School affected by violence takes anti-bullying challenge named for Columbine student

Published 3:25 pm Thursday, September 24, 2015

One year after a shooting at a nearby high school and a week after a local teen was arrested for murder, a North Carolina middle school is taking on a nationwide “challenge” in hopes of changing a culture of violence.

On Tuesday, Albemarle Middle School educators and staff spent an emotionally-charged day introducing students to Rachel’s Challenge, a program based on the life and writing of Rachel Joy Scott, the first victim of the 1999 Columbine (Colorado) High School shooting. Since her death, Scott’s writings and actions prior to her death have led to organizers sharing and teaching others how to spread her compassion to those students who suffer from isolation.

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The nonprofit organization that bears her name aims to promote kindness and compassion in schools and communities. The organization’s programs have been selected by and shared at several schools across the country in hopes of curbing bullying and violence among young students.

“It brought out their emotions in a very powerful way,” Albemarle Middle School Principal Beverly Pennington said. “We saw a breakthrough with our kids.”

Scott 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.”

Albemarle Middle School has been aggressively working toward improving its academics to better prepare students for the next phase of their lives, but something was missing, Pennington said.

“There’s still a component that we need to develop with our students,” she said. “It’s that character development piece.”

A student survey at the school revealed that 1 in 5 students expressed concern about bullying, Pennington said. The ratio could be higher if all students understood what qualifies as bullying.

“I don’t think most kids understand what bullying is,” said Staci Davis, teacher and event organizer. “They think it’s picking. They think bullying is only physical.”

The adoption of Rachel’s Challenge comes after what’s been a rough year for the school’s students, staff and the surrounding community.

Last week, Jimmy Jaquavis Parker, 16, was charged with the Sept. 2 killing of Cordarus Maurice Leake, 28. Parker was a former Albemarle Middle student. In 2014, Jalen Russell, 15, shot Bernard Miller, 16, on the campus of nearby Albemarle High School. Bullying was mentioned as a possible motive in the shooting.

“We’re tired of burying students and we’re tired of seeing our students in the police blotter,” said Kathryn Patterson, an Albemarle Middle teacher and event organizer.

Rachel’s Challenge addresses how students are made to feel isolated and how the actions of others reinforce a sense of loneliness. Unlike other anti-bullying campaigns, Rachel’s Challenge presents a more proactive approach with a broader message.

As part of the program, older students at Albemarle Middle watched news footage about what happened at Columbine as well as about how the parents of Rachel Scott learned more about their daughter’s purpose.

After the presentations, Pennington said faculty and staff consoled crying and sniffling students overcome with emotion. Some students guilty of bullying saw themselves in the presentations, inspiring one to apologize for his behavior.

In addition, 100 students were tasked to serve as Friends of Rachel. They were taught such communicative tools as to how to defuse incidents of bullying without escalating the situation. 

Students were also given an opportunity to pledge Rachel’s Challenge by signing their name to a banner.

“Not everybody did and that’s OK,” Pennington said. “What we want to see is a change in how people treat each other.”

The Albemarle (North Carolina) Stanly News & Press contributed details to this story.