COVER STORY {by karen werner}
COOL BE KIND TO
Marcia Meyer and the Be Kind People Project put a new spin (and twist and body roll) on character education
It’s a Friday afternoon and members of the Be Kind People crew are rehearsing for a performance at Catalina Ventura Elementary School in Phoenix. Michael Jackson’s “Rock with You” plays as the troupe practices dance moves and huddles together for a pre-show pep talk. The group has been busy, already logging 91 assemblies in the first 55 days of the school year. Approximately 300 sixth to eighth graders file into the auditorium, not sure what to expect. The crew members roam the room, talking to and high-fiving students before the show in a move to create a personal connection. Then it begins. Adri Preston, a Phoenix native and ASU grad, introduces the dancers and raps a number filled with audience call and 20 FRONTDOORS MEDIA | NOVEMBER 2018
response. And just like that, the kids are feeling it, clapping and following directions as the group whirls through its one-hour show. Interspersed with B-boy spins and pop and lock moves are positive messages, urging kids to thank their teachers and be kind in school, at home and in the community. A few kids are pulled from the audience to become part of a game show, in which kind actions replace thoughtless behavior. Marcia Meyer sits in the last row, clapping along and enjoying the performance. She isn’t introduced to the crowd and doesn’t talk to the kids, but she beams when she talks about the crew members. “I love to hear them talk. Aren’t they cool?” she said. Meyer is the founder and CEO of the Be Kind
