We are a group of eighth-grade students at Curtis Middle School in Sudbury, MA who are working on a Civics Action Project to address hate speech in our community. Hate speech has been an issue in our school and our goal is to reduce the amount of hate targeted towards others. As a part of our project, we thoroughly researched a program created by the Anti - Defamation League (ADL) called “No Place For Hate.” The ADL is a non-profit organization that fights against hate through programs that include lesson plans, online resources, and whole school activities which encourage students, administrators, and teachers to work collaboratively to create an inclusive school community. The “No Place For Hate” program has run for 25 years, making a huge impact on communities, as it has been incorporated into more than 2,000 schools and used by 190,000 educators nationwide.

Our group created a survey for Curtis Middle School that generated an incredible response from more than 350 students.  Unfortunately, the results have shown that 44 percent of students have personally seen or heard someone use hate speech. These results prove the importance of our issue, as hate speech remains a problem at our school. In addition, 49 percent of respondents said they have not been taught about hate speech in school. Moreover,  43.2 percent of students are not very confident about the meaning of the term “hate speech.”  

If students are not informed about hate speech, they will not be aware of the significant, negative effects it can have on victims and bystanders. Hate speech not only affects students' mental health, but their physical health as well. When targeted towards teens, it can lead to self harm, anxiety, depression, and lowered self-esteem. Therefore, it is very important for students to be taught in a thorough and comprehensive way about hate speech from a young age, so they are less likely to spread hate towards others in the future.

To improve and change the culture of Curtis Middle School, we recommend that the Sudbury Public Schools incorporate the ADL’s “No Place For Hate” program into its curriculum. We believe this program will create an extremely positive opportunity for change in our school. According to Michelle Pincince of the ADL, establishing the “No Place for Hate” program at Curtis will dramatically improve our school's evolution as a leader in anti-hate education. This program would be mainly student-led and require a board with both teachers and students who are educated on the issues and who believe in making a change. Further, by adopting “No Place For Hate”, the Sudbury Public Schools committee will take steps forward that are consistent with its public commitment on February 9, 2026 to “combat antisemitism and other forms of hate in our school’s community.”

By signing this petition, you will help make this change possible at Curtis. We will share this petition with our principal and the SPS superintendent. From there, with their approval, we hope to have “No Place For Hate” implemented at Curtis Middle School by next year. Thank you for your support.

Sophia D'Amelia, Christian Brown, Mia Korol, Cece Deschler, Bella Ouellette, Angie Eliassaint