FBISD Students Make the Sandy Hook Promise, Build Connections During Start With Hello Week

FORT BEND ISD (September 18, 2025) - Fort Bend ISD campuses throughout the district joined the nation in recognizing Start With Hello Week, a Sandy Hook Promise initiative that empowers students to create a culture of kindness and inclusion. The week-long initiative reflects Fort Bend ISD’s commitment to developing compassionate citizens, a key attribute of the District’s Profile of a Graduate.

At Meadows Elementary, students created a Tree of Promises. The project, led by school counselor Chelsea Taylor, serves as a reminder for students to extend kindness and friendship.

“We use each student’s hand to help form a large tree and leave it up for the months of September and October as a reminder to uphold our pledge to each other,” Taylor said.

Dulles Middle School counselor Donna Bolden coordinated for students and staff to wear green, the official color of the Sandy Hook Promise, as a sign of unity and solidarity.

“Our counselors assisted students with signing the Hello Promise pledge,” Bolden said. “We celebrated kindness, inclusion and community with our students throughout the week.”

First Colony Middle School continued its tradition with eighth-grade PALS students teaching lessons to sixth graders about the effects of loneliness and the importance of empathy.

Counselor Dawne Sanders has been involved in the Sandy Hook Promise since she was the Teen Leadership teacher.

“This has been a passion project of mine for many years,” she said.

The teaching activity encouraged students to take small actions to make a difference, like simply saying hello.

“All of us are more alike than we think,” eighth grader Aanya Agrawal said.