Category: Teach Kindness

“Coming to Wagoner is like coming to a Grand Opening!”

When a new student told me they felt that way walking into school each day, it stopped me in my tracks and reaffirmed my commitment to making our school community a kind place.

As the principal at Wagoner Elementary, I can say that kindness is not just a word to us – it has truly become a part of our DNA. We talk about it. We live it.

We’ve lived kindness so much so that we were honored as the 2019 Teach Kindness National Champion, recognition for the hard work and commitment of every person in our school and neighboring community.

When the pandemic hit shortly after that recognition, it only reinforced our dedication to kindness. Through remote learning and as students began returning in-person last school year, we re-doubled our efforts in each classroom (online and in-person). It was an overwhelming time for everyone – it still is in many respects – but focusing on kindness helped alleviate some of the stress for students and staff. We’re so honored that this work was recognized again with the 2020-2021 Kind School Award!

Social-emotional learning has been a core part of our identity for years now, but the Teach Kindness program helped us elevate that work. The resources, supports, and lessons were a tipping point for our school, helping us take our work to the next level.

In fact, when you’re submerged in kindness as a matter of course, it’s so much easier to be kind in return. From our morning Community Circles to a Kindness Tree we added to our hallway, Wagoner has made kindness central to who we are. Everyone is bought in.

Our school’s unofficial motto is “you are loved and you are safe.” When a school makes a commitment to kindness, the outcomes can be overwhelming and heartwarming, just like that student’s Grand Opening feeling.

My wish is for every student, no matter their school, to have that same feeling every day.

P.S.: Read more about Teach Kindness and the other schools honored with the 2020-2021 Kind Schools award today. Teach Kindness is open to all Illinois schools, so any educator looking to learn more should reach out to Brandi Watts at Stand for more information.

With the holidays fast approaching, I thought now was the perfect time for us to highlight something we can all celebrate: kindness.

In 2017, Stand and other valued partner organizations launched Teach Kindness, a suite of best-in-class social-emotional learning activities, to help schools teach students the skill of kindness. We knew then that social and emotional skills were essential to healthy child development, but we did not know that a global pandemic would exacerbate the need for those skills both across the country and right here in Illinois. In the past year and a half, teachers have taken on more than ever, and still, many have remained committed to teaching students to be kind.

We are pleased to honor six Illinois schools with the 2020-2021 Kind Schools award, highlighting their dedication to ensuring a safe and caring environment for their students and staff by teaching kindness.

• Daniel C. Beard Elementary School
• Edmund Burke Elementary School
• George Washington Carver Elementary School
• John Fiske Elementary School
• John M. Palmer Elementary School
• Wagoner Elementary School

Over the next few days, you’ll hear stories directly from these schools about the impact kindness has had on their school communities. The pandemic has made personal connections and student engagement both more difficult and more important, whether learning remotely or in-person. These schools went above and beyond in their implementation of Teach Kindness, with tangible, positive results to show for it.

Teach Kindness is available to any school community free of charge. The program provides access to research-based tools and resources to schools looking to incorporate kindness into the school day and make kindness a practical, commonplace skill for students.