BALDWIN PARK – Foster Elementary School students from transitional kindergarten through second-grade danced, dressed up with silly masks and hats, and practiced their beatboxing skills on Nov. 9 alongside YouTuber and youth motivational speaker, Josh Drean, who urged them to create a positive environment to eliminate bullying at school and on social media.
“My message is that you can have fun, and at the same time, you can be respectful and you can be a good friend – that’s how you create an environment that is positive,” Drean said. “A lot of YouTubers have a negative message about how we should treat one another, but my message is a positive one.”
Foster Elementary was stop number 14 on Drean’s speaking-tour through Baldwin Park Unified. Drean hosted three assemblies at Foster, the first for TK through second-grade, the second assembly for third- and fourth-graders and the final one for fifth- and sixth-graders.
“Josh Drean’s assembly was very inspiring and I love how he made it very fun,” Foster Elementary sixth-grader Mia Moreno said. “I also love that he lets kids know and understand a story of someone being bullied.”
Drean is a Harvard MBA student and has been working as a youth motivational speaker for six years. On YouTube, he tracks his assemblies hosted at schools across the country to raise awareness on bullying prevention.
“I am excited to have Josh Drean here at Foster because I want a positive culture where kids come to school and feel part of a positive, supportive group,” Foster Elementary Principal Carmen Caballero said.
Drean shared videos from his days as Cosmo the Cougar, Brigham Young University’s mascot. He incorporated a harmonica into his beatboxing skit and invited students on stage to show off their mascot skills. The periods of fun were punctuated with lessons on how to treat others with kindness and respect.
Drean asks that students represent their school and themselves positively to discover their self-worth and share it with others.
With the acronym REP (resiliency, empathy and potential), Drean encourages students to develop resiliency by learning to stand against and report any instances of bullying. He discusses empathy as a way to combat stereotypes and he asks students to remember their self-worth by embracing their potential.
“To achieve academically, our students need to be supported emotionally and socially,” Superintendent Dr. Froilan N. Mendoza said. “Through these assemblies our students are learning an important and powerful message that asks them to treat everyone with kindness. We thank Josh Drean for sharing his message with Baldwin Park Unified students and we hope it inspires them to make a difference.”
PHOTOS
BPUSD_DREAN_ASSEMBLY_1: Foster Elementary fifth- and sixth-graders dress up in silly hats as they participate in Josh Drean’s anti-bullying and “Be Kind” assembly on Nov. 9. Drean, a YouTube star and youth motivational speaker, hosted three assemblies for different grade levels at Foster Elementary to encourage a positive and supportive school environment.
BPUSD_DREAN_ASSEMBLY_2: Youtuber and youth motivational speaker Josh Drean beatboxes for Foster Elementary fifth- and sixth-graders as part of his anti-bullying presentation on Nov. 9. Drean shared how students can stand against bullying, avoid stereotypes and improve social media by embracing positivity and kindness.