Ms. Sepp's Counselor Corner: No Place for Hate

Standing up to bullies and against bigotry is never easy – particularly for young people. This is why ADL’s No Place for Hate® initiative empowers the whole school community – teachers and students, administrators and parents – to tackle prejudice, bullying and intergroup conflict.

The No Place for Hate® initiative provides educators and students with the resources to ensure that anti-bias and diversity education are an integral part of the school curriculum. No Place for Hate® also helps to create and sustain inclusive school environments where all students feel valued and have the opportunity to succeed by promoting respect for individual difference while challenging bigotry and prejudice. Launched in Austin schools in the fall of 2004, the popular initiative has been embraced by hundreds of campuses throughout the Central Texas region.

To earn the designation schools commit to creating a student led coalition, signing the Resolution of Respect, and hosting at least three anti-bias and diversity related activities throughout the year.

Lee Elementary is proud to be designated as a No Place for Hate school by the Anti-Defamation League. We will do many school-wide projects to create a culture of kindness and respect. You can find more information about No Place for Hate at http://www.adl.org/npfh/.

Each year we'll be working on 3 different school wide projects. Students are excited to see our No Place for Hate banners hanging in the cafeteria. Each student at our school signs the Resolution of Respect showing our unified commitment to make Lee a school where everyone feels welcome. Our No Place For Hate Coalition, made up of our 6th grade leadership institute students, help plan the 3 projects that all students participate in at the beginning of the year. I introduce them to the "Pyramid of Hate" to show them how small behaviors can grow into life threatening situations over time. Our 6th graders think about the problems they experience at Lee that fall in the bottom two levels of the pyramid, then plan projects to prevent these behaviors from happening.