National Bullying Prevention Month: Hey Dude, Nice Shoes

 

In honor of National Bullying Prevention Month, School Safety Today by Raptor Technologies, host Dr. Amy Grosso sat down with Carolyn Jennings-Brown, Founder and Program Director of “Hey Dude, Nice Shoes” to discuss the importance of:

  • Raising awareness about bullying and shifting the focus from merely identifying the problem to finding solutions and promoting kindness.
  • How bullying has evolved over the years, especially due to the influence of social media and technology.
  • Setting clear standards of behavior for children, to create safe spaces for communication, and to model pro-kindness behavior, as well as celebrating and appreciating children for who they are.

Guest Carolyn Jennings Brown is a dedicated advocate and motivational speaker for anti-bullying and pro-kindness initiatives. She travels across the United States to deliver her presentation, “Hey Dude, Nice Shoes” to students and parents, impacting thousands of lives each year. She also received the National PTA Lifetime Achievement Award for her contributions to school safety and mental health awareness.

Recent Episodes

School Safety Today podcast, presented by Raptor Technologies. In this episode of School Safety Today, host Dr. Amy Grosso interviews guest expert Will Durgin to discuss the newly released Behavioral Threat Assessment and Management (BTAM) Report from the National Threat Assessment Center and Homeland Security. They explore how this report differs from previous NTAC…

Schools today are navigating a whirlwind of change, from new expectations in the job market to the growing influence of AI and the constant push to rethink accountability. That’s why conversations about educator advocacy matter so much right now. Texas, for example, ranks among the lowest ten states in per-pupil funding—even while boasting the seventh-strongest…

Automation and AI aren’t arriving someday—they’re already reshaping factory floors, logistics hubs, and technical workplaces right now. That shift is putting schools, especially Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs, on the spot: the jobs students are training for are evolving faster than most curricula. In its Future of Jobs Report 2025, the World Economic…