Lifetime Citizen Portal Access — AI Briefings, Alerts & Unlimited Follows
Anti-bullying program pitched to St. Lucie board; CEO seeks no-cost pilot
Loading...
Summary
Dan Byrd, CEO of Speak Life End Bullying, told the board April 14 that his film-plus-Q&A program and lesson plans (approved by the Florida Department of Education for resiliency instruction) have reached districts statewide and asked the board to consider piloting the program at no cost to the district this summer.
Dan Byrd, CEO of Speak Life End Bullying, presented his organization's film-and-live Q&A program to the Saint Lucie County School Board on April 14 and asked the board to consider a no-cost pilot in several district secondary schools.
Byrd described the program's structure — a nationally distributed film followed by a live student question-and-answer session and classroom lessons — and said his group has worked in districts across Florida. He cited outreach and partnerships including work in Broward and Martin counties, a data partnership with Florida Atlantic University and supportive advocacy from state legislators. He told the board the program's lesson library has been approved by the Florida Department of Education and meets state resiliency instruction requirements.
Byrd said district leaders and school staff reported students opening up during assemblies and that, in follow-up, principals saw increased reporting of bullying incidents and more peer support. He offered the district a pilot at no cost and requested meetings with individual board members to discuss logistics and funding partners.
Board members did not take formal action during the meeting; Byrd's presentation was on the public record and the superintendent was available for follow-up.
