Start with Hello

by Charlotte Kovalchuk

SMALL STEPS TO BIG CONNECTIONS START WITH HELLO INITIATIVE COMBATS SOCIAL ISOLATION

Jarrell ISD Police Department’s new Start With Hello Initiative – a project designed to help students connect with each other starting with a simple “Hello” – was inspired by a need for student connections after the pandemic.

“When students returned to school after having been quarantined for so long, we recognized they were having difficulty reconnecting with friends or even establishing social bonds with other people,” Officer Patricia Champion says. “Many students had feelings of loneliness, which contributed to a decline in mental health. Start With Hello was meant to help create a socially inclusive school community that would combat social isolation.”

A national movement developed by the Sandy Hook Promise organization, Start With Hello takes place each year during one week in September when students have returned for a new school year. “This is when we have a big push to get the students to increase their self-esteem, decrease their anxiety, and start socializing with each other to make new friends and get reacquainted with old friends,” Officer Champion says.

THE INITIATIVE HAS THREE SIMPLE STEPS:

1. See Someone Alone: Learn how to recognize the signs of loneliness and social isolation.

2. Reach Out And Help: Find out what you can do to help others feel included.

3. Start With Hello: Discover how to break the ice and strike up a conversation.

Mental health continues to be a pressing issue for students in America’s schools – in 2023, 29 percent of high school students reported experiencing poor mental health. According to the CDC, when youth feel connected to their school community, they are more likely to perform better academically and less likely to experience poor mental health or engage in other risky behavior, including substance use and violence.

Start With Hello was launched in 2013 to cultivate a sense of belonging among students and create safer school environments, with more than 11 million students and adults having participated in the initiative so far.

“Creating safer schools begins with a culture of inclusivity and kindness. We know when students are empowered to recognize warning signs of violence – whether it be another student being bullied or a friend who has isolated themselves from others – tragedy can be averted and youth can get the help and support they need,” says Nicole Hockley, co-founder and co-CEO of Sandy Hook Promise.

MAKING CONNECTIONS

Start With Hello is being implemented at Double Creek Elementary and Jarrell Middle School, where students are shown videos during their lunch periods that provide conversation starters in multiple languages. “We have quite a few Spanish speaking students, and it is beneficial to be able to converse with them in their native language so they will not be left out,” Officer Champion says. Teachers and school leaders lead by example, greeting each student with a friendly “Hello!” and “Good morning” along with some uplifting music to hopefully brighten their day.

“We have a lot of work to do, but we are just beginning,” Officer Champion says. “The fact that I’ve seen some socially introverted students break out of their shells recently is amazing! It has taken nine weeks, but every little step has brought us closer to the end result.”

Start With Hello is one of several youth violence programs developed by Sandy Hook Promise, a national nonprofit organization founded by several family members whose loved ones were killed during the 2012 shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary. Jarrell ISD PD also pushes the organization’s See Something Say Something and Students Against Violence Everywhere (S.A.V.E.) initiatives. Parents are encouraged to learn about all three programs and get involved in the movement to combat social isolation and foster safer schools by visiting SandyHookPromise.org and txssc.txstate.edu.