Using his vocal percussion and dancing skills, a former Brigham Young University cheerleader and mascot captivated Grantsville students on Wednesday with a high-energy anti-bullying message.
Josh Drean, whose upbeat anti-bullying message has been featured on both NBC Morning News and Fox News, performed at separate assemblies at Grantsville High School and Grantsville Junior High. At both schools, he also participated in training sessions for student leaders and a joint professional development training session for the faculty.
Instead of a list of what bullying is and what to do about it, Drean told students at the start of his presentation that he wanted to talk about positive things.
“If you talk about positive things, then positive things happen,” he said.
Drean’s message to students wrapped in several displays of his vocal percussion talents, interactive activities, and personal stories designed to instill hope, empathy and resilience in students.
“Don’t let the people around you determine who you are or who you are not,” Drean said. “You choose how you respond.”
Drean tried out for cheerleading in college to show support for his younger brother, who was bullied for being a cheerleader in high school.
Drean said this led to a journey of self-discovery that eventually inspired him to become an anti-bullying speaker.
Drean completed a bachelor’s degree in organizational psychology at BYU in 2011. Last year, he reached more than 150 schools in Canada and the United States with his anti-bullying program.
“My program seeks to reinforce positive behaviors in students by inspiring them to choose to be kind and respectful,” Drean said.
As a mascot, Drean had to represent his team and school.
“As students, you represent your school,” he said. “Before you say or do something to someone, stop and think about how it will affect them.”
In meetings with student body officers and HOPE Squad members, Drean shared ways for student leaders to take charge and change their school’s culture and create an atmosphere of respect, according to Charlie Mohler, principal at GJHS.
The Grantsville secondary school’s anti-bullying assemblies were not prompted by any single bullying incident, but were part of a larger effort at the schools to build a safe environment for students.
Drean’s positive approach can empower students and defeat bullying, according to Mohler.
“Research shows three principles that will defeat bullying in schools: resiliency, empathy and increasing self-esteem,” Mohler said. “Josh teaches these principles to students on their level through his entertaining and unique experiences he gained as a mascot.”
The assemblies at GHS and GJHS were part of their school-specific anti-bullying prevention strategy, according to Scott Rogers, Tooele County School District superintendent.
While the school district has some district-wide anti-bullying efforts, each individual school determines school-based climate improvement programs to address issues such as bullying at their school, based on school discipline data and student surveys, according to Rogers.
District-wide school climate efforts include a partnership with Communities that Care and local law enforcement agencies that bring the “Second Step,” a social and emotional learning curriculum, to all students in kindergarten through eighth grade.
Through another partnership with Communities that Care, all ninth-grade students in Tooele County School District receive “Life Skills Training,” a curriculum that teaches substance abuse and violence prevention skills.
The school district also has HOPE Squads in all secondary schools. HOPE Squads are groups of students that are trained to help their peers that experience depression and suicidal thoughts.