Launching Tomorrow! Know Your Neighbor: Creating Inclusive Classrooms Campaign Sept. 25-28

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

September 24, 2018

MEDIA CONTACT: ING Communications Manager Tim Brauhn (720-381-1096) or tim@ing.org.

Greetings of peace,

As students across the country settle in for the school year, we are launching a new campaign to help educators, parents, and students create more inclusive classrooms and schools this fall. As the U.S. Department of Education noted in a recent report, there are roughly 30 religiously-motivated bullying and harassment incidents in our public schools each day. Bullying creates an environment of fear, stress, and worry which inhibits students’ ability to learn and thrive.

To counter this national problem, and promote classrooms and schools which foster inclusivity, the Know Your Neighbor: Multifaith Encounters program , comprising over 100 partner organizations across the nation, is launching this new campaign from September 25th to 28th to share best practices that help educators, students, and parents counter hate and bigotry and create more inclusive classrooms and schools.

Below, please see sample campaign materials, more of which can be found at the campaign page .

Thank you,

Tim Brauhn

Communications Manager

720-381-1096

tim@ing.org

Sample Facebook Posts, Tweets, and Images

How does religious liberty impact students and teachers in classrooms? Learn more by accessing the Baptist Joint Committee’s resource: https://bjconline.org/religion-and-public-schools-guidebooks-and-handouts/. For more resources follow the #KnowYourNeighbor Creating Inclusive Classrooms campaign: www.ing.org/kyn-school.
Does your school have established protocols and plans in the event of bigotry or hate-related incidents? Find suggestions for preventing and navigating a hate-related crisis in Teaching Tolerance’s guide “Responding to Hate and Bias at School.” https://www.tolerance.org/moment/school-climate-resources. For more resources follow the #KnowYourNeighbor Creating Inclusive Classrooms campaign: www.ing.org/kyn-school.
“(Bullying) poisons the educational environment and affects the learning of every child.” - Bullying specialist Dan Olweus. Find resources through the #KnowYourNeighbor program: www.ing.org/kyn-school.
Help create more inclusive classrooms with this free activity kit from #KnowYourClassmates. Sign-up here: http://knowyourclassmates.org. For more resources follow the #KnowYourNeighbor Creating Inclusive Classrooms campaign: www.ing.org/kyn-school.
Peer-to-peer dialogue counters bullying. These tools can help. Join the #KnowYourNeighbor Creating Inclusive Classrooms Campaign: www.ing.org/kyn-school.
Curious how practitioners of five major religions live their faith in the U.S.? Check out ING's curriculum for educators: https://ing.org/multifaith-curriculum-living-the-faith/ For more resources follow the #KnowYourNeighbor Creating Inclusive Classrooms campaign: www.ing.org/kyn-school.

Contacts

ING Communications Manager Tim Brauhn

720-381-1096 (m) | tim@ing.org

ING Executive Director Maha Elgenaidi

408-393-8202 (m) | elgenaidi@ing.org

About ING

Islamic Networks Group (ING) is a non-profit organization with affiliates and partners around the country that are pursuing peace and countering all forms of bigotry through education and interfaith engagement while working within the framework of the First Amendment’s protection of religious freedom and pluralism. Founded in 1993, ING reaches millions of individuals and hundreds of groups a year at the grassroots level by building relationships, understanding, and peaceful communities of all types and backgrounds through programs that include: 1) thousands of presentations, training seminars, workshops, and panel discussions annually in schools, colleges and universities, law enforcement agencies, corporations, healthcare facilities, and community organizations as part of cultural diversity curricula and programs, through a nationwide network of affiliates and partners; 2) social media campaigns that promote cultural awareness and best practices for bringing diverse Americans together to get to know and learn from one another; and 3) online curriculum on topics related to cultural awareness and building bridges available to educators and community organizations.

About Know Your Neighbor: Multifaith Encounters

Know Your Neighbor: Multifaith Encounters (KYN-ME) is a program of Islamic Networks Group (ING) with 100 partners representing interfaith, community-based, and civil rights organizations located in all 50 states that work together to dispel stereotypes through education and interfaith engagement. The Know Your Neighbor initiative was first formed and launched as a policymaking effort by the White House in 2016. It was later expanded to include grassroots outreach activity by ING and became known as KYN-ME.

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