National Finalists for the 2018 Spring Kindness Challenge

We’re excited to announce the 10 schools from across the country that are finalists in the 2018 Spring Middle School Kindness Challenge. The schools are: 

These schools were selected among nearly 500 schools nationally that participated in the 2018 Spring Cycle of the MSKC.

These schools are distinguished for their commitment to improving school climate and fostering a safe and supportive environment for all students at their school. Their efforts and commitment to fostering kindness are not only inspiring but also incredibly timely. With their efforts and dedication to fostering kindness they are paving the way towards commonplace kindness for all students across the nation. 

“Within schools you have a large variety of individuals coming from different backgrounds attempting to work together-which can be hard. Having kindness at the root of the work you do can assist people in learning to be not only active listeners, but empathetic to individuals that might have different thoughts and values than their own,” said H.L. Harshman Middle School’s Kindness Captain Erin Sanborn.

Today’s finalists receive $1,000 in Donors Choose Credits made possible by the support of the Hasbro Children’s Fund. With this, the school can acquire valuable materials to continue their commitment to kindness work.

The Middle School Kindness Champion for the Spring Cycle will be announced later this month. The Champion school is selected based on which school exceled in their participation from reflection exercises to kindness rituals with a strong emphasis on impacting change and making the school, overall, a true environment that fosters kindness. The Spring Cycle’s Champion will receive an additional $4,000 in Donors Choose credit bringing their total reward to $5,000.

The current MSKC Cycle is open until November 13, 2018. Educators are encouraged to learn more at www.middleschoolkindnesschallenge.com or by setting up a 30-minute demonstration with our outreach director Daniel O’Donnell (dodonnell@stand.org).

More About the Middle School Kindness Challenge

The Middle School Kindness Challenge, a program of Stand for Children, is an easy and no-cost way to foster kindness and improve school climate in the critical middle school years. Open to any school with a combination of grades 5-8, the Challenge offers best-in-class resources to teach and foster kindness, free of charge, over a four-week period of the school’s choosing. This is a powerful, common sense solution to some of schools’ and society’s biggest challenges. By teaching kids to practice kindness on a regular basis and manage their emotions, actions, and statements, they become better equipped to navigate our complex world.

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