Miriam Weisman and Melia Dunn (on the far right) of the Anti-Defamation League present Jeff King, Judith Zubia (to their left) and students at Arcadia High School a No Place for Hate banner on May 10. Photo courtesy of SUSD Communications
Anti-Defamation League honors 21 Arizona schools
Twenty-one Arizona schools have been designated as No Place for Hate by the Anti-Defamation League. The ADL recognizes these schools for creating safe and respectful learning environments, bringing awareness to the issues of bullying and bias throughout the 2015-2016 school year. This ADL initiative offers students, teachers, administrators and family members the opportunity to create a culture of respect in the school community by encouraging activities that promote unity and reduce bullying, name-calling and other expressions of bias. During May, each of the schools hosted its own ceremony, where the ADL presented students with a personalized No Place for Hate banner. The schools include Congregation Beth Israel; Anthem School and Gavilan Peak School (Deer Valley Unified School District); Campo Verde High School, Desert Ridge High School, Gilbert High School and Highland High School (Gilbert Public Schools); Horizon Honors Elementary School and Horizon Honors Secondary School (Horizon Community Learning Center); C.I. Waggoner Elementary School (Kyrene
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School District); Trailside Point School (Laveen Elementary School District); Dobson High School (Mesa Public Schools); Mingus Union High School (Mingus Union High School District); Aire Libre Elementary School, Campo Bello Elementary School, Greenway Middle School and Vista Verde Middle School (Paradise Valley Unified School District); Phoenix College; North High School (Phoenix Union High School District); Queen Creek High School (Queen Creek Unified School District) and Arcadia High School (Scottsdale Unified School District). “The Arcadia Student Advisory Board decided that they wanted to make Arcadia a kinder, more respectful place. The ASAB sponsored teacher appreciation week, kindness week, cultural awareness weeks, our first ethics seminar and more,” says Kevin Mooney, Arcadia High School assistant principal. In Arizona, the initiative is supported by the Arizona Republic – Season for Sharing, Desert Schools Credit Union and Wells Fargo. Since it was launched in 1999, No Place for Hate has directly reached over 3.5 million people and is active in more than 1,700 schools nationwide.