As the leaves begin to change and the shopping aisles fill with pencils and notebooks, back to school is in the air. While getting out the backpack and buying fresh school supplies can be exciting, for many students, going back to school can also be a stressful and lonely time.
Since making friends isn’t always easy, programs like Start with Hello from The Sandy Hook Promise aim to reduce feelings of isolation through community building.
The Sandy Hook Promise, founded after the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Newtown, Connecticut, provides a number of in-school programs that teach students empathy as a way to reduce social isolation, according to the Sandy Hook Promise website.
Start with Hello is a week dedicated to teaching students how to reach out to one another, find commonalities and create a safer school environment. This program, incorporated in schools across the nation, is having a very real impact in Westerville.
“There is something to be said about generosity. When people give to each other, you can really see a change in both the receiver and particularly the giver,” says Jessie Martin, director of student well-being at Westerville City Schools. “When these kids are making something for someone else, the joy on their face to then give it to that peer – those are always really powerful moments.”
Westerville started incorporating Start with Hello at some of the elementary schools in the district in 2017 and the program has now grown to encompass all of the district’s elementary schools. This year, Westerville City Schools is working to extend the program into secondary schools with the hope of getting every school involved.
“We’re all about where you belong. That sense of belonging is really important for students to want to come to school every day, to want to come and learn from their teachers,” Martin says. “So that’s why this program is so important to us.”
At the core of the program is a three-step guide: see someone alone, reach out and help, and start with hello. Schools, including the Westerville school district, can sign up for the program through www.sandyhookpromise.org and receive educational materials that equip students with the tools to identify and help a lonely or struggling classmate. The program is adaptable across grades with age-appropriate specialized activities.
For elementary school kids, some of Westerville’s schools host a spirit week, during which students wear their favorite color and talk to others wearing the same color. Students also have the opportunity to make cards for other students while they learn how to spot students who might need a friend.
“Students are super engaged in these really interactive activities, whether it’s a social bingo game or scavenger hunt, they find ways to relate to their peers more. So they’re having opportunities to offer kindness and to offer generosity to one another,” Martin says.
Outside of teaching social inclusivity and social-emotional awareness, a key component for this program is teaching students about feeling comfortable coming to adults with concerns.
“We often see after a Start with Hello week students coming up to other adults with concerns about another student or maybe worries they have on their own. So adults can address things quicker,” Martin says.
While the specific activities students participate in vary from classroom to classroom, all the activities center on creating safer schools for kids, Martin says.
In the past, the schools have hosted green outs, when everyone wears green in honor of the week, but each elementary school does something unique. Whittier created a thank you tree for students to recognize trusted adults, Pointview created a promise chain to hang in the main hallway, Wilder students created a Where We Belong art piece and Robert Frost students sent hello grams to fellow classmates, according to an article from Westerville City Schools.
Start with Hello week runs this year Sept. 18-22. Parents will receive an email about upcoming activities a few of weeks in advance with tips on how to include social inclusivity activities and discussion topics beyond the classroom as they continue the conversation about building community with their kids.
“The program is really designed to create safer and kinder schools. So, we want to just equip our students with the skills to do that,” Martin says.
Katie Giffin is a contributing writer at CityScene Media Group. Feedback welcome at feedback@cityscenemediagroup.com.
