Creating a friendlier Wantagh High

There are some who chalk up teasing to teens being teens. Others, call it bullying, and say it has no place in schools.

Leaders of Wantagh High School are part of the latter group, and that is why they brought the Rachel’s Challenge program to the district last week. The program is named for Rachel Joy Scott, a victim of the Columbine High School shooting in Littleton, Colorado in 1999. Trained presenters travel across the country, encouraging teens to make a positive difference in their schools and communities. The program has reached more than 21 million students so far.

High school Assistant Principal James Brown said Rachel’s Challenge last came to Wantagh in 2005. “It was effective then,” he said. “We found a date and a time that would work and we made it happen. It has a real positive message.”

There were two assemblies on Oct. 22 — one for freshman and sophomores, and the other for juniors and seniors. Presenters also spoke to seventh and eighth graders at the middle school, and to parents.

During the program, which lasted about an hour for each group, students were challenged to look for the best in others, dream big, choose positive influences, speak with kindness and to start their own chain reaction of positive behavior.

“It’s easy to look for the worst in others,” Brown said, “but if you look for the best, chances are you will see something that you like.”

A group of 11th- and 12th-grade students who belong to the Leadership Skills and Peer Mentors Club received additional training so they could become positive role models in the school and come up with ideas to make Wantagh High more inclusive.

“Even one small act of kindness can make somebody’s day great,” said junior Kyle Loney, who said that the creation of a more positive school environment ultimately has to come from within the student body.

Senior Julia Laibach said the program “lit a fire” for her to perform more acts of kindness. She said that Wantagh is no different from other high schools in that there are cliques, but there is no reason that people with differences can’t get along.