Franklin Regional officials are reaching out to parents and the community to engage them about hot-button issues facing today’s students: bullying, drugs and pitfalls of social media use.
The Franklin Regional Parent and Community Lecture Series kicks off March 11 with an overview of the district’s bullying prevention strategy.
It will be led by high school principal Ron Suvak, who is a nationally certified trainer for the Olweus bullying prevention program.
“Every student deserves to come to an environment where they feel safe and feel that the adults care about them,” Suvak said.
The district’s goal is to identify and intervene before bullying behavior gets out of hand.
“The No. 1 thing is to tell kids: we want you to tell us,” he said.
Suvak’s presentation will be at 6:30 p.m. March 11 at the Franklin Regional Middle School’s Little Theater, 4660 Old William Penn Highway in Murrysville.
On April 23, Dr. Bill Jenkins, emergency medicine director at Excela Health and Frick Hospitals, will present “Vaping and Drug Use — What Parents Need to Know.”
Hosted at the high school auditorium, the event will begin at 6 p.m. with exhibits and sponsor tables from Saint Vincent prevention programs, Outside In, Westmoreland Drug & Alcohol Commission, Murrysville police, Murrysville Medic One, The Reality Tour and the Franklin Regional Student Assistance Program.
Jenkins’s presentation will begin at 6:30 p.m.
Finally, a 6 p.m. program on May 28 will see Phil Little of the U.S. Attorney’s Office discussing “Social Media 101 — How to Monitor to Keep Your Child Safe,” which will focus on the negative ramifications of today’s pervasive social media landscape.
Suvak said social media can tie back into bullying.
“Unlike when I was growing up, if I was being mistreated, I had from four until seven at night to get away from that,” he said. “Today, with the rise of social media, interactive gaming systems and real-time chat, if a situation exists where a student is being bullied, that can open things up to a 24-hour cycle, and no student deserves that.”
