Public invited to come join Rachel’s Challenge Assembly Tuesday, Sept. 25 at 7 p.m. at FMHS

By Sara Haflich, FMHS Principal

Rachel Joy Scott was the first girl shot and killed in the Columbine massacre in Colorado on April 20, 1999 when two students killed 12 classmates and a teacher before taking their own lives. Rachel had written in her essays and diaries that she wished to live in a way that would touch the hearts of others with kindness and compassion.

As a way of coping with their grief, Rachel’s family decided to honor her memory by starting a chain reaction of kindness and compassion in schools across the country. They developed Rachel’s Challenge, a program designed to help stop bullying in schools and to change the culture of schools. They wanted to affect the way kids treat everyone in their lives.

Rachel’s Challenge staff have developed programs for each individual grade level, targeting the issues experienced by children from elementary through high school. I am beyond excited to be welcoming the staff from Rachel’s Challenge to our El Tejon Unified School District campuses.

On Monday, Sept. 24 assemblies will be held at Frazier Park and El Tejon schools. On Tuesday, Sept. 25 an assembly will be held at Frazier Mountain High School.

After the full-school assembly at FMHS, Rachel’s Challenge personnel will provide a 90-minute training for students chosen to be leaders of the program at our high school. Curriculum will be provided so these students will be able to continue Rachel’s Challenge on all the campuses through our Safe Schools Ambassadors program.

To make the culture change effort complete, that same evening—Tuesday, Sept. 25 at 7 p.m.—we will be holding a communitywide assembly at the high school. All parents—and everyone in the community who wishes to attend—may come to see what our district is implementing on our campuses.

The goal is to help shape a positive, nurturing culture in every one of our schools— and perhaps throughout the community.

This program is being implemented all over the United States, but no other district in Kern County has brought this wonderful program into their schools yet. I believe Arvin and Vineland are also pioneers in planning to implement it in their communities soon.

For families who want more information right now, I recommend watching the Rachel’s Challenge Promo Clip on YouTube for specific information. It is a little over 9 minutes, and is the best. You can also go to www.rachelschallenge.org for more details.

Most importantly, come to the community assembly on September 25 and be a part of the chain reaction of kindness in our schools, and in our lives.

People will never know how far a little kindness will go

—Rachel Joy Scott

This is part of the September 07, 2012 online edition of The Mountain Enterprise.

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