National Anti-Bullying Assembly Coming to Carroll County Schools

"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."

This quote is not from a school counselor but instead from Rachel Scott, a 17-year-old student from Colorado who was the first student killed at Columbine High School during the massacre on April 20, 1999.

The young student has since been a model for an anti-bullying program being presented to schools across the nation started by her father.

"Her acts of kindness and compassion coupled with the contents of her six diaries have become the foundation for one of the most life-changing school programs in America," reads the program's website. "Video and audio footage of Rachel's life and the Columbine tragedy holds students spell-bound during a one hour school presentation that motivates them to positive change in the way they treat others."

The presentation and workshop titled "Rachel's Challenge" will be presented on Wednesday, Oct. 12 at  from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. and  from 1:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.

"The schools were awarded a grant from the Carroll County Public Schools Education Foundation to bring this program to their students and their school community," read a Carroll County Public School System press release.

"The two schools share the goal of starting a chain reaction of spreading kindness and also hope to develop a more school-wide approach to bullying and create a culture within the schools where students do not have to worry about being bullied and feel comfortable coming to school and sharing kindness."

To learn more about the program, visit www.rachelschallenge.org.

Related Topics: Columbine High School shootings, Oklahoma Road Middle School, Rachel's Challenge, and Sykesville Middle School