INDIANAPOLIS — In the last week, police have taken six students into custody for threats against school districts across central Indiana. Schools like Perry Meridian, Warren Central, Anderson and Marion are all investigating threats of violence against their campuses.
With another school shooting in Georgia last week again raising concerns, Washington Township Schools on the north side of Indianapolis is taking a different, proactive approach to school safety.
The entire student body at North Central High School participated in a convocation Tuesday, focusing building on a culture of kindness. Seniors sat in the auditorium. The rest of the students watched online in their classrooms.
Students are being asked to accept Rachel's Challenge:
- Look for the best in others to eliminate prejudice.
- Dream big, write down your goals, keep a journal.
- Choose positive influences and be a positive influence.
- Speak with kindness.
- Start your own chain reaction of kindness.
"You get to control how you show up every single day, and if you show up and you decide to be a positive influence on other people, you'll see some things change in your life," Rachel’s Challenge presenter J.B. Braden told the students. "You'll see some things change in the lives of people around you. You'll see some things change in the atmosphere, in the environment of your school."
Paige Fleming is a North Central High School senior who was listening in the crowd.
"Since we have such a big school, there's so much diversity, it's very easy for people to get lost in the crowd or to not feel like they're being seen at the school," said Fleming. "Something I try to do is just give compliments or just to smile at people in the hallway, and hopefully other people can do that, too. Because in a school that's so big, sometimes you feel like you are not important, but you are."
Students today have to go through training and drills for things like an active shooter at school. Rachel's Challenge provides a different kind of training with a focus on prevention through kindness.
"These are the things that stick with people and our students for the rest of their life," said North Central High School Principal Jagga Rent. "And so, it's just as important as the reading, writing and arithmetic."
The program is inspired by the life of Rachel Joy Scott. She was the first person killed in the Columbine High School shooting in 1999.
"This is something like school shootings that is very real and happening in our society, and that could happen at North Central," said Fleming. "But if we start a chain reaction with kindness and with love, I'm sure something like that would not happen, and that we can just spread loving kindness throughout the school."
Student leaders like Fleming are now encouraged to start a "Rachel's Club" at North Central to promote and encourage a safer, more connected place to live and learn.
The program will also visit Washington Township's three middle schools over the next two weeks.