Freedom has always been aware of the word civility. It’s one of the Eight Learning Outcomes and has also been a goal of the administrators for quite a few years. This year, the Civility Project was officially created in order to not only further implement civility in FHS, but in the community as well. To Freedom, civility means showing respect to students and teachers, as well as other members of the faculty. It is something that encourages politeness and responsibility, as well as holding a high standard of the golden rule: treat others the way you would want to be treated. “The word is out there, but now we need to implement that word,” said Mrs. Hill, one of the main coordinators for the Civility Project. Last year, administrators realized that Freedom has no real anti-bullying program like most other schools in the surrounding area. They decided that creating a project based on bullying wouldn’t appeal to most students. The term ‘bullying’ is something that would be seen as immature, and therefore not taken seriously. After a group from Freedom spoke with Ambridge faculty– who have a county-wide bullying program– they decided to create the Civility Project. It is more of a non-traditional approach, which is what Freedom wanted, and is also more relevant to students than a typical anti-bullying program would be. A student civility club has also been created in hopes of encouraging students to get involved. “We really wanted to make this a student-driven program,” Mrs. Hill said. She said it is important to get a student’s insight into this project and set an example for the rest of the student body. Showing civility is not something that should only happen in classrooms. Future plans for the Civility Project include extending these values into other aspects of the school such as on the bus. The project also hopes to encourage civility between teachers and students as well as coaches and athletes. The goal is to link together everyone in the school to further expand the project. In the future, the Civility Project also hopes to increase awareness among students and start a ripple effect. “If I’m nice to you, you’re most likely going to be nice to someone else,” said Mrs. Hill, explaining that a few students showing civility could have an impact on the entire school.