Phoenixville Schools Proactive In Anti-Bullying Efforts

PHOENIXVILLE, PA — In commemoration of National Bullying Prevention Month in October, the Phoenixville Area School District is one of several local districts getting students involved in anti-bullying activities.

On Oct. 7, middle school students all wore blue t-shirts to stand together symbolically against bullying.

That was part of the 12th annual World Day of Bullying Prevention, as students in schools around the world joined in wearing blue.

On Oct. 17, the middle school will be celebrating "Every 1 Counts and Every 1 Matters" day, and encourages everyone in the community to simply wear a shirt with a number on it. Officials are incentivizing the day: the number of students participating will be tallied during 3rd period, and the five third periods with the most number of participants will receive a reward.

A "National Mix It Up at Lunch" event will take place on Oct. 22. "We are asking all students to move out of their comfort zones and connect with someone new over lunch," the district said. "This simple act has profound implications. Studies show that interactions across group lines help reduce prejudice and bullying."

Meanwhile, over at Barkley Elementary, fifth graders are taking part in a "build each other up" program. Students will paint bricks with encouraging and inspirational words and phrases, which organizers are hopeful with will help lay a "decorative foundation of kindness" at the school.

And on Oct. 10, Manavon Elementary will host an assembly featuring Ken Jacobs and his "Step Up, Step In" presentation. It's the second consecutive year Jacobs will deliver his anti-bullying message to students.

Other district-wide activities include specific lessons with targeted anti-bullying messages throughout the month.

Few in the local education community can forget the 2017 tragedy at Spring-Ford, when a freshman student who had been bullied online took her own life.

But the problem goes far beyond the suburbs of Philadelphia.

National statistics vary, but an aggregate of 80 different studies on bullying suggests one in five American students between 12 and 18 is bullied at some point during their middle or high school years.

The studies cited by the PACER Center, which established National Bullying Prevention Month, show that 15 percent of kids surveyed report being cyberbullied, while around 35 percent of students had been bullied in more "traditional," in-person ways.

Among the marquee National Bullying Prevention Month activities is Unity Day, observed on Wednesday, Oct. 24, when everyone is encouraged to wear and show orange to send a message that no child should ever experience bullying.

"Orange provides a powerful, visually compelling expression of solidarity," Paula Goldberg, the executive director of the PACER Center, said in a statement. "Whether it's hundreds of individuals at a school wearing orange, store owners offering orange products or a community changing a landmark to orange, the vibrant statement becomes a conversation starter, sending the supportive, universal message that bullying is never acceptable behavior."

Here's more about Unity Day: