District 58 Middle Schools to Participate in Rachel's Challenge

Rachel’s Challenge, founded in memory of Columbine High School shooting victim Rachel Joy Scott, has reached more than 18 million people nationwide since its inception.

Now, that number will include hundreds of students in Downers Grove. 

Both middle schools in District 58, Herrick and O’Neill, are starting Friends of Rachel (FOR) Clubs this year, and are teaming up to host a series of kick-off events on Wednesday, Oct. 24. This will include a joint training of 50 students from each school who will comprise the Friends of Rachel core leadership group; assemblies at both schools; and a community workshop at 7 p.m., during which attendees will have the chance to hear about the Rachel’s Challenge program and how it will be implemented at Herrick and O’Neill.

According to the Rachel’s Challenge, website, www.rachelschallenge.org, “Rachel's Challenge is a series of student-empowering programs and strategies that equip students and adults to combat bullying and ally feelings of isolation and despair by creating a culture of kindness and compassion. The programs are based on the writings and life of 17 year-old Rachel Scott, who was the first student killed at Columbine High School in 1999. Rachel left a legacy of reaching out to those who were different, who were picked on by others, or who were new at her school. Shortly before her death she wrote, ‘I 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.’"

The focus of Rachel’s Challenge is based on that quote: the difference that people can make by showing a little bit of kindness. Herrick and O’Neill will start “chains of kindness,” stringing together pieces of paper on which students have written an act of kindness they have recently done or seen. The chains will be on display throughout the year, and at the end of the year the schools will host a celebration. The students also will sign a Rachel’s Challenge banner that will hang in the main hallway at each building.

The Friends of Rachel core leadership teams from both middle schools will spark interest in Rachel’s Challenge and the FOR Club by visiting the homebases to talk about Rachel’s Challenge, making posters featuring Rachel’s Five Challenges, and welcoming new students to the school, among other initiatives.

“It’s all about making a more positive school environment,” said O’Neill Assistant Principal Christine Clavenna, whose former district had implemented the Rachel’s Challenge program.

The key is to talk about what students can do to support each other, rather than focusing on what they shouldn’t do, she said. The core leadership teams from Herrick and O’Neill will work together and share ideas throughout the year, she said.

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