As summer approaches and the school year winds down, we want to acknowledge the hard work of our No Place for Hate schools. This year, we were thrilled to partner with over 130 schools from across the region through our No Place for Hate initiative. While we were unable to celebrate our schools in-person, we are so proud of their hard work and invite you to celebrate our schools by watching our No Place for Hate Virtual Recognition Ceremony.
Each year, ADL honors one outstanding educator and student through the No Place for Hate Educator Leadership Award and the No Place for Hate Student Leadership Award. This year, we were thrilled to present this honor to Autumn Kenney, an educator from Dr. Charles R. Drew Elementary School and Megan Taylor an 8th grader from Rippon Middle School.
The No Place for Hate Educator Leadership Award is presented each year to an educator who truly embodies the mission and vision of No Place for Hate. This individual not only is an active member of the No Place for Hate committee but goes above and beyond to empower the student members of the committee and bring the message of No Place for Hate to the school community. This year, we are thrilled to present the award to Autumn Kenney from Dr. Charles R. Drew Elementary School in Arlington, Virginia. Her committee writes, “Ms. Kenney does her absolute best to model the vision of No Place for Hate by demonstrating respect, kindness and fairness to everyone in our school community. Not only did Ms. Kenney take the lead in some of our activities this year, but she made sure that the activity was accessible to all students by creating materials to facilitate conversations about equity and kindness for all grade levels. Not only is Ms. Kenney a member of the No Place for Hate committee, but she is a leader at our school by participating in multiple school initiatives that promote equity.” Congratulations Autumn!
The No Place for Hate Student Leadership Award is presented each year to a student who embodies the mission and vision of No Place for Hate. This student works tirelessly to lead their committee in meetings, activity planning and is a role model to the entire student body by demonstrating how to embody the No Place for Hate Pledge. Our winner this year for the No Place for Hate Student Leadership Award is Megan Taylor, an 8th grade student from Rippon Middle school in Prince William County, Virginia. Megan’s committee writes, “Megan has been an incredible leader within our No Place For Hate committee. She has demonstrated a deep understanding of the importance of diversity and has come up with several ideas, activities, and ways to promote a hate-free climate at our school. Megan has been a committee member for the last two years and she has made a huge difference in this program. Megan is an incredible model for when it comes to not being a bystander. She sticks up for other students, brings situations to adults’ attention when needed, and promotes acceptance, kindness, and allyship. She encourages her classmates regularly to respect one another and often helps others when they might not realize that their attitudes, words, and actions can come off in a negative or harmful way.” Congratulations Megan!
ADL is proud to partner with each of our schools that participated in No Place for Hate this year. We are so proud of our schools’ continued commitment to creating and maintaining positive school environments. We look forward to continuing to grow the No Place for Hate initiative across our region through raising student voices and engaging communities in discussions about bias, diversity and inclusion.