Tampa students learn kindness as solution to all problems

Hillel Academy in Tampa is teaching more than basic academics.

Teachers and administrators are also promoting a culture of kindness and good citizenship.

Hillel Academy Head of School Allison Oakes says they want kids to go into the world with the ability to react with compassion to every situation.

"Students here every day are confronted with, 'How do we treat one another with kindness?'" Oakes said.

The new school initiative teaches students about civility based on the act of chesed, the Hebrew word for kindness.

"Everyone gets closer together because we're being taught how to be kind to each other. How to respect each other," said 8th-grade student Lea Visher. 

"I feel like it has made me more considerate about other people," said student David Caine.

The program's goal is to teach students to have respect and care for others.
"It's a reminder to us that, no matter what's going on in the world, we have set of values to guide us and as long as we stick to those set of values then the world is our oyster," Oakes said.

Students also participate in fundraisers to help non-profit organizations.