Students Write, Produce and Perform Vignettes for TeensAgainstBullying.Org

MENDOTA HEIGHTS, Minn., Aug. 10, 2009 – Saint Thomas Academy announced today that VISTA Productions, a combined theater program with Visitation School, has contributed to PACER Center’s national efforts to raise awareness and prevent bullying among today’s youth. The students’ efforts will likely receive greater attention with the help of Hollywood Records pop music sensation and Disney Channel star, Demi Lovato, who announced a partnership with the PACER Center’s National Center for Bullying Prevention on Friday, Aug. 7. A victim of bullying in her younger years, Lovato will support the non-profit’s efforts by appearing on PACER’s TeensAgainstBullying.org Web site, which also features videos that were written and produced by and feature VISTA Productions’ students.

Wendy Short-Hays, VISTA Theater Director said, “Many of the students involved in this project have worked on it for four years, which encompasses their entire high school career.  They had the opportunity to write, use their voice talent, act and assist with the video production.  It was such a rich experience for them.”

TeensAgainstBullying.org is an extension of PACER’s elementary school initiative and Web site KidsAgainstBullying.org , for which STA/VIS students provided voice talent for “webisodes.” The students also provided voice talent for a radio spot promoting the website in 2006.

PACER will use its Web site and a social networking campaign to create more awareness for bullying during the 4th Annual National Bullying Prevention Awareness Week (Oct. 4 to 10). Families, students, schools, organizations and other groups can partner with PACER to prevent bullying in several ways. Activities and materials such as contests, toolkits and online bullying prevention training are available at TeensAgainstBullying.org and KidsAgainstBullying.org (for elementary school kids).

According to a recent study by The National Association of School Psychologists and the U.S. Dept. of Justice, 160,000 kids of all ages stay home from school everyday to avoid the stress that comes from being confronted by a bully or bullies. Most studies find that only 25 to 50 percent of bullied children talk to an adult about it.

“Bullying is intentional, hurtful and often repetitive behavior forced on a child who does not knowingly provoke the bully. There is a clear imbalance of power either in the physical strength, social status or the intimidating behavior of the bully,” explained Paula F. Goldberg, executive director and co-founder of PACER.
 
About PACER
PACER’s Center’s Bullying Prevention Project is for all children, including children with disabilities. It promotes bullying awareness and teaches effective ways to respond to bullying. PACER Center primarily serves families of children and youth with disabilities. It provides resources such as publications, workshops, and individualized assistance and helps families make decisions about education, vocational training, employment, and other services for their child. Its primary Web site is PACER.org, its phone numbers are 952-838-9000; 800-53-PACER (MN toll free); and 888-248-0822 (national toll free).

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Photo caption:  VISTA Productions, a combined theater program between Saint Thomas Academy and Visitation School, contributed to PACER Center’s national efforts to raise awareness and prevent bullying among today’s youth. The students wrote, produced and acted in videos for the organization’s bullying prevention educational Web site www.TeensAgainstBullying.org, and previously produced webisodes for www.KidsAgainstBullying.org . The students pose here with PACER Center’s national spokesperson, pop music and Disney Channel star Demi Lovato.

 

VISTA Production students with VISTA directors Wendy Short-Hays and Elliott Hays (far left).