Teaching
About Multiculturalism By Example
Hempstead, New York - Alverta B. Gray Middle School has a
primarily African-American student population, but the number of Hispanic
students has doubled over the past decade. The Hispanic students were not
participating in school dances, so the school hired Peruvian -born DJ Robb
to handle the music at the Friday-night dances. Robb plays a mixture of
salsa, hip-hop, merengue and other music styles. Principal Dianne Brown
said that African-American students were trying salsa dancing and the
Hispanic students were practicing hip-hop and the whole experience has
become a lesson in multiculturalism.
April 2003
Horticulturalist Shares The Educational Value
She Sees In Gardens
Citrus Heights, California - Horticulturalist Emily Bueermann
works with the students of Mariposa Elementary School maintaining the
school gardens. The gardens are used as part of the curriculum for
science, social studies and math. Former School Superintendent Delaine
Easton first began the idea of school gardens. The superintendent wanted a
garden in every school and a school in every garden. The gardens at
Mariposa have been made possible by grants from Redlands Educational
Partnership and Inland Master Gardeners. Other grants have included one
from Cal State San Bernardino to lay out and put together timeline gardens
which contains foods grown by native and immigrant peoples who are part of
California's history.
April 2003
Agana, Guam - Graphic Center,
Inc. a local printing firm, is donating 1.3 million sheets of paper to
Guam's public schools. The company president, Rick Biolchino, said the
idea for the donation was a response to public school teachers who came to
the company to copy classroom materials and complained about having to buy
supplies. Department of Education interim Superintendent Nerissa
Bretania-Shafer said that Graphic Center's donation was an answer to a
prayer. April 2003
April 2003
School, After A Word From Our Sponsors
Fort Lauderdale, Florida - Cypress Bay High School is less than
a year old, but they have as many corporate sponsors as a star athlete.
Because of the many partnerships between the school and businesses, they
didn't have to pay for athletic scoreboards, all of their teachers got
laptops at special discount rates and a Nike sports camp is planned for
the summer. The down side to this growing trend is that students become
promoters for the products and services theses companies provide. In the
past, educators and parents would have been troubled by the intrusion of
advertisers in the classroom, fearing that they would interfere with
learning. But as schools face tighter budgets and exploding populations,
more campuses are opting for such relationships. Broward is set to become
the first public school district in Florida to develop a specific policy
to encourage the naming of buildings after major donors. Cypress Bay High
School principal Scott Neely feels it is a win-win situation because not
only do these corporations present themselves directly to their target
market, without corporate sponsors, the school would never be able to
provide the range of activities it does.
April 2003
Combined Grade Level Class Gets Thumbs-Down From Parents
Westwood, Massachusetts - Hanlon Elementary School will not be
offering the proposed multi-grade classroom for kindergarten and first
grade students this fall. School Superintendent Paul Ash cited dismal
enrollment numbers for the proposed combination grade level classroom. The
idea for the multi-grade arose from the fact that only 24 students
enrolled for kindergarten, a number considered too small to split between
two classes and too large for just one class. However, because parents did
not want the multi-class option, Ash said that the school would put all 24
students in one kindergarten class.
April 2003
Educators, Community Grapple With Racist Vandalism at high
School
Anne Arundel County, Maryland - Racial slurs and death threats
have plagued African- American students at predominantly white South River
High School. Three recent acts of vandalism depicting racist symbols and
remarks have triggered a police investigation and prompted school
administrators to try to allay student fears. The school has been working
to stop the violence against their African-American students by
establishing a committee of students and teachers who have been spreading
the anti-harassment message. About 100 student "ambassadors" walk the
halls, encouraging students to respect each other. However, some
African-American parents have said that the school has not done enough and
they are considering transferring their children to other schools. The
school outlined its handling of racial incidents during the school year in
a speicial edition newsletter sent to parents. Actions have included 24
suspensions and three expulsions. On April 26th, County police arrested
four students they said had committed hate crimes at the school.
April
2003
High School Wins Academic Honors
Moorpark, California - Moorpark High School has received their
second title as National Academic Decathlon champions. They last time they
won was five years ago. Their were nine members on the team and they
included A, B, and C students. The idea was to have all students come
together to work as a group in order to effectively compete against the
other schools. Principal Anne Merriman said that she was honored to be a
part of the school.
April 2003