Eliot Elementary School Civil Rights Team Takes the Great Kindness Challenge
The Civil Rights Team at Eliot Elementary School has been working hard to make their school a better place to be. The Civil Rights Team is made up of 21 grade three students who engage their school community to think and talk about race and skin color, national origin and ancestry, religion, disabilities, gender, and orientation (in an age-appropriate manner).
“Our team works to make our school a safe and accepting place for all of our students,” said Civil Rights Team Advisor Marissa Armitage. The Civil Rights Team Project is a statewide initiative coordinated by the State of Maine Office of the Attorney General.
Grade 3 students have been spreading the message of acceptance and standing up for what’s right. They’ve been thinking about important issues, hosting important conversations, and changing the climate of the school to be more inclusive.
To combat bias-based harassment, the Civil Rights Team recently hosted an assembly for the Great Kindness Challenge, a weeklong national campaign in January where students in schools across the U.S. are challenged to complete as many acts of kindness as possible using a customizable checklist. Armitage says the Civil Rights Team was outstanding at modeling citizenship during their week of kindness this year.
“The Great Kindness Challenge is just one example of [the Civil Rights Team] initiative,” said Armitage. “I’m really proud of the way our students have shown up as leaders. They set the tone for the rest of the school,” she added.
Armitage tells us that the Civil Rights Team has many more plans for schoolwide initiatives throughout the year.
Find more information about The Great Kindness Challenge here.
This story was a collaboration with Eliot Elementary School. To submit a story from your school, fill out our good news submission form.