HOUSTON – July 24, 2017 – More than half of Spring ISD’s schools have been named among this year’s list of “No Place for Hate” campuses. The national program, launched in 2001 and sponsored by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), combats bullying and discrimination in U.S. schools.

“This is a great program for our schools because it’s about building positive campus cultures from the ground up,” said Dr. Lupita Hinojosa, chief of school leadership and student support services . “Students and faculty work together to build environments where diversity is valued and prejudice is actively challenged. At the campus level, ‘No Place for Hate’ is all about students leading the way, showing each other – and all of us – that mutual respect makes the world a better place for everyone.”

Spring ISD elementary campuses making this year’s list include: Anderson, Clark Primary, Clark Intermediate, Cooper, Beneke, Booker, Burchett, Eickenroht, Heritage, Hirsch, Jenkins, Lewis, Link, Major, Ponderosa, Reynolds, Salyers, Smith, Thompson and Winship. Joining these elementary campuses are Bailey Middle School, Spring Early College Academy and Carl Wunsche Sr. High School.

The designation recognizes campuses that make an active commitment to the program by forming a student-led coalition, signing the ADL’s Resolution of Respect, and sponsoring a number of anti-bias and diversity-related activities, such as school assemblies and themed assignments.

Counselor Jocelyn Stokes received special praise for the program’s implementation at Beneke Elementary School. At a special ceremony hosted by ADL Southwest Region, Stokes was named a recipient of the 2017 Walter Kase Educator Excellence Award. The award, presented to only three Houston-area educators this year, honors the memory of a Polish-born Holocaust survivor who later came to the United States, served in the U.S. Army, and eventually settled in the Houston area, where he went on to speak to audiences around the region about discrimination and human rights issues throughout his life.

“ADL’s years of experience working with schools have shown that educators are crucial to promoting the understanding and appreciation of diversity,” the organization said in a statement. “Therefore, we wish to reward the efforts of those who nurture mutual understanding and respect in our increasingly diverse school populations, and challenge their students to question stereotypes and confront hate in all of its forms.”