Mayors Tackle School Bullying, the Long-Term Unemployed
By Kathy Wiggins
July 2, 2012
"I was bullied," said Lee Hirsch, Director of the acclaimed documentary Bully, at the Jobs, Education and the Workforce Standing Committee meeting in Orlando, presided over by West Sacramento Mayor Christopher Cabaldon, Vice Chair for Education. Hirsch outlined his efforts to inspire mayors and other to bring an end to bullying in the nation's schools. Bridgeport Mayor Bill Finch and Joe Carbone, President and CEO of The Workplace, also addressed the group, detailing his best practice to get the long-term unemployed, or 99ers, back to work.
"Bully ends with the idea that 'it all starts with one,'" said Hirsch. "Change starts with one, and builds. When we reach one million kids with this project, we will have built a powerful movement that marks the beginning of the end of bullying. We'd like to invite all the mayors to include their school districts in our 1 Million Kid program and learn more at TheBullyproject.com."
Hirsch's "The Bully Project" includes partnerships designed to engage young people and to help inspire change in schools by providing free access to the movie in theaters within an educational framework via its 1 Million Kids program. The program offers schools the opportunity to show the film "Bully," to public students nationwide in a supportive, communal environment, by providing a safe space to experience and reflect on the stories in the film. Through 1 Million Kids, educators receive free materials and training focused on preventing bullying and promoting empathy and free tickets to see the movie in theaters. Their goal is for one million kids to stop bullying by spreading empathy through their own, youth-led ideas and initiatives.
"Economists informed us the recent recession ended in 2009," Finch said. "Yet all of us know that the impact has lingered longer than any other since the Great Depression, and millions of folks across this nation are expected to have exhausted their unemployment benefits and remain unemployed. Our program, Platform to Employment (P2E) was created to put these 99ers back to work, and it has a 70 percent success rate."
P2E brings the long-term unemployed to a platform of readiness, emotionally and professionally, and employs a unique mix of supports to sharpen their technical skills, provide hope to increase their motivation and prepare their minds for a globally competitive marketplace. "The program helps 99ers take action and fully realize their personal and professional potential. They develop new strategies for solving problems and create a positive change in themselves," said Carbone.
If your city is interested in participating in 1 Million Kids, contact Houston King at houstonbking@gmail.com or 213-925-7535. For more information on P2E, contact Joe Carbone at 203-610-8500.
Adopted Resolutions
- Support Of District Level Race to the Top
- Supporting NCLB Flexibility; Differentiated Teacher and Principal Evaluations
- Creating Collaborative Partnerships Between District and Charter Schools
- Empowering Parents To Transform Failing Schools
- Attracting and Retaining Top Talent into the Teaching Profession
- Reducing Chronic Absenteeism
- Reducing Student Loan Interest
- Science Centers and STEM Education
- Supporting a Strong Technology and Innovation Agenda
- Arts Education
- Reauthorization and Funding of the Workforce Investment Act
- U.S. Constitution and Citizenship Day Constitution Project
- Supporting the Peace Corps.
|
