No more ‘R’ word at FGHS

Students form group to integrate disabled kids at Forest Grove High

By Nancy Townsley

The Forest Grove News-Times, Nov 5, 2009

The “R” word pops up in conversation at Forest Grove High School a lot less frequently than it used to.

For the unindoctrinated, that’s “R” for “retard” or “retarded.”

The relative absence of such slurs is mostly due to the efforts of 20 students, who earlier this fall formed a Partners Club that’s designed to derail hurtful language in the high school’s hallways.

“We’d like to unify the student body and make it so that no one feels left out or that they aren’t important,” said junior Nicole Sandstrom, president of the fledgling club.

Advisor Kat Taplin, special education facilitator at Forest Grove High, is happy the students have jumped on board the “Spread the Word to End the Word” bandwagon in recent months.

Taplin said she first heard about the campaign to help children and teens understand how the “R” word wounds their disabled peers from Jill Hertel, a teacher at Joseph Gale Elementary School.

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