A few years back, a consultant report identified “inclusion” as an area where the San Lorenzo Valley Unified School District had room to improve.
SLVUSD partnered with an organization called Inclusion Counts using grant funds from the California Department of Education Antibias Education Grant Program; and the District began holding Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging (DEIB) Committee meetings.
“We envision an educational community where all SLVUSD students, staff and families feel safe, seen, appreciated, respected and included,” the committee’s charter reads, in part. “We aim to create an environment that fosters independent thinkers who improve the world around them with compassion, empathy and understanding.”
In the years since, multicultural clubs have been launched and are now beginning to flourish. Students have had the chance to sample cuisine from around the globe and learned lessons about Black history, Lunar New Year, Diwali, Mardi Gras and Día de los Muertos, amongst other topics in a fun and constructive environment.
“We are in our third year of our DEIB District committee,” said Superintendent Chris Schiermeyer, adding pupils have enjoyed celebrating each other’s cultural uniqueness. “Our students have actually been our best advocates.”
At the Sept. 2 school board meeting, trustees got an update on the Boulder Creek Elementary Multicultural Club, draft minutes note.
Patricia Dodge walked the education administrators through the goals of the group, which is made up of 30 students in fourth and fifth grades.
Jaydin Kiner-Storey, a fifth grader, said their club is focused on celebrating different cultures, traditions, languages, foods and holidays from around the world.
“We also want everyone at school to feel included and represented,” Kiner-Storey said.
Another student in fifth grade, Levi Chavez, said he got to do lots of fun activities last year as part of the club, such as projects to learn about different cultures.
Galileah Garcia, also in fifth grade, said they played Bingo during Black History Month and Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, which taught them about historical figures and important cultural moments.
Samantha Thompson, a fourth grader, said the club has been growing, as this year the club is open to fourth and fifth graders, while last year it was only open to fourth graders.
The first multicultural committee took root at the high school, with the help of School Resource Officer April Skalland, who was recently named Deputy of the Year by the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office.
“These kids have shown a lot of passion and enthusiasm for the club,” Skalland told the Press Banner, last year. “We have anywhere between 20-30 students who come to our meetings, and they really delve into the meaning of various cultural celebrations.”
Schiermeyer described how the next multicultural club sprouted: “One of our teachers was a co-teacher at the middle school and the high school.”
This Friday, a mariachi band will be on campus to help the youth get into the spirit of Hispanic Heritage Month.
And, last year, Schiermeyer reached out to Anne Frank Center USA and coordinated professional development for secondary staff during Jewish Heritage Month.
The organization’s CEO, Lauren Bairnsfather, even came to SLVUSD herself to give the training.
“She shared that they do these plays, and we’re pretty heavy in our school district around drama,” Schiermeyer said, noting one of them, “Letters from Anne & Martin,” is about Anne Frank and Martin Luther King Jr.
The show brought Anne Frank’s famous diary and the writings of King to life for students and inspired reflection on empathy, justice and the importance of standing up against intolerance, he noted.
Broadway actors arrived to perform for sixth- through 12th-grade students, and there was a separate play for fourth and fifth graders.
“What we’ve seen is more kids engaged with each other,” Schiermeyer said. “I think SLV is a very strong school district. And I think our students are very tolerant and supportive of each other. But we can always grow.”
The District is also organizing field trips to museums and other sites throughout the Greater Bay Area to provide chances for students to connect with history and culture in a vibrant manner.
Including its charter school, the district has just over 2,100 students (down from last year, but only slightly), including about 560 at the high school, 400 at the middle school, 400 at BCE and 530 at SLV Elementary.
