The morning of Sept. 19, approximately 500 students entered the high school auditorium to become a part of a life-changing event: Rachel’s Challenge. This program asks for everyone to start a chain reaction of kindness in order to make the world a better place. Many schools implement anti-bullying programs, but this is more than that; Rachel’s Challenge asks for students to be compassionate towards one another, allowing for hate and cruelty to go away.
The elementary, middle and high schools took part in this program, as well as the community. “Our kids deal with so much stuff on a daily basis,” Superintendent Dr. Jeffery Fuller said when presenting this program during the evening session. “[We wanted] a program that would make sense to kids,” Fuller said.
The first session of Rachel’s Challenge started before school. All teachers and support staff came together and participated in this challenge during an in-service day.
The representative from Rachel’s Challenge, Mrs. DeeDee Cooper, explained to the school what makes Rachel Joy Scott so important. Rachel was the first person that died at Columbine High School and videos were presented about her journals, influences, family and her life goals.
The guidance department throughout the district took the lead with this program, advertising it to students and organizing the event. Because of this, most students realized the nature of this assembly beforehand.
“I knew it was going [to be] emotional, but I didn’t think so many people were going to be so emotionally affected,” Freshman Meghan Kiefer said.
After the assembly, many students were strained. Groups of students could be found all over the building talking about how they felt after watching the presentation.
During the afternoon, anyone who signed up for the Friends of Rachel (FOR) Club came back to the auditorium. Though typical FOR groups normally only consist of 100 students, 130 were present due to the high interest at our school.
This presentation had staff sitting among the students and included different activities, most of which involved learning more ways to start a chain reaction of kindness.
The opening question of the afternoon session was, “How did today’s presentation affect you?” This question, though very simple, brought together students like never before. Several students and teachers alike shared how Rachel’s Challenge affected them, while the other students listened and encouraged those who were presenting.
It is important to understand that FOR Club is not an anti-bullying club but rather a pro-positive club that encourages kindness, which will ultimately end bullying and encourage acceptance.
“Overall, I think the school will make a conscious effort to be nice. Also, the FOR club plans to tackle projects that actually need fixing and are cared about,” Freshman Madeline Kiefer said.
Later on that evening, members of the community attended the final session for the day. The auditorium was nearly filled. This presentation was a summary of the events that took place during the previous sessions for the high school students. The community reacted in the same manner that the students did.
Hundreds of members in our small community have already committed to Rachel’s Challenge; will you accept it too?