WELCOME TO THE ENGLISH-LANGUAGE SECTION OF THE COPA WEBSITE!
We are glad you found us and we hope that you find the information that you need.
Feel free to contact
us at any time for more information.
Photo Shoot of safe, strong and free students at Earl Haig
Thank you to Earl Haig Elementary School in Toronto, to their principal, Lisa Moser and of course to the students and their families who participated in a photo shoot for COPA's new poster series.
(November 2008)
Early Haig was one of a number of schools that received COPA's bullying prevention programs as part of Phase 1 of the Safe@School initiative led by COPA and the Ontario Teachers' Federation, and funded by the Ministry of Education (2007-2008).
The posters series will be available in January 2010 - and sent to every elementary school in Ontario!
The posters have been adapted to match Phase 2 of the Safe@School initiative, which focuses on equity and inclusive education.. Visit our updated Safe@School Website in February 2010 for:
a) a new film: Hear Me Out -Stories for Schools about Equity and Inclusive Education.
b) a new Professional Learning Module for Teachers and school staff
c) a selection of student imagery and text generated through the Change Our World Project.
Also visit our Change Our World Website (www.changeourworld.ca). Students are encouraged to send in creative expressions related to the issue of equity and inclusion. See also our unique posters and pins available to schools to stimulate dialogue on the issue.
Here are some group shots of the kids who participated in the activity.
COPA - a provincial Francophone Organization
COPA is a provincial Francophone non-profit organization with its main office in Toronto and satellite sites around the province.
Two Executive Directors work closely with a volunteer Board of Directors, a rich array of local groups and partners (called “projets-partenaires”) and a team of qualified and experienced provincial Trainers and Consultants located in different parts of the province.
COPA's Child and Youth Assault Prevention Programs
COPA's mission is child abuse prevention through education and skill-building.
We offer numerous school-based educational programs that share a coherent and unique approach to abuse prevention education.
Our whole-school programs are comprehensive — and include adult (staff and parent) and student components to facilitate community-wide change.
We also offer a number of special programs aimed for adults only:
- Power to Change (a full-day workshop for educators and school support staff, focusing on strategies for reducing bullying among students);
- Let's Talk About It (a two-part workshop for adults focusing on workplace bullying);
- Allies in Action (a full-day workshop for older teens and adults in a leadership capacity).
Click here to read success stories from School Principals about what happens after school-based programs!
Click here to read a letter from a Principal who commends our programs!
Building Local Autonomy
COPA’s goal is to help local groups establish their own projects in their own communities (with local Trainers), whenever possible and in collaboration with other interested groups — so that programs can be offered by local certified teams. COPA provides training, support and consultation to further facilitate local capacity.
Typically, COPA does not offer school-based programs in local communities nor does it manage local projects; instead we work to support their development and growth.
COPA's Provincial Trainers offer adult-only programming in all reaches of the province, upon request by local communities.
SOS Team
Under special circumstances, COPA will ensure the direct delivery of programming in order to help galvanize interest or respond to emergency situations. In those cases, our SOS Team can offer programs as requested by the community. Our goal is to help mobilize community interest, build local capacity and foster sustainability.
COPA’s Partners — Local and Provincial
COPA offers curriculum, resources, training and support to local projects focusing on our particular approach to prevention (Empowerment-based), along with general advocacy for a global commitment to violence prevention.
COPA’s local partners include women’s centres and women’s shelters, community health centres, school boards, schools and community agencies. These form our provincial network that collaborates on curriculum, training, promotion, evaluation and networking.
COPA also works closely with a number of provincial groups to further our common goals including the provincial Francophone Ontario Teachers’ Association (AEFO), the Ontario Teachers’ Federation (OTF), the provincial Francophone women’s immigrant organization (MOFIF) and the provincial Francophone youth organization (FESFO). Recently, COPA has also been working closely with METRAC and White Ribbon Campaign on the development of violence prevention resources.
COPA’s Approach
COPA strives for the creation of Safe, Strong and Free communities, with a focus on the following components:
- The recognition of the social minority status of children (and youth) — and therefore COPA is committed to the inclusion of a children's rights analysis in programs and services, and policy and practices.
- The recognition of systemic inequality and discrimination based on gender, race, age, sexual orientation, physical and intellectual ability, education, religion, class, language, and other social factors — and therefore COPA is committed to the inclusion of a feminist and anti-oppression analysis and model in programs and services, and policy and practices.
- The recognition of Francophone social minority status in Ontario — and therefore COPA is committed to broad systemic support for French-language services in Ontario and parity with English-language services.
- The recognition of the reality of geographically and socially isolated communities in Ontario -and therefore COPA is committed to active outreach and service provision in regions that are typically under-serviced.
COPA works to expand the scope of its resource network, in particular to support the establishment of high quality assault prevention education programming in French in Ontario (for information about COPA's work in the English sector, go to Violence Prevention Programs), as well as the creation of new tools and resources for assault prevention. This is carried out by:
- ensuring the transfer of resources to new communities throughout Ontario;
- helping facilitate access to programs and resources and support for under-serviced and isolated Francophone communities;
- ensuring that new curricula, resources and tools are created, evaluated and disseminated in a timely and appropriate fashion;
- fostering the development and consolidation of potential/actual partnerships whose mandate is linked to COPA's;
- supporting the expansion of COPA’s capacity to provide essential project support for the development and sustainability of local projects in the province and of the organization itself.
IMPORTANT BULLYING PREVENTION RESOURCE - Safe@School
BULLYING PREVENTION WEBSITE: Safe@School (in partnership with Ontario Teachers' Federation and funded by the Ontario Ministry of Education).
Our unique Website: www.safeatschool.ca. was created and distributed in partnership with the Ontario Teachers Federation, and is part of the Safe@School initiative, Phases 1 (Bullying Prevention) and 2 (Equity and Inclusive Education).
CONTENTS:
- eModule training for educators (Phases 1 and NEW:2)
- Film: Taking Bullying Seriously
- NEW (February 2010): Hear Me Out- Stories for Schools about Equity and Inclusive Education
- Resources for the classroom and professional use (Phases 1 and 2)
This resource was developed as part of a larger collaborative provincial initiative that included the delivery of COPA's whole-school programs and teacher bullying prevention training days, along with other components.
NEW! SECOND PHASE: FOCUS ON EQUITY ISSUES
The Safe@School Project has launched the second phase, with a focus on creating Safe, Strong and Free schools by addressing specific equity issues, including homophobia, racism and sexism.
This new phase will consist of a number of components that will ensure a province-wide process of engaging educators and students in reflection on these key issues that affect our schools and communities.
The Safe@School Website will also incorporate a new eModule focusing on these issues.
VISIT our Website in February 2010 for newly-designed and fully-updated and expanded Website.
PHOTO EXHIBIT: YOUTH PROJECT
Welcome to My Life, an anti-bullying video created by the staff and students of Our Lady of Fatima EL Catholic School (Huron-Superior Catholic District School Board).
For more information, please read more about us on this web site, or contact
us directly.
- About our organization
- Contact information
- COPA is unique
- COPA’s mandate
- COPA’s Violence Prevention Programs
- The Child Assault Prevention (CAP) Project (ESPACE)
NEW!! Read success stories from School Principals about what happens after class sessions!
NEW!! Read the story about the impact of our programm on boys! - Adults and Children Together (ACT)
NEW!! See a short video of ACT's success as an anti-bullying program. - The COPA network