GUEST WRITER, Leigh M. Ragsdale, The Unorthodox Principal

March 2016. I was a first-year assistant principal, running on fumes and sheer willpower. My days were filled with student crises, teacher support, and endless supervision duties. As if that weren’t enough, I had somehow been talked into coaching the school’s dance team. Exhaustion was my reality, and a rare night off felt like gold.

That night, just as I let myself breathe, a text from a senior student shattered my moment of peace.

“Ms. Leigh, check your email ASAP. It’s important.”

The urgency sent a chill through me. I grabbed my phone, opened my email, and there it was—the moment everything changed. A second student, a top-tier leader in our school, had emailed me while traveling home from a leadership conference. She had uncovered something so vile, so cruel, that my stomach dropped.

A fake Instagram account had surfaced, a digital burn book straight out of Mean Girls—only this wasn’t a movie. This was real life, and it was brutal. Students’ personal photos had been stolen from their Instagram accounts, twisted into weapons of humiliation. The captions? Horrific. Cruel. Malicious. These weren’t just teasing comments; they were full-blown character assassinations. It was a feeding frenzy of hate, and it was spreading like wildfire.

I sat there, stunned, my heart racing. How could something like this exist?

And yet, in the middle of this storm, there was light. The students who reached out to me weren’t bystanders. They were leaders. They recognized the wrong and wanted to make it right.

Action Over Exhaustion

It was late. It was Saturday. And I was completely drained. But leadership doesn’t wait for convenience.

I immediately emailed back. “Report the account. Get everyone on that bus to report it. Let’s shut this down.”

They did. And to Instagram’s credit, the account was removed within hours. But deleting the account wasn’t enough. The damage had been done. The words had been read. The pain had already seeped into the hearts of students who now had to walk into school on Monday, knowing the world had seen them at their most vulnerable.

That’s when I knew—we had to drown out the negativity with something so powerful, so overwhelmingly positive, that it left no room for hate.

I jumped out of bed, grabbed my oversized Post-it notes, and started writing. What if kindness became LOUDER than hate? What if we suffocated cruelty with compassion?

That night, the movement was born. #CTKindness.

Flooding Social Media With Love

By sunrise, I was blasting #CTKindness across social media—filling every feed with positivity, encouragement, and love.

But it wasn’t about me. The students took the reins. They flipped the script. Instead of letting negativity define them, they reclaimed their power.

The same students who had been targeted? Their classmates posted about them—celebrating their strengths, their kindness, their achievements. The school walls were covered in handwritten notes of encouragement. Teachers joined in, flooding hallways with positivity. Parents rallied, posting their own messages of support.

And then, something extraordinary happened.

By the time students walked into school Monday morning, the air felt different. Lighter. Safer. Hopeful.

To solidify our unity, we all got #CTKindness shirts—students, staff, families—everyone. It wasn’t just a movement anymore. It was who we were.

I didn’t fully grasp the impact of that moment until seven years later, sitting in a stylish New York café with a former student—now an intern at the United Nations. She sipped her espresso, looked at me, and said,

"Ms. Leigh, I’ll never forget walking into school that Monday. It just felt different."

What started as a desperate response to cruelty had transformed into a movement.

A School Transformed: The Birth of The G.R.O.W.L.

Kindness didn’t stop with social media. It became who we were.

Inspired by the #CTKindness movement, students launched The G.R.O.W.L.—Giving and Reaching Others With LOVE.

We turned an empty classroom into a fully stocked clothing boutique for students in need, complete with mannequins, dressing rooms, and clothing racks. But this wasn’t just about fashion—it was about dignity. Our Student Senate partnered with Special Education students to run the boutique, forming friendships that broke down social barriers.

And then came our Grab-and-Go Evening Meal Program.

I noticed our student-athletes—many on free and reduced lunch—had PE class, went to practice, then straight to work. That meant no dinner. Hunger isn’t just an inconvenience—it’s a barrier to success.

So, we did something about it.

Through advisory challenges and food drives, we built a system that served 75-100 evening meals per night. For our kids, it was life-changing.

Then, during the holidays, the students started a Giving Tree, collecting hats, gloves, and scarves for local charities. It was more than just giving—it was a shift in mindset. We weren’t just talking about kindness. We were living it.

Kindness as a Legacy

Two years later, I transitioned to an elementary school within the same district. But something beautiful happened—#CTKindness didn’t stay behind.

It bridged elementary and secondary schools, bringing younger and older students together in joint kindness projects. The movement was no longer just about fighting negativity—it was about building something better.

I Know This Works—Because I’ve Lived It

As a principal and teacher, I have never served in fancy, easy schools. Not once.

I’ve lost students before graduation.
I’ve had students shot in drug deals gone wrong.
I’ve seen poverty, violence, and heartbreak in every hallway I’ve ever walked.

But I’ve also seen resilience.
I’ve seen students rise up.
I’ve seen communities heal.

If we can do this in the Midwest, it can happen anywhere.

Lessons in Leadership and Humanity

I’ve learned something powerful through this journey:

Kindness isn’t passive. It’s not just smiling at someone in the hallway. It’s intentional. It’s an action.
Kindness builds bridges. It connects students, teachers, families, and entire communities.
Kindness is the most radical leadership tool we have. And we’re not using it enough.

To be honest, I wasn’t always kind. In high school, I stood up for others, but I wasn’t always proud of the way I handled things. It took a classroom full of students at an alternative high school to teach me about humility, second chances, and what it means to truly lead.

Leadership isn’t about standing at the front of the room. It’s about lifting others up so they can lead beside you.

What Will YOU Do?

#CTKindness started with one act of cruelty.

But it didn’t end there. It ended in connection, compassion, and community.

I’ve never been one to just talk about something. I believe in action.

Don’t talk about it, BE ABOUT IT.

Small acts of kindness can change the world.

Will you start today?

Big Love,
Leigh M. Ragsdale
The Unorthodox Principal

LEIGH M. RAGSDALE

Leigh M. Ragsdale, also known as The Unorthodox Principal, is a highly respected educator, speaker, and writer. Her unconventional leadership style and unwavering commitment to empowering both teachers and students have made her a trailblazer in the field. With a deep passion for education and a relentless drive to help educators reach their full potential, Leigh is dedicated to ensuring that every student has access to a world-class education.

Leigh has delivered keynotes throughout the midwest and on the international stage. Some of her accomplishments include being named the 2023 Daily Journal Citizen of the Year, a 2020 Difference Maker by The Southeast Missourian, presenting at ISTE with her students, 2018 Counselor Advocate Award, and one of her greatest accomplishments was being awarded the 31st Annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Service Award in Cape Girardeau, MO, which she dedicated to one of her former students that passed away his senior year. Leigh continues to volunteer for local organizations to feed underprivileged children and sits on the board of directors for St. Francois County United Way.
Learn more about Leigh here!

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From Cruelty to Compassion: How #CTKindness Transformed a School and Sparked a Movement