Jackson Elementary School Principal Shawn Clark will be the featured speaker at the next free spaghetti dinner, “Pasta for Peace,” at 6:30 p.m., on Thursday, May 17, at the First Presbyterian Church, 300 E. Main St., in Batavia.
The subject will be “No Room for Bullying.” He is slated to become principal at Batavia High School in September.
Clark says, “Bullying has short- and long-term affects for both the student who is bullied and the student who bullies. Students who are bullied often have low self-esteem, depression and anxiety, higher absenteeism, lower school achievement, higher rates of suicidal ideation, and higher rates of illness.
"New research reports that bullying actually ages kids. Children who bully are more likely to get into fights, steal, vandalize, drink alcohol, smoke, be truant, drop out of school, perform poorly in school, perceive a negative climate in school, and carry a weapon.”
While in existence for a long time, he says that bullying has now become a greater problem and is not relegated to the schoolyard.
“Bullying is more widespread, mostly due to technology and social media," the principal said. "The issues continue after school and on weekends and vacations.”
Acknowledged as a leader in the hard work to create a more peaceful place of learning, he says, “I became interested in this issue because I see firsthand how it impacts students and their parents. Some students have taken their own lives because of bullying. That is a tragedy.”
Such a tragedy occurred last year in Williamsville.
Clark is encouraged by developments in the Batavia School District.
“I feel that our district is doing wonderful work with our anti-bullying programming. We need to keep this as a priority in the future. The district is currently preparing for its second annual student survey. The survey will inform the district how the students feel about this issue and where the district needs to focus its efforts.
Pasta for Peace is sponsored by Pax Christi Genesee County. Pax Christi has its roots in the Catholic Peace Movement, but operates on an interfaith basis locally. For more information on Pax Christi in Western New York, see paxchristiwny.weebly.com.
