As schools nationwide aim to ‘Stomp Out’ bullying, we take a closer look at new local stats

NORTH MYRTLE BEACH, SC (WBTW) – Schools across the country are raising awareness Monday for bullying by wearing blue.

The campaign– which sets out to ‘STOMP Out’ bullying- encourages discussion around bullying by having teachers, students and parents show up decked out in blue.

Julie Harrington was one of those parents. Her whole family, including her 10-year-old son, wore blue to mark the occasion.

That’s because bullying is an important issue for her.

“Growing up, I was bullied coming from mt hometown,” she said. “My son is on the spectrum so he’s very sensitive and he does get picked on at school because of being sensitive.”

But Harrington wasn’t alone.

At Riverside Elementary School up in the North Strand, hundreds of students were wearing blue, along with nearly every teacher and administrator.

“A vast majority of our kids here today and staff in the color blue,” school counselor Felecia Bellamy said. “And they know it’s not just about the color blue, they know why they’re wearing it.”

Each class also put together a poster encouraging one another to be kind.

“It was just awesome the time that they spent, the words they used,” Bellamy said. “Some of them were so personal because they had to write out what it meant to them. They all stood out.”

The school has initiatives planned throughout October for National Bullying Prevention Month. But administrators and parents agree work to solve the problem can’t end there.

“(Students) know that there are some things we’re just not going to tolerate and bullying is one of them,” Bellamy said. “We’re not going to tolerate them being mean to each other.”

This is the first year the South Carolina Department of Education released bullying statistics in their annual statewide report card.

You can click here to see an interactive map of districts in our area.

Or, just find your district on this chart:

Parents and administrators told News13 the message here is to speak up if you need help.

“Find that one teacher, that one adult that you can talk to,” Harrington said. “(One you have a connection with and just ask for help. “