'Thanks for being yellow' is new catchphrase

Bridget Peterson, a media specialist at the schools in Esko, held a door open for two elementary students on Tuesday.

One of them said: "Thank you for being yellow."

Peterson beamed. "That was so cool."

"Yellow" has been the code word for kindness the past few weeks at the elementary school in a courtesy and kindness campaign dubbed "Be the Yellow," based on a national and worldwide campaign launched by a teacher in honor of one of his colleagues.

"I'm the instigator," admitted kindergarten teacher Kari Knutson on the buzz going around the school.

In 2016, Knutson attended a national kindergarten teachers conference and heard a presentation by Adam Peterson, an Illinois teacher who has been promoting a May 9 "kindness" day to pay tribute to his former mentor and colleague Honor Trotter, who died in 2013. May 9 is her birthday. Her favorite color was yellow. He wrote a book about her and now gives speeches across the country about the Be the Yellow kindness campaign.

The idea of "bringing the yellow" to Esko had been rattling around in Knutson's head ever since she saw Peterson in Las Vegas six years ago. This year, it was now or never.

She is retiring this spring after 21 years in the district and 38 years of teaching kindergarteners.

"I can go out big," Knutson said with a laugh.

Indeed. There was a swarm of yellow at the school Monday. It was capped off by the elementary students and staff, wearing most of the 660 shirts purchased for the big day, spelling out "Be Kind" with their bodies for a drone photograph on the school grounds.

Peterson spoke at the school at the end of April, kicking the campaign into full gear.

"This was on her bucket list," Bridget Peterson said. There were plans for the campaign in 2020 but Covid nixed that. Last year, May 9 fell on a Sunday. This was Knutson's last chance.

There was yellow food for lunch Monday, mac and cheese, pineapple, cookies. There was the activity that you see at many schools these days, catching someone being kind. There were art projects, posters, and reading books on kindness.

Knutson says the events will have a lasting impact. "I always tell students that they don't have to be best friends with everyone," she said. "But they can be kind. Always be kind."

"Please," "thank you," "excuse me," and general compliments are continuing, Peterson said. "Students are more in tune with their actions."

Staff at the school workshopped what the "yellow" festivities might look like during staff development days, Peterson said. They got some funding from the local Partners In Education group. "Then it just morphed into a huge day."

"I look back and it was just such a cool thing," Knutson said. She is one of five teachers retiring from the elementary school this year. Peterson said the campaign was an homage to their kindness over the years.

"Kari Knutson has focused on teaching with kindness in her kindergarten classroom throughout her career," Peterson said.

Adam Peterson describes his inspiration in his talks about his late fellow teacher. "After her passing I felt there were so many people who were cheated out of getting to know her, so to keep her memory alive I wrote a book about her. This book reminds us all to seek out and find the people who make our days brighter, or more yellow, just by being the kind people they are."