About one month before the Columbine shootings in Colorado, Darrell Scottís daughter, Rachel, wrote an essay, ìMy Ethic, my Code of Life.î The essay motivated Scott to establish ìRachelís Challengeî in memory of his daughter, who was the first of 13 victims to die at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colo., on April 20, 1999.In the essay, Rachel Scott wrote, ìI have this theory that if one person can go out of their way to show compassion, then it will start a chain reaction of the same. People will never know how far a little kindness can go.îIn January, Rachel’s Challenge team member Randall Kohn came to Falcon Middle School to challenge students, teachers and parents to five objectives: look for the best in others to eliminate prejudice; dream big and write down goals; choose positive influences; speak with kindness; start a chain reaction by telling people how much you mean to them.The presentation included footage of the Columbine shootings, photos of Scott throughout her life and testimonials about Scott from her friends and relatives. Afterward, students were given an opportunity to join the Friends of Rachel club. Each grade has its own club that meets Fridays during lunch.Bethany Minnich, a seventh-and-eighth-grade language arts teacher and eighth-grade facilitator of the Friends of Rachel Club at FMS, said they had about 40 students per grade sign up for the club. ìWe had to use the lottery system to pick who could go since there’s limited space,î she said.Minnich said students were inspired to be involved this year after they attended the program. ìLast year, I had maybe 10 kids at most who would show up on Fridays at lunch,î she said. ìAfter the presentation, we had 33 show up.îThe Friends of Rachel club meetings allow students to present ideas and brainstorm about how they can promote messages of kindness and compassion to their school and the community, said Kim Moore, sixth-grade writing teacher. The club also creates an atmosphere where students who might not be involved in other activities can feel included, Minnich said.ìThey are already looking at ways they can change the community,î Moore said. They’re seeing beyond themselves. It’s helping their self-esteem and helping them make changes.î After two meetings of the Friends of Rachel club, Moore said her attendance was up from 60 students to 70.Students are also working to create a chain made of individual links of paper. On these links a student or faculty member writes down the name of a student who performed an act of kindness and the nature of the act. Moore said the Friends of Rachel club will place boxes throughout the school to collect the links. At the Friday meetings, club members can continually work on assembling the chain.ìWe have kids carrying around strips of paper everywhere they go and they’re filling them out all the time for the chain,î Minnich said.The school is also recognizing students for their acts of kindness. Principal Brian Smith said, ìWe recognize a kid for a positive contribution to the school or someone else over the announcements. When they get their Fireball Award, they fill out a link.îSince the presentation, Smith said he has seen a change in the students. ìI’ve seen a lot more students standing up to incidences of bullying,î he said. ìThey’re standing up to their peers and reporting it to the office. They’re letting others know that we aren’t going to stand for those negative behaviors.îìI think it (the program) hit home for the kids,î Minnich said. ìWe had a lot of kids who were really affected. For a lot of them, they realized they did need to make some changes, and that’s a good thing.îìIt seems like their eyes are a little bit more open to see the positive in people instead of zeroing in on the negative,î Moore said. ìThey’re trying to set a good example for other people to follow.îSmith said the school plans to bring the program back every three years so each student has an opportunity to see the presentation. ìWe’ll definitely do something related to the project each year,î he said. ìLetting the kids have a chance to hear that story is well worth it.î
