JCPS to host first summit on bullying, suicide prevention

Summit to create a dialogue on issues facing teens

March 19, 2019 — Jefferson County Public Schools (JCPS) will host the district’s first Bullying and Suicide Prevention Summit on Thursday, creating a dialogue on the issues facing teens and helping to develop strategies to support students across Kentucky.

Up to 400 individuals, including JCPS administrators, principals and counselors, will join national experts and state and district leaders for the daylong meeting.  JCPS Superintendent Dr. Marty Pollio announced the summit last month in an effort to expand awareness of teen suicide and provide additional training for JCPS administrators and staff.  Superintendents and their colleagues from across the state have also been invited.

“Teen suicide is on the rise, and it’s a tragedy that’s impacting every community and every school district in this country,” Dr. Pollio said.  “This isn’t an urban district or a rural district phenomenon – it’s a crisis that is becoming a literal life-and-death decision for far too many of our young people. That’s why it’s critical that we work with professionals across Kentucky to better understand root causes, recognize suicide ideation in our students, and develop strategies to provide them with the support they need.”

The format will include a panel discussion at 10 a.m. featuring Dr. Pollio and Fayette County Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Manny Caulk.  The summit will also feature two keynote speakers: Dr. Malcolm Smith, founder and director of The Courage to Care Project and one of the nation’s leading authorities on bullying, peer victimization and the epidemic of anger, and Kevin Briggs, an international speaker on crisis management, suicide prevention and leadership skills and founder and CEO of Pivotal Points.

A full list of speakers and sessions is available here.

JCPS recently implemented other initiatives to help address bullying. In February, the district launched an online reporting tool, located on the JCPS homepage as well as on students’ JCPS Google accounts, to give them and their families another way to easily report and document incidents of bullying.

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