Program interest surges

Teaching Tolerance, an anti-hate program, used to get requests from schools once a month for help. But since the election, it’s been daily, according to Maureen Costello, who runs the Southern Poverty Law Center program.

She started tracking incidents through news media accounts at the start of October after there seemed to be a rise. Part of the explanation for the recent spate, she said, could be the homecoming season.

Administrators and teachers, once reluctant to discuss incidents over privacy concerns, are being more proactive, Costello said. They’re beefing up curriculums and training staff for difficult conversations.

“Schools are looking for professional development. They’re looking for interventions,” she said. “There’s a sense of just really not knowing quite what to do.”