It’s part of a district effort to end bullying and other behaviors that drew a federal investigation.
In March of 2024, the district signed a two-year agreement with the U.S. Education Department’s Office of Civil Rights to resolve an investigation that found more than 180 incidents of harassment and discrimination at three local schools.
The We All Belong kindness awards are not mandated by the resolution agreement with the OCR. Instead, district spokesperson Caleb Fine said the awards celebrate those students whose actions are modeling kindness to their school communities.
“Think about the OCR complaint and our resolution agreement and knowing that we wanted to go above and beyond and truly make kindness the norm, make kindness cooler than hate,” Fine said.
It made him a proud dad to recently learn that his kindergartener was nominated.
“I didn't know she was going to get it, but that's example of a kindergartner who a teacher or a student pointed out and said, ‘hey, this student has been kind and going above and beyond.’ You better believe my heart as a parent lit up when I knew my daughter was demonstrating the kindness that we're looking for in this community,” he said.
Those actions he said show inclusivity and can take many forms. For example, awards could go to students who invite older students to play with kids in younger grades or start a new friend group with students not previously included. He said it’s about fostering a culture of kindness and excellence across the district.
“I can tell you we have all the greatest data in the world and if it's my kid that's being bullied or harassed or exposed to hate speech, the data doesn't matter anymore,” Fine said. “We know that hate speech has been used and is still being used. It hasn't been eradicated yet.”
The honors are handed out monthly at each of the district’s seven schools. At the end of the school year, a larger award, a $1,000 scholarship for a student and $2500 cash for an educator will be awarded.
Meanwhile, the Park City Community Foundation has started the Community Belonging Fund. CEO Joel Zarrow said the goal is to raise a half million dollars to distribute to nonprofit organizations to help community members who may be impacted by immigration related issues.
“Our first area of focus is helping a local nonprofit called Wasatch Immigration Project to fund two full time attorneys to help our community members navigate the legal challenges that they're facing,” Zarrow said.
The hope, Fine and Zarrow said, is that the awards and grant funding will create a community ripple effect, where the values of kindness and inclusivity are not just taught but lived.
More information about the We All Belong campaign can be found here.
