MIDDLETOWN — An anti-violence and anti-bullying program will be presented to Middletown Unified School District students beginning Monday.
Rachel”s Challenge is an educational program that started in the wake of the 1999 Columbine High School massacre in Columbine, Colo. The program aims to spread kindness and understanding instead of physical violence and intimidation.
Assemblies for all Middletown Unified students will be held on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.
Additionally, two community meetings for parents of Middletown Unified students will be held, one on Tuesday at 7 p.m. for parents of elementary students and one on Wednesday at 7 p.m. for parents of middle and high school students.
The evening programs will be held in the Tallman Gymnasium. The program kicks off a district-wide effort to combat bullying and promote civility in the schools.
The program is named in honor of Rachel Scott, a 17-year-old junior at Columbine High School who was the first of 15 students killed in the April 20, 1999 massacre.
Rachel”s father, Darrell Scott, started the program in 2000 and based it on Rachel”s positive outlook throughout her young life. Students, faculty, parents and community members will be encouraged to adopt Rachel”s Five Challenges as everyday facets of their lives.
Those challenges include eliminating prejudice, setting goals and following dreams, choosing one”s own influences, offering small acts of kindness every day and starting a chain reaction of positive ideals with family and friends.
The assemblies will begin with a brief video presentation explaining the Columbine shootings to the viewers to add a bit of background and context to the program. The video will also showcase some of Rachel”s friends, allowing them to discuss how Rachel positively impacted their lives.
This one-hour multimedia assembly sets the stage for the following 90-minute training session for adult and student leaders.
The training portion introduces the “Friends of Rachel” (FOR) club and continues the message of bringing about positive change in schools.
For more information on the program, visit www.rachelschallenge.com.
