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Lindbergh starts new year with new anti-bullying policies, superintendent

One district heading back Thursday is Lindbergh. It's one of the top districts in our area, but even the best schools deal with bullying.

For the past few weeks on Today in St. Louis, we've been celebrating back to school for all the students in our area.

One district heading back Thursday is Lindbergh. It's one of the top districts in our area, but even the best schools deal with bullying.

That's why parents came together and started a group called The Upstanders to combat the mean behavior. As school gets underway, we wanted to check in on the group and introduce you to the districts new superintendent and how he plans to put an end to the bullying.

It’s been three months since 11-year-old Brenn McDonnell read a hand-written letter in front of the Lindbergh school board.

"Hi my name is Brenn and I’m standing up for myself and other kids that got bullied. Someone said I was a mistake and should have never been born and I got beat up by 8 kids where no one could see me," Brenn read aloud.

He was in 5th grade then and Today he starts 6th grade at Truman Middle School.

Brenn said, "It’s pretty scary because I can get hurt still just like I did at my other school."

It’s for this reason Brenn’s mom Renee joined the parent led anti-bullying group called The Upstanders.

Renee McDonnell said, “It’s pretty unnerving to know that your child is scared to go to back to school."

All the parents involved have experienced bullying with their kids and are hoping to change how its handled at schools.

"The faster we can address this, the faster we can make change,” Renee said.

This is just one of many challenges facing Lindbergh’s new superintendent Dr. Tony Lake.

Dr. Lake said, "We don't want any parent to feel like their kid has had a bad experience. We want every kid to walk out of here feeling very satisfied with their experience and we want that from our parents as well."

Dr. Lake is thrilled parents are so involved and says the collaboration is key to making positive changes.

"Kids are going to make mistakes and you know we have to teach them and we've got to help them grow and learn just like all of us," explained Dr. Lake.

As for Brenn, he’s ready for a fresh start.

"I would like a community of kindness at school. I'm excited because I get to be in a new school. I shouldn't doubt that making a new friend isn't good," said Brenn.

Since The Upstanders began working with the school board, there have been some positive changes.

1.) There is now a form online for parents to report incidents of bullying which is then filed away for follow-up

2.) The district has hired an additional social worker for the 2018-2019 school year.

3.) All staff including cafeteria workers and bus drivers have gone through anti-bullying training where they're taught on how to identify and handle situations.

4.) They're creating committees made up of parents, students, teachers and school board members to have open communication about bettering policies and procedures. Members of The Upstanders are invited to be involved in the group.

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