Help me stop bullying

It's been a very long time since I've written. I've been working on the major update of the Strategies for Success curriculum for high schools. I taught the course to a group of college freshmen this summer (they raved about it!!) and I reprised the role of the Fairy Godmother again in Cinderella on tour this summer. Busy, busy, busy! But I love it and am very grateful for all the opportunities that have come my way.

But the biggest thing is the journey to end bullying. As many people know, I wrote my program after the suicide death from bullying of one of my students. The program changed my school and the lives of the over 85% of the students who took it. But bullying continues in our country. And we need to do something...all of us.

I'm working with a group on putting together an Anti-Bullying Summit for my state where we gather people from all communities with a stake in bullying and brainstorm solutions. Better to gather solutions and put them into practice than wait til another student is harmed.

I also applied for a grant from Pepsi and this is where I could use your help. You see the grants go to those people who have the most votes. Now lots of people have voted for American Idol or Dancing with the Stars. This time I need you to vote for my proposal which would get my program in 100 schools, train the teachers, turn the two bullying shows from Kaleidoscope Theatre into DVD's so they can be seen world wide and much more....

Please vote...every day in August...and tell everyone you know to do the same. We can do this..if we take the time to save a life...

Here's how: Text message 101886 to Pepsi (73774) or go to: http://pep.si/bDCjyz


Thanks!!!

Long time no write!

Wow...life sure has been busy since my last post. I did visit a few schools on the west coast of Florida when I was there after I gave myself a good week and a half off. I'm still amazed at how impressive the schools have been especially Naples High School. I was even more impressed with the fact that they had a place on their web site where they listed good news, something we could all use a bit more of these days. The school pictured above is Estero High School.

When I got back up north, the weather was atrocious for many weeks. I learned early on that traveling and visiting on rainy days was not the best way to make a good impression on the schools so I used the time to catch up on all the work that had piled up in the office in my absence. I also continued to work on my current book whch I hope will be ready by mid July. Titled "When Am I Every Going to Use This? 101 Tips to Survive and Thrive in the High School Classroom", it details all the little strategies that I used over 28 years of teaching to connect with my students in an effective way.

I did get back on the road last week finally getting to Connecticut. I had wantd to visit all 6 New England states before the school year was up but still need to see Vermont. I did have one of the best visits I've ever had to a school. I had walked into the building with a man in jeans and polo shirt who was very friendly. Little did I know at that moment in time that he was the principal of the school on dress down day! We had a very exciting and interesting interchange about how we need to rev up what we're offering in schools as well as the methods of delivery. I'm happy to say that he booked me to speak to his staff at one of the opening professional development days so I will get to go back. A very exciting prospect for education in my book!

Going to wait until schools wind down in the next few weeks before I go on the road again. I know how busy everyone is right about now and the last thing they need is company! Plus with gas prices the way they are, it's important to maximize the visits! Hopefully the temps won't be in the high 90's like they are today but I'm looking forward to continuing my visits to the high schools of America!

Florida

I didn't get a chance to log the schools that I visited last week from Vero Beach to Deerfield Beach. Distances are long here so I didn't get to as many as I would have liked but wih it being Friday and also the end of spring vacation for schools up north, traffic was busy. Did get to Ft. Pierce I think (I'm beginning to lose track!) and I know that they at least looked at the web site because they entered the contest to win the program. That's all I ask from schools...just look at the web site and decide from there.

I know money is tight these days with schools so it's not the ideal time financially to purchase this success system. But it's also a time where teens need it more than ever. They need to learn to be self sufficient, to have the strategies and tools to survive in a world that's already quite different from the one their parents grew up in. One of the main benefits of taking this course is that the principles are universal and have been around for centuries. Bottom line is they work and our teens deserve to learn them in an atmosphere that works well for them.

I'm on the west coast of Florida in Ft. Myers Beach now. When I was teaching, this was my school vacation week and I've used this week to wind down too. I'm staying an additional week and I will visit the schools in Lee and Collier counties next week. Then back to the northeast where the weather is finally conducive to travel!

Back on the road again!

Finally a way to get online! I've been on the road for the past couple of days here in Florida. I usually come down here for 2 weeks for my yearly vacation but this year, I extended my time so that I could visit schools here.

I flew into Orlando but started on the east coasst. Started out at Cocoa High School and then Cocoa Beach. Followed with a couple of the high schools in Melbourne and continued down the coast the first day. Some of these schools are quite impressive and very different in appearance from the schools up north. With the warm weather, schools are built with inner courtyards and lots of areas of outside classes. We were seldom 'allowed' to take our classes outside in my school but here it's more the norm.

As usual, I enjoyed sharing my 'goody' bag with the secretaries and especially having the chance to thank them for all they do for schools. I don't have a chance to meet the principals but with my goal being to visit as many schools as I can fit into my schedule, that's ok. I'll follow the visit up as always with a postcard, a letter and whatever else I can think of to let them know about the program.

That's it for now. I've not been able to get online for 3 days due to faulty wireless issues at a Melbourne Panera, and various other technical problems. More later this week as I figure out how to send myself the pictures I took of the schools from my new cell phone and find another place to log on. Off to the west coast of Florida tomorrow...