PALMDALE – Anaverde Hills Elementary School has received a $2,000 grant from the Not In Our Town organization for their efforts to increase awareness and educate students about the impacts of bullying.
The grant will fund t-shirts, camera equipment, educational materials for students and staff, banners to be posted throughout the campus and educational videos.
Westside Union School District held a Not In Our School anti-bullying teen summit this past January. As part of this district-wide effort, Anaverde Hills began a program called “Raise the Roof and Set the Foundation”.
As the new Anaverde Hills School is currently under construction, this program keeps students focused not only on setting the physical foundation, but building a foundation of kindness and mutual respect.
“Bullying stems from the fact that kids don’t understand how influential they are among their peers,” said Westside Union Superintendent Gina Rossall. “We want them to understand the impact of their words, not only face to face, but on social networking sites and text messages.”
Westside began its annual anti-bullying program in 2010 at Del Sur School when audits concluded only 62% of students felt safe on their school campus.
Following the “Not in Our School” program, follow-up evaluations determined that 92% of students felt safe at school. Anaverde Hills works to continue this effort with programs like Raise the Roof and Set the Foundation that serve to inspire awareness and end bullying in all its forms.
“Our goal is an environment where 100% of the students feel safe. We’ve made great progress, but we aren’t finished until we’ve achieved it. This grant will surely help make great strides in meeting that goal,” said Rossall.
For more information about anti-bullying education and awareness, call the Westside Union School District office at 661-722-0716.
(Information via press release from Westside Union School District.)