Not In Our School

12/11/2025

Facebook post for tomorrow am This year marks 30 years since the original Not In Our Town film first PBS broadcast - the story of how the people of Billings, Montana, stood up for their neighbors and sparked a national movement, inspiring thousands of communities to declare: Not in our town, not in our schools, not in our country.

We invite you to host a community screening of the original Not In Our Town film. Gather your family, friends, neighbors, and colleagues to revisit the story that started it all - and consider what its lessons mean today. We also encourage you to use your screening as a grassroots fundraiser for Not In Our Town or your local NIOT group.
Happy Anniversary, NIOT Community! Links to film here: https://www.niot.org/niot-video/not-our-town-billings-montana-0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rDH4gKDw_fo

12/11/2025

This week we are remembering the first Not In Our Town PBS broadcast in 1995, which aired the week between Hanukkah and Christmas. We will be sharing videos and stories throughout the year, but we're happy to join with Dr. Janice Cohn who is presenting her children's book THE CHRISTMAS MENORAHS at the Montclair, NJ public library on December 16. Find the book and share it! Share the NIOT Film with your students and community.

By Janice I. Cohn "These are some events—good and bad—that are hard for us to get out of our minds; they remain in the recesses of our psyches and often re-emerge when they have not been thought about for months or years, exerting a powerful effect on our actions and beliefs. One such example, I...

04/17/2025

Everyone is Welcome Here!!! A teacher is told to take down this message. How do our communities support teachers like her?

An Idaho school has asked a teacher to remove a poster that says 'Everyone is Welcome Here" because they deem it "political."

10/09/2024

October is Bullying Prevention Month. Here are some tools for engaging students.

https://www.niot.org/nios-video/leaving-positive-footprintOver the last year, schools throughout the US have experienced a frightening increase in bullying and acts of hate. Each year, schools across the US participate in bullying prevention activities during the month of October. This year, when ha...

04/13/2023

03/16/2023

We'd love it if you shared our upcoming webinar with parents in your schools. Thank you!

Parents! Join us on Thursday, March 23 for a special webinar with Not In Our Schools. This interactive workshop will provide strategies and examples to open discussion between parents and adolescents.

02/04/2023

We invite educators in NIOT communities to join a monthly series of professional development workshops to share strategies for building a culture of inclusion and belonging in their classrooms with the Not In Our School initiative starting this Thursday, Feb. 9 at 7pm ET/4pm PT.

As part of an educator network dedicated to building inclusive school communities, participants will have the opportunity to develop strategies with a supportive cohort of teachers.

Not In Our School Spring 2023 Webinars will be held on the second THURSDAY of each month. Upcoming webinars will focus on:

Feb. 9 - Anti-Bullying: Countering Hate & Bias — Race & Ethnicity
Mar. 9 - Anti-Bullying: Countering Hate & Bias — DisABILITY
Apr. 20 - Anti-Bullying: Countering Hate & Bias — LGBTQ+
May 11 - Countering Antisemitism and Hate

RSVP: bit.ly/NIOS-workshop

We hope you can join us! Please share with educators in your community. We would love to see more local Not In Our School groups started around the country.

02/04/2023

Charlottesville! Join us for a free screening of NIOT's new film, Repairing the World: Stories From the Tree of Life.

Please share with friends and family in Charlottesville! After the screening, there will be a time of discussion and exploration about how the Charlottesville community can respond to hate and antisemitism.

Repairing the World will be presented on Feb. 11 at an historic Black Church in Charlottesville in an event hosted by Mt. Zion First African Baptist Church, the Charlottesville Clergy Collective and Congregation Beth Israel (CBI).

This group of faith leaders have been active in trying to heal their community in the aftermath of the assault on their city in August 2017.

NIOT Co-Executive Director Patrice O'Neill will speak with local leaders at the event and there will be roundtable discussions.

We hope you will join us for this event!
RSVP: bit.ly/3HVe8H7

01/05/2023

The Not In Our School Learning Community Workshop Series continues in 2023 with webinars on the 2nd Thursday of each month throughout the spring for educators who want to create identity affirming classrooms. Join Us!

NIOS workshops can help develop anti-bullying campaigns, using our award-winning documentary films and lesson guides.