The New York Jets and STOMP Out Bullying, will continue their fight against bullying at the second annual Jets Tackle Bullying Educators Symposium presented by Municipal Credit Union on August 12. More than 250 educators from across the tri-state area are scheduled to attend the trailblazing event at MetLife Stadium.
Hosted by Otis Livingston, CBS 2's weekday sports anchor, the symposium will include a keynote address from cyberbullying expert Justin W. Patchin, Ph.D, professor of Criminal Justice at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire.
Additionally, a panel discussion that focuses on cyberbullying and small group best practice discussion will be held. The interactive panel will be moderated by Dr. Patchin and include Ross Ellis, founder and CEO of STOMP Out Bullying; Dr. Jeff Gardere, Board Certified Clinical Psychologist and Assistant Professor at Touro College; Dr. Stu Leeds, Clinical Psychologist at the Morris Psychological Group; Chad Pennington, Jets Legend and Jason Siros, Director of No Place for Hate at the Anti-Defamation League.
"We are very proud of our anti-bullying efforts to date and are looking to do much more. From school visits to honoring Upstanders, our second annual symposium is the latest initiative of the Jets ongoing commitment to raising awareness about the devastating effects of bullying," said Neil Glat, New York Jets President. "In partnership with STOMP Out Bullying, we will continue to work with local educators and others in our quest to eliminate bullying."
During the event, the Jets will welcome Municipal Credit Union (MCU) to the Jets Tackle Bullying campaign which aims to create awareness about a national epidemic that impacts every community by reaching educators and students in the tri-state area through school visits, annual educator symposiums, and weekly programs that celebrate students who are working to resolve bullying in their schools. With the MCU partnership, Jets Tackle Bullying school visits will expand through all five NYC boroughs.
"MCU is honored to join the Jets and Stomp Out Bullying in the fight against bullying in our schools and community," said MCU President/CEO Kam Wong. "We're particularly proud to help expand this successful initiative into all New York City public schools so that the more than 130,000 employees of the NYC public school system can access the tools and insights this program provides to tackle bullying."
Ross Ellis, founder and CEO, STOMP Out Bullying added "Once again, we are honored to be a part of this wonderful symposium for educators in the Tri-state area. Through our work with the New York Jets we have made great strides educating the educators on best practices in bullying prevention. The New York Jets are a wonderful and valued partner and with them we are thrilled to be instrumental in stopping bullying behaviors."
Through the organization's collaboration with STOMP Out Bullying, Jets and MCU have made available a Jets branded STOMP Out Bullying Educator's Prevention Toolkit at no cost to schools in the tri-state area. This toolkit enables educators to create meaningful dialogue, educate students through proven Social Emotional Learning methods, adopt character building in schools and involve both students and faculty in working together to change school climate. In addition, the Jets and MCU are funding and developing a digital training tool reaching every school throughout the New York City Department of Education. Schools that sign up for the toolkit or complete the digital training course are invited to our annual Educator's Symposium, designed to provide teachers and administrators resources to improve the culture at their schools.
Schools that attend the symposium are then given additional opportunities to engage with the Jets through our Upstander of the Week and School Recognition programs. The Upstander of the Week Program highlights one student per week during the season across our social media platforms and on the video boards during home games. "When you see someone being bullied and/or cyberbullied and you help them, you stop being a bystander and become an Upstander!" Our School Recognition Program focuses on schools who demonstrate and can articulate how their school combats bullying. Selected schools receive a fun filled assembly featuring a Jets player.
