A Kindness Program Tackles Bullying in Cortez Schools

Nationwide roughly 1 in 5 high school students report being bullied at school in the last year, while 1 in 6 report experiencing cyberbullying, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But youth bullying is not just an issue for high schoolers. It’s also a problem for many elementary and middle school students. One coalition of Cortez locals recently organized Cortez Unity of Community, a group that aims to promote kindness, respect, and dialogue through community events and discussions. After seeing a need among Cortez’s youth, the group came up with the idea for a new student kindness pilot program. LOR’s support helped the group work with the Southwest Open School, Kemper Elementary School, and Montezuma-Cortez Middle School to create student activities that use kindness, generosity, and friendship to tackle bullying.

This project is fiscally sponsored by Onward! A Legacy Foundation.