Contact: Margaret Kovar
STARKVILLE, Miss.--The role of adolescents and teens as digital citizens in a 24/7 media world, as well as safeguards they can take to guard against bullying, will be the focus of the fifth annual Mississippi KIDS COUNT Summit Feb. 3 in Jackson.
The 8 a.m.-3:30 p.m. event will be held at Christ United Methodist Church. In addition to Mississippi State University, where the program is housed, co-sponsors include the Mississippi departments of Education, Health, Human Services, and Mental Health, as well as the Attorney General's office.
Mississippi Kids Count is the leading resource for comprehensive information on the state's children and works to improve the outcomes for children, families and communities. It is a part of the Family and Children Research Unit at Mississippi State University's Social Science Research Center and sponsored in part by the Annie E. Casey Foundation. (Learn more at www.ssrc.msstate.edu/mskidscount.)
Speakers include:
--Rachel Simmons, founding director of the Girls Leadership Institute and author of New York Times bestseller "Odd Girl Out: the Hidden Culture of Aggression in Girls" (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2011, rev.);
--Jasmine Murray, a Starkville native and MSU freshman who reached the Top 13 as a contestant on the American Idol television singing competition; and
--Merve Lapus, an educational program manager for the non-profit organization Common Sense Media.
The interactive session will provide tips and resources for Internet safety and security issues and encourage ethical online conduct.
Linda Southward, director of Mississippi KIDS COUNT, said the speakers are certain to stimulate dialogue and solutions to "the increasing challenges related to bullying and the misuse of social media." The sessions will be important to counselors, parents, teachers, providers, and others interested in or working with youth, she added.
"Those attending will also receive tool kits from Mississippi's own Success Story winners, who are working to promote the safety of Mississippi's children, families and communities," Southward said. Winners are the Gulf Coast Child Safety Coalition, the Mississippi State Department of Health Fire Academy for Kids, the Goldring/Woldenberg Institute of Southern Jewish Life, and the Family Resource Center of Northeast Mississippi.
Also, the 2012 Mississippi Kids Count Data Book will officially be released, with each participant receiving a complimentary copy. This year's publication focuses on child safety, with emphasis on school safety, transportation, environmental safety and child abuse and neglect.
For the first time, a youth track will be offered. Selected middle school students from across the state will meet to examine issues facing youth today.
The $55 registration fee covers a continental breakfast, networking luncheon, data book, and access to all the sessions. Educators attending may earn continuing education units. The fee is waived for college students; however, students desiring to attend should contact Dorris Baggett at dorris.baggett@ssrc.msstate.edu.
Registration may be completed at www.ssrc.msstate.edu/mskidscount.
For more information about Mississippi State, go to www.msstate.edu.