By Alexander Adaire School Fit Fish reporters | “When students are supportive of each other and the school as a whole, we all benefit because it’s more of a team approach instead of one person managing something,” said Ms. Anna Jenkins, Alexander Adaire School principal, in a recent interview with Fit Fish reporters.
Empathy is being able to understand how other people are feeling, according to the Oxford Learner’s Dictionary. Showing empathy to others can help them feel included and give them a sense of belonging, says Harvard University’s Making Caring Common Project. This sense of belonging can help manage stress, notes the Mayo Clinic, a hospital and research center.
Principal Jenkins answered questions about empathy at Adaire. Her answers are lightly edited.
Q: What does our school do to help kids learn how to show empathy?
Principal Jenkins: Our PBIS norms are Caring, Accountable, and Safe. So it’s a choice to be caring. Safety obviously connects to the caring. We have community meetings so that if there are topics, if someone is going through something–as a class, as a school, as a country—there’s a safe space to talk about things. When you have feelings, it can be very lonely, but hearing other people having the same feelings, it helps.
Q: Why is it hard for some kids to show empathy?
Principal Jenkins: I think it’s hard because maybe you’re distracted or preoccupied, and you’re focusing on yourself and you’re insecure or afraid to say the wrong thing, so they say nothing. And if you don’t have experience in something, you may not understand how that person is feeling. If there was a student who had a loss of a pet or a family member and you haven’t had that experience, you’re not sure what to say. If you have that experience, you might know what to say or do. You’re all growing up, and this is part of the learning process, so you’ll be more empathetic adults one day.
Q: How do you show empathy to others?
Principal Jenkins: I’ve had to slow down to listen to what people are saying and kind of give them space. I think it’s effective because people appreciate it when you do it. You see them as more than just an employee, a student, or a parent. You see them as another human being that you care to support.
Q: What goals do you have for encouraging empathetic behavior in our school?
Principal Jenkins: That we would all treat each other with respect, we wouldn’t be focused just on ourselves, or selfish, that we would make decisions together. One example is student government made a decision on wearing costumes. It’s a decision they made as a student body, and they communicated it to all of you, so it was a shared process. We want students to be a part of what we do at Adaire. My goal would be that increased participation so that we are all working together to be kind to each other and think about what programming to do here and what we want Adaire to be like every day.
Q: Please tell us about a specific time when someone showed empathy toward you.
Principal Jenkins: Ms. McGinniss, school-based teacher leader, will give me a hug if she sees that I am upset. It’s comforting. She can’t change anything, but I feel seen and heard. Teachers do that too. Even when students say, “Hey how are you?” back to me, I thank them for asking because I’m not invisible, it’s nice to feel seen.
Illustration by Elias, fifth grade, Yorkship Family School, 2025-26.
