Athens, Ga. – In coordination with this week’s screening of the new documentary film “Bully” at Ciné in Athens, the Public School Risk Institute and the University of Georgia College of Education will present a community panel discussion May 16 from 7-9 p.m. to help raise awareness of the need to make schools safer for all students.
The panel will follow a 5 p.m. screening of the film and will include Andy Horne, dean of the UGA College of Education; Pamela Orpinas, professor, UGA College of Public Health; Kat Raczynksi, doctoral candidate, UGA College of Education; Robin Shearer, Athens-Clarke County Juvenile Court Judge; John Dayton, co-director of the Education Law Consortium; Ernest Hadaway, deputy superintendent, Clarke County School District; Robbie Hooker, principal, Clarke Central High School; Dawn Meyers, director of school social work, Clarke County School District; and Tara Ford, coordinator of behavior support, Clarke County School District.
Horne is widely known for his research on ways to prevent and deal with bullying and aggressive behavior by males. Orpinas and Raczynski have collaborated with him on that research and have continued his work.
This year, more than 13 million American children will be bullied, making it the most common form of violence young people experience in the U.S.
The film, directed by Sundance and Emmy-award winning filmmaker Lee Hirsch, follows five children and families during the course of a school year. It confronts bullying’s most tragic outcomes, including the stories of two families who have lost children to suicide and a mother who waits to learn the fate of her 14-year-old daughter, incarcerated after bringing a gun on her school bus. With rare access to the Sioux City Community School District, the film also provides an intimate glimpse into school busses, classrooms, cafeterias and even principals’ offices, offering insight into the often cruel world of children, as teachers, administrators and parents struggle to find answers.
For more information or screening times, see www.athenscine.com/intro.php.
##