SAPPINGTON, Mo. — Lindbergh High School is taking an unconventional approach when it comes to inclusiveness on campus.
They extended students' lunch to an hour – allowing them time to eat, do homework and participate in social clubs that were traditionally held after school.
The midday timing allows more students to participate, especially those who played sports or had to head home at the end of the school day.
Students said Power Lunches allow them to pursue more of their passions and make new friends they wouldn’t normally see in the halls. It makes it easier to find a core group of friends and prevent bullying.
“I don't just have to talk to people in my lunch," senior Mason Brandt said. “I don’t have to find people specifically in my lunch and make that group. I can be with whomever I want and just be myself.”
The Student Equity club uses the long lunch to hold critical conversations about diversity and inclusion and to discuss issues of bullying or conflict during the school day with students who go through similar experiences.
“When we can walk away from [club] meetings, we are bettering ourselves each time,” sophomore Rosa Page said. “We can go out and be representatives of ourselves and other people follow eventually.”
Lindbergh High School said it is helping spread the program to other schools.
More local stories:
- Man gets 15 years in prison for shooting fellow member of drug ring
- Towboat worker pulls man from icy Mississippi River
- Dog who stayed by homeless owner’s body in cold is 'living the life' after STL police officer rescues her
- 'I know it looks bad' | Registered sex offender accused of following teen sisters from Walmart all the way to police station