High Fives for Bully-Free Lives

October is National Bullying Prevention Month, and for good reason. There are some terrible statistics surrounding this despicable behavior:

• one out of four kids will be bullied at some point during adolescence;
• 70% of all high school students say they have been bullied;
• and 64% of children who were bullied did not report it.

And, because of those numbers:

• 160,000 students miss school each day for fear of being bullied;
• and one out of 10 students changes schools because of repeated bullying.

K12 Network Schools have become a refuge for many of these children. In fact, 21% of all parents and 31% of middle-school parents enrolled in their online schools cited bullying as one of the reasons why they chose to enroll; 91% say that attending online school has helped address the bullying issue; and 97% would recommend a K12 online school to other families whose children were experiencing bullying problems.

There are different ways to deal with bullying, but our goal is to bring bullying to an end.

This year, we are raising awareness by asking you to sign the pledge and commit to give High Fives for Bully-Free Lives! We’re using the high five as a symbol of kindness and celebration, just as it was when it began on Oct. 2, 1977, in front of 46,000 screaming fans at Dodger Stadium. Glenn Burke thrust his hand enthusiastically over his head after Dusty Baker hit his 30th home run. Baker, not knowing what to do, smacked it. “His hand was up in the air, and he was arching way back,” says Baker, now 62 and managing the Reds. “So I reached up and hit his hand. It seemed like the thing to do.”

Like those teammates, we all need to team up to educate, raise awareness, and make a difference by putting an end to bullying. Sign the pledge today, and share your high fives by using hashtag #High5BullyFree. Together, we can put an end to bullying.

You can also use these images as your profile picture or cover photo on Facebook to spread the word!