Helping Students Grow Into Kindness
At Halls Ferry Intermediate School in Florissant, Missouri, kindness is being taught with real intention during one of the most important stretches of childhood. The school serves 385 students in grades three through five, and kindness champions LaTasha Channel-West, Elijah Green, and Samarya Griffin are helping lead work that gives students skills they can carry with them into middle school and beyond. The team is building a culture where students can practice pausing, reflecting, and caring for one another in ways that feel concrete and real.
The school’s shared definition comes from students, staff, and families, with student council helping shape the final language: “At Halls Ferry Intermediate, kindness means being nice and helpful to others. It’s doing something good for someone, offering help when people need it, and using kind words that show respect, care, and love.” That last word came from students, and it gives the definition a warmth that feels true to the school. Ms. Channel-West and the counseling team teach kindness in grade-level classrooms, with each counselor focusing on a specific grade. Asking for Help, STOP!, and Finding Common Ground have been chosen to match what students are working on and what the school is noticing in behavior and relationships. Those lessons reinforce self-regulation, conflict resolution, and the ability to step back before reacting.
The impact is visible in the way students respond when something goes wrong. Fewer behavioral referrals are coming in, and students are more able to reflect on their choices and talk about what they could do differently next time. Ms. Channel-West holds a clear expectation for students: “We don’t expect you to be perfect. We expect you to be better than you were yesterday.”
Student voice also shapes the school’s kindness culture. A newly formed student council helped lead a canned food drive during a winter community event that supported local families. The school also stands out in another meaningful way: Halls Ferry has one of the highest attendance rates in the district. For Ms. Channel-West and her colleagues, that reflects a place where students want to be.
At Halls Ferry Intermediate School, that effort is steady, and the result is a place where students are learning not only how to be kind, but how to keep growing into it.