Safe School Ambassadors: Harnessing Student Power to Stop Bullying

You may have seen The Today Show this morning, or read the New York Times article earlier this week about Billy Wolfe, a 16 year old student in Fayetteville, Arkansas, whose parents are now suing the school district over documented physical and emotional abuse that their son has faced during the past four years.

While this particular case may serve to raise awareness and break new legal ground, the issue at hand is eminent: youth violence has steadily become a more present and urgent matter in communities across the nation.

Many school districts are dealing with budgetary concerns and struggle to find effective solutions to not only prevent the bullying from occurring but also to implement procedures to thwart situations like this from escalating. Rick Phillips, a former principal and founder of Community Matters, is a leading expert on youth empowerment. His core message suggests that educators begin looking to the students themselves as the most powerful force in curbing the culture of cruelty youth violence has been thriving in.

His book, SAFE SCHOOL AMBASSADORS: Harnessing Student Power to Stop Bullying and Violence (Jossey-Bass, April 2008), details a new approach to addressing the escalating problem of bullying in our schools: empower our children, teach them to use their influence to stop the violence and help end the pain from the inside-out.

Field-tested and implemented into over 600 schools nationwide, the Safe School Ambassador program was developed by Phillips who serves as its executive director. Together with co-authors, John Linney and Chris Pack, they have laid out a powerful and effective strategy for addressing bullying and violence and for building and maintaining a positive school climate that supports healthy social-emotional development and academic excellence.

We are offering Mr. Phillips as an expert and he is currently available for interviews. Please contact me if you have any questions, would like more information, to obtain a copy of the book, or arrange an interview. Any and all feedback is greatly appreciated!

Lauren Kouffman
Newman Communications
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Brighton MA, 02135
direct # (617) 202-4116
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