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With their backs turned against one another and arms locked together, Asbury Park High School students and faculty were given the challenge to put forth their best dance moves as upbeat dance music played in the background.

The unusual pairing was but one of the many exercises and games that broke the ice during this week’s Challenge Day program at the Sunset Avenue school.

“I call it a climate change because everyone in the building really sees one another,” said Principal Kathy Baumgardner. “It’s a way for students to connect with the staff and see them in a different light; as real people with flaws and experience they would never think the staff’s had or is having.”

This week high school’s 10th through 12th graders and middle school spent a day participating in the program, which aims to break down barriers.

“It’s a social and emotional learning workshop,” said Challenge Day leader Trish Bruno, a former educator. “It’s designed to be interactive and hands on. The goal is to build connection between students and faculty, create empathy, build community, give students tools to use in order to handle what is going on in their lives, and interact with one another better.”

The educators, who created a tunnel of support, high fived the students as they entered the room. By afternoon the tempo slowed as groups of six formed to share real life stories in order to create a bridge of understanding how one expresses or does not express emotions and feelings.

“They give each other the gift of listening as they share their stories,” said Challenge Day leader Romeo Marquez Jr, an actor/motivational speaker. “It’s about understanding and appreciating each other because sometimes we judge the book by it’s cover but underneath all of that there are things we don’t realize. It’s about creating positive change, compassion for one another, and connection.”

The Cross the Line exercise, done completely in silence, is about practicing one of the program’s fundamental missions – Notice, Choose, Act – based on Gandhi’s edict to ‘Be the change that you wish to see in the world.’

“We call out different themes based on life experiences that revolve around oppression” Bruno said. “You are able to see who crosses with you – people you know really well that have experience that you never knew and people that you may have judged that have experienced the same things. A lot of the barriers start to come down and out of that empathy starts to get created.

At day’s end the student’s take hold of the meeting, sharing their acts of change, give apologies for past behavior, appreciation for what they’ve learned and set challenges.

“You grow a deeper respect, empathy, care and love for one another,” Baumgardner said. “That’s why I call it a climate change.”

Challenge Day is a 30 year old program that has been spotlighted by Tom Brokaw, supported by Oprah Winfrey and on MTV. Since its inception 1.5 million participants in 2200 schools have taken on the challenge.

“This is how we change the world,” Oprah Winfrey has said of the program.

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