Older Students Leading the Way
At John Fiske Elementary School in Chicago, Illinois, kindness is part of how students learn to lead. The school has 340 students, and for six years it has been building on its commitment to respect, connection, and community through Teach Kindness. Kindness Champion and school counselor Stanley Wilkerson helps lead that work in a school where older students help shape the culture and younger students feel it.
Fiske defines kindness in a way that includes both caring for others and caring for yourself: “Kindness is doing something caring or helpful for someone else—or for yourself—by showing love, support, and compassion. It means taking action to make someone’s day better, offering help when it’s needed, and treating others and yourself with respect.” That definition came from a group of eighth-grade boys, whose reflections became the school’s shared language.
The school’s Kindness in Action initiative brings that to life through a cross-grade reading buddy program, where eighth graders read with Pre-K through first-grade students. Those visits give older students a chance to practice patience, encouragement, and leadership, and they give younger students the joy of being known by someone older. Across the school, Teach Kindness resources deepen that work. Lessons like STOP!, Speak Up Speak Kindly, The Courage to Be Kind, and Using Social Media for Good help students handle feelings, friendships, and digital choices with more care.
The school’s Child-Parent Center Program Lead Teacher, Kelli Charles, puts it this way: “Teach Kindness has given our school a common foundation for building empathy, connection, and emotional safety. It has shifted the culture from reacting to student behavior to proactively teaching the skills that help children thrive.”
Fiske participated in Teach Kindness’ 2020 Ready for Kindness cohort and received the program’s Illinois Kind School Award in both 2021 and 2023. At John Fiske Elementary School, kindness is a daily practice: older students making space for younger ones, shared language that carries across classrooms, and a community that keeps showing up for one another.