Eagle Ridge Elementary School, Explorer Middle School, Greenway Middle School, and Vista Verde Middle School have received the Anti-Defamation League® No Place for Hate® designation for creating safe and respectful learning environments, bringing awareness to issues of bullying and bias throughout the 2019-2020 school year.
Each school has taken its own approach to implement and instill the values of the No Place for Hate motto in students and staff members.
Greenway Middle School
No Place for Hate has become a strong aspect of Greenway Middle School. Every year, students, as a whole school, are taught about the organization and its purpose. “We begin every single morning with a No Place for Hate quote, as well as encourage No Place for Hate T-Shirts to be worn every Tuesday. Our committee has formed two separate sub-committees with the students, seventh and eighth grade, who meet twice a month and plan activities, random acts of kindness, as well as events for the students campus-wide. We have worked together to create a unity quilt, suicide-awareness posters, along with other signs around the school. We use this motto as a code to check interactions that are considered or could be considered bullying,” says Jeff Quisberg, principal at
Greenway Middle School.
For eight years, No Place for Hate ADL has designated Greenway Middle School as a No Place for Hate School. Greenway prides itself on the hard work the students do every year to encourage love, tolerance, and friendships. Coming from diverse backgrounds and many different ethnicities, students have to come together and learn about each other especially learn to love each other. With this program, staff members are able to teach them and show them how tolerance makes the world go round and, without it, we would fall apart.
Vista Verde Middle School
The Vista Verde Middle School community took the Resolution of Respect, which is: “I pledge from this day forward to do my best to combat prejudice and to stop those who, because of hate or ignorance, would hurt anyone or violate their civil rights. I will try at all times to be aware of my own biases and seek to gain understanding of those who I perceive as being different from myself. I will speak out against all forms of prejudice and discrimination. I will reach out to support those who are targets of hate. I will think about specific ways my community members can promote respect for people and create a prejudice-free zone. I firmly believe that one person can make a difference and that no person can be an innocent bystander when it comes to opposing hate. I recognize that respecting individual dignity, achieving equality, and promoting inter-group harmony are the responsibilities of all people. By signing this pledge, I commit myself to create a community that is No Place for Hate®.”
“My favorite activities were creating an environment for respect and unity at Vista Verde and the classroom Be an Ally Poster Contest for students to share what being an ally meant and our community art mural project that brought our community together to build relationships and collaborate,” says Vista Verde Principal Paul Ferrero.
ADL’s anti-bias, allyship, and bullying prevention programs assist PreK-12 educators and students in understanding and challenging bias, building ally behaviors, and creating a climate of respect. No Place for Hate guides schools toward fostering and maintaining a positive school climate through campus-wide activities, student leadership, and community involvement.
