Twenty-three Pittsburgh Public Schools are currently hosting teacher trainings to help end bullying and encourage kids to #choosekindness. In partnership with the Pittsburgh Pirates, each school has rolled out Shred Hate, a bullying prevention program created by ESPN, supported by Major League Baseball and X Games. As part of the program, No Bully works directly with the local school district through our innovative evidence-based training.
One of the major perks of this program is to identify, celebrate, and incentivize “upstander” students – a person who speaks or acts in support of an individual or cause, particularly someone who intervenes on behalf of a person being attacked or bullied. Many students are nominated for this honor, but only one is chosen to be the upstander of the month. We are proud to announce the Pirates’ winner is Marte Harris, Senior at Perry Traditional Academy!
Marte’s teacher nominated him because of his bravery in a scary situation on campus. A big fight broke out in his teachers’ classroom and according to his teacher “had it not been for Marte, I may have been very hurt.” His teacher was knocked to the ground and it was Marte who came to their rescue, picking them up from the floor and removing them from danger. His teacher explained how grateful they were for his courage and for “being a humanitarian when he could have joined the crowd and watched the chaos continue.”
Pittsburgh Pirates Visit Marte’s class!
To surprise Marte, the Pirates had a special visitor come to his classroom. The infamous Pirate Parrot, made a grand appearance to honor Marte and gave him a special Shred Hate backpack with great prizes, including his award for choosing kindness and for being an upstander. All of the students were super excited to witness this fun surprise and Marte was especially humbled and honored about the visit which made it that much more special. Keep up the good work Marte, we’re rooting for you!
Marte and the Pirate’s Parrot!
