KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Hundreds of students across the metro are working to create their ideal middle school.
Any given day, these students might be rivals, but Friday they were on the same team.
More than 100 student leaders from University Academy, Central Middle School and Crossroads Academy Kansas City are influencing their peers to prevent bullying and sexual violence in their school communities.
On Friday, the Metropolitan Organization to Counter Sexual Assault, or MOCSA, hosted the second annual Green Dot Summit in Kansas City.
"Green Dot teaches me how to be a problem solver without having physical contact and verbally dissolve a problem," Allen Brenson, a Central Middle School 8th grader, said.
The leadership program teaches students how identify a negative situation, intervene effectively, and influence others in a positive way.
"If I just don't laugh, if I walk away, if I check in with the person later, that's going to be something positive that will change the culture too," said Haleigh Harrold, Prevention Coordinator at MOCSA.
The program is currently being taught in six metro area middle schools, making Kansas City the largest metro area to implement it.
"It's interesting to see that it's so much bigger than just my school because I only see what my school does every day," Tessa Blythe, a University Academy sophomore, said.
MOCSA's goal is to one day implement the Green Dot Program in all Kansas City area schools.
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