Nearly 250 Baker Intermediate School students and staff pledged never to say the “r-word.”

Jordan Miller, a special-education teacher at Baker, was one organizer of the event this week; he and other special education staff set up a large banner which reads “spread the word” in the cafeteria and invited everyone who passed to sign.

Miller said the pledge is part of the “Spread the Word to End the Word” campaign, which aims to raise awareness of the hurtful effects of the word “retard(ed)” and encourage people to pledge to stop using it.

Miller said the use of the “r-word” is hurtful and demeaning to people with intellectual disabilities.

“We want to educate people on why not to use the r-word,” he said.

Miller said it’s the first year Baker has participated in the pledge campaign.

“There are so many better words you can use,” he said.