Stand for the Silent, an organization helping to stop bullying, is rewarding good student behavior
OKLAHOMA CITY, Oklahoma – (August 26, 2024) – Communities and schools are becoming more serious about making schools safer for kids, including striving for ways to manage bullying better. Stand for the Silent is launching a new program this school year to help them with their mission. The Student Stand Out program will give teachers a way to recognize and reward students who display good behavior, including those who help address bullying.
“We are excited about this new program and believe it will go a long way toward helping to create a kinder and more accepting culture in schools,” says Kirk Smalley, co-founder of Stand for the Silent. “Everyone likes to be recognized for doing good, so we are helping teachers to do that for their students.”
The Student Stand Out program invites teachers to nominate students who stand out and display excellent behavior. Some of the behaviors they hope teachers will recognize and nominate their students for include addressing bullying, being a positive role model, being kind, having good leadership skills, being respectful, having integrity, and more. They also want to emphasize nominating those students who show initiative in helping to end bullying at their school.
Every week throughout the school year, Stand for the Silent will choose one of the nominated students to receive a $50 Visa gift card. At the end of each semester, one student will be selected to win a $100 Visa gift card. There will be two nomination periods, August 1 to December 1 and then from January 1 to April 1. Teachers can nominate as many students as they feel have earned the recognition.
“We love having multiple ways to help address bullying in the schools, and this is one of them,” added Smalley. “This should help create a kinder classroom to reduce school bullying.”
For more information about the Student Stand out program, visit the site at: https://standforthesilent.org/schools/standout
Stand for the Silent also rewards students each year with college scholarships. They give scholarships each year to students who actively help address bullying at their schools. Additionally, they travel the country to provide seminars and talks in schools and communities, helping to raise awareness about bullying and providing helpful solutions. To get more information on how to have the organization do a presentation or how to start a local chapter, scholarships, and anti-bullying tips, visit the site at: https://standforthesilent.org/
Smalley and his wife, Laura, started the organization following their 11-year-old son, ending his own life due to bullying. They turned their pain and loss into a mission of helping others. He travels the country giving presentations about bullying to schools, providing bullying prevention, giving out scholarships, offering intervention strategies, and more. Those interested in getting involved can start a chapter of the group in their area, obtain a free K-2 bullying prevention curriculum or cyberbullying handbook for parents, host a presentation at their school, introduce the How All Started video, and donate to help support the cause. To get more information, visit the site at: https://standforthesilent.org/
About Stand for the Silent
Started in 2010, Stand for the Silent is an organization on a mission to help eliminate bullying nationwide. Kirk and Laura Smalley founded the group after their child took his own life due to bullying. They offer free resources for parents and educators and travel to schools to host presentations. They have been to over 6,025 schools and spoken with more than 4.15 million students. To get more information, visit the site at: https://standforthesilent.org/