Breaking Down the Walls Creates More Open Campus
A program aimed at helping school climate is back after a five year break caused by the pandemic.
By Sydney Teves
A program aimed at helping school climate is back after a five year break caused by the pandemic.
By Sydney Teves
Pioneer has always been a campus spotlighting mental health, and this year the bringing back of an event that was last held in 2018, allows for Pioneer to continue on that path.
Breaking Down the Walls, a program run by Ignite2Unite, focuses on gaining empathy, building relationships and building stronger communities at school.
This event normally takes place every two years at Pioneer, but because of COVID-19, it was postponed. This year, Breaking Down the Walls came to Pioneer from Nov. 7-10 and students were given the option between attending on Nov. 8-10. The Nov. 7 session was reserved for training the students who volunteered to be leaders.
On Friday, Nov. 4, a video or slideshow was played to transition participating students into the week dedicated to Breaking Down the Walls. Assistant Principal of Student Services Tim Gavello remembers Breaking Down the Walls as a program that allowed teachers and students to understand what other students were experiencing outside of school and at home.
“From having this in the past, the student response was very positive and a lot of students attended and came out of it with a better understanding of what people are going through,” said Gavello.
As a junior at Pioneer in 2014, English teacher Stephanie Harvey was nominated by a staff member to be a leader for Breaking Down the Walls, which is something teachers were able to do this year as well.
“I actually got to be a leader at Breaking Down the Walls, which was really cool. I didn't ever get to experience it as a student though, and I felt like being a leader having already been a student participant would have been more beneficial, but I still felt like I got a lot out of it,” said Harvey.
Since the last class of students who had the opportunity to participate in this event have already graduated, no students currently at Pioneer had taken part in it prior.
“I think it's going to be different because there haven't been any students here that have gone through the program, so it's new for a lot of staff and for a lot of students, and I think it's going to be an eye opener for students,” said Activities Director Michelle Mayhew.
Students who volunteered as leaders were surprised when students took it seriously, having thought that none would. Leaders like Kai Swan, 12, felt that the experience was worth it and thinks that students learned a lot about each other.
“I was glad for the opportunity to meet new people. I learned that some of us are in the same situations. At first the other students were awkward and didn’t know what was going on but once they opened up, they had a better connection with each other,” said Swan. “I was emotional and I saw other people crying. I think it was nice to be vulnerable together and not feel awkward. I learned that I’m not alone and I’m glad I could help others in different situations.”
English teacher Beth Stafford has had the opportunity to participate in Breaking Down the Walls multiple times and gives the same advice to all students.
“Especially if you're a junior or senior, do it. If you're a freshman or sophomore it will come back around later, like in two years, so you may have another chance. But if you're a junior or senior this is probably your last and only chance for something like this,” said Stafford.
A student leader this year, Alexa Valladolid, 12, was grateful to have the chance to participate in the program this year since it is her last year of high school.
“I decided to be a leader because it is an opportunity to get to know my peers that I may not have gotten a chance to meet otherwise, but also help people understand that they are not alone and will always have a place to go,” said Valladolid.
Like Stafford, history teacher Peter Glasser has taken part in the event multiple times. This year he decided not to participate in order to give new teachers the chance, but he still strongly believes that Breaking Down the Walls is a great program that allows people to understand what others are going through.
“You know, people will get worried about missing class, but compared to what you would get out of a day's worth of class, you get so much more out of Breaking Down the Walls,” said Glasser.
Breaking Down the Walls, a program run by Ignite2Unite, focuses on gaining empathy, building relationships and building stronger communities at school.
This event normally takes place every two years at Pioneer, but because of COVID-19, it was postponed. This year, Breaking Down the Walls came to Pioneer from Nov. 7-10 and students were given the option between attending on Nov. 8-10. The Nov. 7 session was reserved for training the students who volunteered to be leaders.
On Friday, Nov. 4, a video or slideshow was played to transition participating students into the week dedicated to Breaking Down the Walls. Assistant Principal of Student Services Tim Gavello remembers Breaking Down the Walls as a program that allowed teachers and students to understand what other students were experiencing outside of school and at home.
“From having this in the past, the student response was very positive and a lot of students attended and came out of it with a better understanding of what people are going through,” said Gavello.
As a junior at Pioneer in 2014, English teacher Stephanie Harvey was nominated by a staff member to be a leader for Breaking Down the Walls, which is something teachers were able to do this year as well.
“I actually got to be a leader at Breaking Down the Walls, which was really cool. I didn't ever get to experience it as a student though, and I felt like being a leader having already been a student participant would have been more beneficial, but I still felt like I got a lot out of it,” said Harvey.
Since the last class of students who had the opportunity to participate in this event have already graduated, no students currently at Pioneer had taken part in it prior.
“I think it's going to be different because there haven't been any students here that have gone through the program, so it's new for a lot of staff and for a lot of students, and I think it's going to be an eye opener for students,” said Activities Director Michelle Mayhew.
Students who volunteered as leaders were surprised when students took it seriously, having thought that none would. Leaders like Kai Swan, 12, felt that the experience was worth it and thinks that students learned a lot about each other.
“I was glad for the opportunity to meet new people. I learned that some of us are in the same situations. At first the other students were awkward and didn’t know what was going on but once they opened up, they had a better connection with each other,” said Swan. “I was emotional and I saw other people crying. I think it was nice to be vulnerable together and not feel awkward. I learned that I’m not alone and I’m glad I could help others in different situations.”
English teacher Beth Stafford has had the opportunity to participate in Breaking Down the Walls multiple times and gives the same advice to all students.
“Especially if you're a junior or senior, do it. If you're a freshman or sophomore it will come back around later, like in two years, so you may have another chance. But if you're a junior or senior this is probably your last and only chance for something like this,” said Stafford.
A student leader this year, Alexa Valladolid, 12, was grateful to have the chance to participate in the program this year since it is her last year of high school.
“I decided to be a leader because it is an opportunity to get to know my peers that I may not have gotten a chance to meet otherwise, but also help people understand that they are not alone and will always have a place to go,” said Valladolid.
Like Stafford, history teacher Peter Glasser has taken part in the event multiple times. This year he decided not to participate in order to give new teachers the chance, but he still strongly believes that Breaking Down the Walls is a great program that allows people to understand what others are going through.
“You know, people will get worried about missing class, but compared to what you would get out of a day's worth of class, you get so much more out of Breaking Down the Walls,” said Glasser.