News Channel 13- Rico Sharp School Safety Curriculum- Breaking the Silence, Stopping gun Violence

10 Aug 2025 · 3 min

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After an active shooter incident at his son's high school in 2019, Central Florida father Rico Sharp created a three-part curriculum called Breaking the Silence: Stopping Gun Violence. The program teaches students, teachers, and parents that prevention starts with open conversation and recognizing their role in safety. Sharp is delivering talks to schools and plans to expand nationally.

Chapters

As students head back to school, one Central Florida father is on a mission, turning his personal fear into a powerful lesson. You see, he's traveling school to school hoping to stop violence before it even starts. And as Spectrum News 13's Ashley Engel explains, it all began with one terrifying phone call.
This is my son Tyrique. This is graduation, something he's very, very excited about at Lake Mary High School.
For Rico Sharp, school safety isn't just a mission, it's personal, all because of one phone call that took place March 13th, 2019.
All of a sudden my phone rang and it said Lake Mary High School, there has been a school shooting, there is an active shooter on campus, your school is on lockdown. I urgently rushed to the school because my son was there on campus.
On that day, a 17-year-old student fired a gun on campus, taking their own life. Tyrique and other students were not hurt, but the fear stayed with Rico ever since.
This became so personal to me that it really affected me emotionally.
So he went to work creating a 3-part curriculum He calls it Breaking the Silence: Stopping Gun Violence for Students, Teachers, and Parents.
In this curriculum, I train the students how to understand their part that they must play in their safety, and that is by creating one voice.
His message: prevention starts with conversation, and every voice matters. Give yourself a round of applause. Rico's goal is to take this curriculum across the country Rico Sharp is planning to travel the country, but for now, he's starting right here in Central Florida. Am I giving my all? With a motivational speech to a group of teachers at Jones High School before the start of the school year.
Our kids need to live. They need to have a future. They need to go on with their life and know that I got an education from school, not a death certificate.
A father's fear turned into purpose and a curriculum built not just to teach, In Seminole County, Ashley Engel, Spectrum News.
Rico Sharp is offering the free curriculum to any Central Florida schools that are interested. You can find more details about his work on our website, mynews13.com.