Specialist to Speak on bullying

By Ben Evers

Edited by John Kennet

Mt Pleasant Public schools are taking preventative measures against bullying by bringing in a specialist.

Public speaker, Cathy Hamilton, will be speaking to teachers Wednesday, April 22 to discuss new proactive ideas on how to address the issue of bullying.

She will talk about how to identify incidents of bullying and how to address the matters consistently.

Jeffery Thoenes, principal of Mt. Pleasant High School, said that this is simply a proactive measure to get new ideas and methods on handling an issue that every school has.

"This is a very safe school," He said, "but when you get 1,100 kids in the same building, you are going to have problems."

Thoenes explained that bullying has not gotten so wildly out of hand that the schools need extra help.  

"Our policies are well crafted,"  Thoenes said. 

Hamilton is trained under nationally known speaker Ruby K. Payne, Ph. D.

Payne, who speaks more than 150 days a year, is the founder and CEO of aha! Process Inc.

This will be the third time Hamilton has visited Mt. Pleasant teachers.

In the fall of 2006, she spoke to teachers on poverty, and later that year, took the principals through a leadership training.

"She's a charming and charismatic speaker."  Thoenes said.