make the best use of the Internet.”

In April 2008, the Qwest Foundation and the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children honored Donlin with the Spirit of Online Safety Award for his work. Donlin is a member of the Qwest Online Safety Coalition, and works with the company and the Qwest Foundation to promote his groundbreaking curriculum as well as broader online safety awareness.

“Both Qwest and the Qwest Foundation believe in empowering educators to harness the Internet’s vast resources to improve education,” said Kirk Nelson, Washington state president for Qwest Communications. “Through his continued partnership with the Qwest Online Safety Coalition, Mike has been an integral part of our efforts to make the Internet a safer place for families.”

Qwest and the Qwest Foundation have demonstrated a long-term commitment to online safety. Qwest began creating extensive Internet education tools for families through the Incredible Internet program in 2003. At IncredibleInternet.com, parents and their kids can access information about how to safely use communications technologies to enhance their lives and stay connected. Resources at IncredibleInternet.com are available in both English and Spanish.

The Seattle Public Schools offers workshops for parents, staff and other groups who are interested in learning about cyberbullying issues. For more information, or to arrange for a presentation, please call Mike Donlin at 206-252-0799.

About the Qwest Foundation
The Qwest Foundation's core principle is that investing in education provides lasting value for the future. The Qwest Foundation awards grants to community-based programs that generate high-impact and measurable results, focusing on pre-K through grade-12 education.

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