FAIRHOPE, Alabama—The Jennifer Claire Moore Foundation has teamed up with Baldwin County Public Schools to convene an anti-bullying summit for high school students this weekend at Beckwith Camp and Conference Center.

Located south of Fairhope on Weeks Bay, the historic Beckwith camp for the Episcopal Diocese of the Central Gulf Coast will provide a scenic setting for the Jan. 20-22 summit on “Schools Where Everyone Belongs: Research, Programs, and Policy Designed to Reduce Bullying.”

The roster of speakers includes Patti Agatston, a nationally recognized expert on cyberbullying and counselor and consultant at Cobb County Schools’ Prevention/Intervention Center in Marietta, Ga., outside Atlanta.

"Bullying is a heartbreaking reality today for students, as well as their parents and teachers," said Frances Holk-Jones, founder and president of the Foley-based Jennifer Claire Moore Foundation. "The summit is designed to equip our peer helpers with the tools to encourage and empower their fellow students to replace exclusion and cruelty with acceptance and respect."

The summit will be attended by 34 students who participate in the foundation’s Peer Helper program at their respective Baldwin County high schools.

“In 2011, the Jennifer Claire Moore Foundation's Peer Helper program was expanded to all Baldwin County Public Schools with the support of Dr. Alan Lee, superintendent,” said Laura Ehlert, the foundation’s executive director of the foundation. “Peer helpers create a support system for students and implement a number of awareness campaigns and initiatives, including those that discourage drug and alcohol abuse, dropout, and other negative behaviors and encourage community service, literacy, cooperation and other positive behaviors.”

Following the speakers’ presentations, students will produce anti-bullying video skits to present to their schools.

The summit’s speakers will be taped and their presentations will be available on the websites of Baldwin County Public Schools and the Jennifer Claire Moore Foundation, along with the student videos. The collective bullying prevention information will serve as a resource for students, parents, grandparents, teachers and counselors, Ehlert said.

The anti-bullying summit program is funded by a grant from Project Rebound.

Editor’s note: See next week’s print and online coverage of the summit by Gulf Coast Newspapers.