Columbine-Inspired Program to Visit South Lake

In 1999, Rachel Scott was a student at Columbine High School in Colorado.

For a 17-year-old, she was uniquely in tune with the need to make the world a better place by being kind and caring to everyone. She wrote about the subject in her diaries and in school essays.

In one school assignment, Rachel wrote, “I have this theory that if one person can go out of their way to show compassion, then it will start a chain reaction of the same. People will never know how far a little kindness can go.”

Rachel did not live long enough to test her theory.

On April 20, 1999, she was the first person to be killed in the Columbine High School massacre. Two seniors had embarked on a shooting spree, killing 12 students and one teacher and injuring 21 students.

Shortly after the tragedy, Rachel’s father, Darrell, began to speak around the nation using writings and drawings from her diaries to illustrate the need for a kinder, more compassionate nation. From there, a program called Rachel’s Challenge was born.

This Wednesday, officials at South Lake Schools will bring Rachel’s message to their middle and high school students, as well as the community.

Two assemblies will take place at in the morning, followed by a training session for selected students to become leaders of the program at their schools. A community presentation will take place from 6:30-7:30 p.m. at the high school.

South Lake Middle School Principal Richard Norsigian said the main goal of Rachel’s Challenge is to foster compassion and reduce hurtful actions.

“Bullying and harassment are common to all schools in our country, if not the entire world. This initiative is important in order to help our students understand that bullying is not only hurtful and demeaning to anyone, but it can also cause emotional and psychological trauma that could severely impact one’s life,” Norsigian said. “Although bullying is not rampant at our schools, it does exist, and hopefully Rachel’s Challenge will make a positive cultural change in our schools by encouraging students to look for the good in others.”

According to literature from Rachel’s Challenge, the program’s mission is to teach everyone that they have the power to make permanent positive cultural change.

“Our hope is that Rachel’s Challenge will have a lasting impact on our students and community by encouraging everyone to avoid negativity and instead to be kind to one another,” Norsigian said. “With this accomplished, it will certainly help create a comfortable, caring and welcoming learning environment for all of our students.”