For the third consecutive year, The Monarch School has been designated a No Place for Hate School by the Houston Chapter of the Anti-Defamation League. The Anti-Defamation League challenged our students to participate in various activities to become an official ‘No Place for Hate’ school, and to reach a consensual agreement on goals to treat each other with respect. 

Four Monarch students, Scott, Frederic, Ali, and Houston, attended the “No Place for Hate Youth Summit” this year on November 18, 2008. Each year the Challenger community works through consensus to develop the Core Values with which they choose to be guided in all their interactions that year. The 2008-09 Monarch Core Values, as seen below, fit perfectly into the guidelines laid out by the ADL. 

Working toward the No Place for Hate designation, the Challenger students participated in three different events during the school year.

First, various mentorships started off the year by decorating/creating butterflies for the Holocaust Museum’s “Butterfly Project.” The museum will use the butterflies received to represent the 1.5 million children who perished during the Holocaust.

Then on MLK day, the Challenger community spent the day reflecting on the Civil Rights movement including the life of Dr. Martin Luther King, and participating in community service projects.

Our third activity included creating and eating different types of food during our second annual International Food day. The students first found recipes for foods from around the world, including Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Sweden, Korea, and the United States. They then bought the ingredients and created culinary delights to share with the rest of the school! The students eagerly participated in all activities in order to obtain our third “No Place for Hate” banner!

The Monarch School Core Values

1. We agree to respect all members of The Monarch Community’s emotional boundaries and personal space, as well as personal property, personal beliefs, and personal opinions.

2. We agree to recognize The Monarch Community as a place of education and growth, and we agree to show respect for The Monarch School’s standards of communication and behavior.

3. We agree to speak and treat everyone with common courtesy in order to build trust within The Monarch Community and achieve a fun and safe learning environment.

4. We agree to respect others’ privacy and confidentiality and avoid the spread of rumors within The Monarch Community.

5. We agree to include others and offer a helping hand while respecting their personal time.

6. We agree to forgive others their past actions and be willing to accept repairs.

7. We agree to uphold and follow the rules of the current The Monarch School Handbooks.

The Voyager Initiative:

We agree to try and practice these values away from The Monarch School.

The above values are guidelines that we will practice and improve upon while participating as members of The Monarch Community.