A see of orange spread out across Falls Elementary and Falls High School Wednesday in an effort to put an end to bullying.
The collaboration to wear orange came in light of Unity Day — a national day set aside to link everyone together — in schools, communities and online — and send the message of support to students who have experienced bullying.
“The students were encouraged to wear orange to spread the message that we stand together united against bullying and those who are, have been bullied are not alone,” said Melissa Tate, Falls Elementary principal.
The word to wear orange Wednesday spread through flyers hung around the school, phone calls made to parents, and social media. A Facebook group highlighting the event attracted more than 9,000 members across the country.
Online supporters acknowledged Unity Day through their Facebook statuses, posting photos of themselves wearing orange, and signing a virtual petition, “The end of bullying begins with you.” The petition, found at www.pacer.org/bullying/digitalpetition, was collecting hundreds of digital signatures every hour.
Pacer.org said more than 160,000 U.S. students stay home from school each day because of the fear of being bullied. The same goes for students in International Falls, Tate said.
“I think bullying is prevalent everywhere,” she said. “It is my hope that if children feel that upset or scared to come to school, it is my sincere hope that they would reach out to parents, teachers, and or administrators so we could address the problem immediately.”
Dixie Grothe commented on The Journal’s Facebook page saying preventing bullying “is a never-ending effort.”
Others like Renae Crawford and Krystl Larson commented they sent their children to school wearing orange to support “no more bullying.”
Falls High School Principal Tim Everson said educating students against bullying is an ongoing effort.
“We continue to add programs and presentations to our curriculum for our grades 7-12 students,” he said. We have created a “positive change” group and have met twice already this year to plan and discuss new initiatives.”
Everson said the group consists of teachers, administrators, students, community members and other staff. He added that he is hoping to include parent involvement committee members at the group’s next meeting.
Overall, Tate concluded that elementary students were “very excited” about participating in Unity Day.
“Many classrooms spent time talking about bullying throughout the school day,” she said. “I was happy to see such a great turnout. Both staff and students thought it was awesome. I really think it sends the message that we are standing united.”
