Baytown Jr. Safe School Ambassadors support burn victim
When members of the newly formed Baytown Junior School Safe School Ambassadors heard about Michael Brewer, a 15-year-old Florida boy who was the victim of extreme bullying, they wanted to help.
Michael Brewer was attacked on Oct. 15 by teen bullies who threw rubbing alcohol on him and set him on fire. More than 80 percent of his body was burned. This started because Michael couldn’t pay the bully $40 for a video game.
After hearing the news, Baytown Junior School Safe School Ambassadors wrote letters and made cards expressing their encouragement, prayers, and well wishes for him and his family. These letters and cards, along with a Baytown Junior T-shirt, were sent to his hospital where he is recovering.
While Brewer’s incident is a radical case of bullying, the fact is that students are targets of bullying in some degree everyday on campus and off. Brewer’s attack occurred at his apartment complex because his mother said that he was too petrified to attend school that day.
The National School Safety Center reports that 25,000 students are targets of attacks, shakedowns, or robberies in secondary schools every day.
The Safe School Ambassador (SSA) program was developed in 2000 to help prevent and stop mistreatment and cruelty among 4th – 12th grade students. Since then, more 650 public and private schools have adopted this powerful program in 26 states and in Canada. Goose Creek CISD implemented the program this fall.
The program is based on the premise that students are the most powerful source for stopping school violence and cruelty. They see, hear, and know things adults don’t. They can intervene in ways adults can’t because they can get and hold their peers’ attention. While adults may make and enforce the rules at school, students create and maintain its social norms.
A diverse group of students are selected and trained in non-violent intervention and diffusional skills to use among their peer group to prevent and stop cruelty. The students and facilitators (usually teachers) attend an intensive, two-day training workshop with on-going training and meetings every two weeks during the school year.
The training is compelling, and the results are undeniable. Students implementing the program improve school climate, attendance, and academic performance. Students see that quiet intervention and small acts of kindness make a big difference in people’s lives. No one understands that better than victims of cruelty—such as Michael Brewer.
The Safe School Ambassador program is under the leadership of Steve Koester, BJS Principal; David Yepez, BJS Assistant Principal and Administrator-in-Charge; and Tameka Staten, BJS Counselor and Program Adviser. The group receives no funding from the district and is currently seeking sponsors or donors to help us keep students safe. Anyone wanting more information can contact Tameka Staten at tameka.staten@gccisd.net or Sheryl Ferguson at saferguson@gccisd.net.