PEABODY — Peabody’s ongoing conversation about bullying moved back to Higgins Middle School Tuesday night, as Cely Rosario — who has spearheaded the push for advanced anti-bullying measures to be implemented since her brother, Jason Bernard, died by suicide due to bullying in May 2025 — took the podium during a School Committee meeting to raise concerns that the updated anti-bullying plans and policies have not yet been presented.
“As a parent and community member, it is deeply concerning to witness such critical issues on bullying continue to be discussed without stronger leadership, timelines, or clear commitment to change,” she said. “What makes this even more difficult is that my family has continued to navigate these bullying concerns while also grieving the devastating loss of my brother.”
Rosario specifically noted that what she takes issue with most is the lack of respect toward her and her family, which stems from a lack of a prompt response.
“Despite carrying that emotional burden, we have remained patient — very patient — respectful, and engaged because we believe student safety, mental health, and anti-bullying within school culture deserves serious attention and meaningful action,” she said. “However, patience should not be mistaken for silence or some acceptance of inaction. Families should not have to repeatedly advocate for environments where students feel safe, supported, and protected from their bullies.”
She then spoke directly to the School Committee: “I respectfully and adamantly ask the Committee to recognize the urgency behind these concerns and to move beyond discussion, and discussion, and discussion, and move toward implementation.”
Rosario concluded by centering the students and their needs.
“This work matters because students matter,” Rosario said. “Their emotional safety, dignity, and well-being cannot continue to be delayed behind the process or procedure, behind crossing red lines while you’re focusing on a period. I appreciate your time and attention, and I hope to see stronger action and leadership moving forward.”
Toward the end of Tuesday evening’s meeting, School Committee member Beverley Griffin Dunne shared that the Quality and Standards Subcommittee has been working toward finalizing the Bullying Prevention and Intervention Plan (BPIP) as well as the updated anti-bullying policy and an accompanied presentation.
She stated that, at minimum, the anti-bullying policy and presentation will be discussed at the next School Committee meeting on June 9. Dunne hopes to also have the BPIP ready, but that is still up in the air.
On Wednesday afternoon, Special Education Parent Advisory Council President Liz Mover, who has been part of the policy-setting process as a member of the Peabody PROMISE Policy and Procedure Action Team, stated that she had shared concerns with Rosario.
Mover emphasized frustrations that the Quality and Standards Subcommittee had not met between Feb. 10, when the anti-bullying policy updates were first discussed, and last week on May 19. The policy was again discussed Tuesday prior to the School Committee meeting.
Dunne, on Wednesday, stated that the Subcommittee did not meet for three months due to an intense budget season, scheduling obstacles aplenty, and time-sensitive issues, such as necessary executive sessions, which required that other meetings be postponed, among other reasons.
“It’s not unusual for these things to take time… I know that government moves more slowly than anyone ever wants it to, and that can always be a frustration. It’s a frustration for us, too,” Dunne said.
She also highlighted that the updated anti-bullying policy, which is approximately seven pages long, needed to weave together Massachusetts law and Peabody’s heart, which often required compromise one way or another when it came to the language used, and required input from Attorney Michael Joyce.
“He was making sure that the language that had been presented was clear and that it did conform to the requirements of the law, and in some cases, that correction was very necessary to make it whole, to make it corrected,” Dunne said.
There will be a first reading of the updated anti-bullying policy on June 9.
Additionally, Mover voiced concerns that the Peabody community may not know where they can access the current resources, bullying report forms, and other information collected and published by Peabody PROMISE: the City’s dedicated team focused on mental health, anti-bullying initiatives, and suicide prevention. Information is available online at peabody.k12.ma.us/peabody-promise/.
