Summer Leadership Seminar 2010 Diversity Programs for Local PTAs Graciela Katzer Plano ISD Council of PTAs Community Outreach Chair

Graciela Katzer Summer Leadership Seminar Diversity Programs for Local PTAs One Person Can Make A Difference One morning, just before dawn, a man woke early so he could watch the sun rise over the ocean. As he walked along the beach he came across a young girl who seemed to be doing something peculiar. She was picking up starfish and throwing them into the sea – one after another. He asked her what she was doing. “The tide washes up all these starfish and they can’t get back by themselves,” she said. “They will die in the sun if I don’t throw them back into the water.” The man looked up and down the beach at the thousands of stranded starfish. He couldn’t help telling her, “But there are too many starfish to save before sunrise. Why bother? You won’t make much of a difference.” She paused for a moment, then picked up another starfish and threw it as far as her slender arm could manage. With a satisfied grin, she turned to the man and simply said, “I made a difference to that one.” The man stood in silence, considering the girl’s youthful wisdom. Then, with a smile of his own, he reached down for a starfish and tossed it into the sea. Make a Difference ….. Every Day

Graciela Katzer Summer Leadership Seminar Diversity Programs for Local PTAs Celebrate and appreciate the cultural diversity of your campus. Respect our diversity and commonalities. Promote cultural awareness and communication between all cultural groups. Guide our children from knowledge and understanding of, to respect and appreciation for, their own and other cultures. Look at how we are more alike than different. Everyone is special and has gifts to share. Keep an open mind and heart. Build strong cultural, educational bridges of trust and respect by promoting a culture that embraces diversity and values everyone. Make a Difference… Every Day in our world.

Graciela Katzer Summer Leadership Seminar How Do We Engage Culturally Diverse Parents Non-Traditional Volunteers How Do We Engage Culturally Diverse Parents Non-Traditional Volunteers -Learn your campus demographic -Keep in mind that most culturally diverse new comers are not familiar with PTA mission, activities, programs and benefits. -Keep in mind that “volunteer work” is not widely spread in other countries and cultures. -Use every opportunity to promote diversity. Engage and seek the full support of your school principal for your cultural diversity initiatives. -Engage and collaborate with everyone…Art, Music, PE, librarian, ESL teachers, Science Fair, Environmental groups, Book Fair, etc. for your cultural diversity initiatives. -Cultural diversity is not a one night event—it should be part of every day life, activities and programs. -Reach out to the community and other Diversity Chairs when you plan your campus activities.

Graciela Katzer Summer Leadership Seminar Diversity Programs for Local PTAs Diversity Programs for Local PTAs Suggested Programs and Activities Reach out to cultural diverse parents during back-to-school; Display a welcome banner in many languages; distribute the multilingual PTA flyers. Have a signing sheet and keep in touch with them during the year. Set-up a cultural Diversity station where students can get a henna tatoo or a Chinese lantern or any easy craft project. Start the new school year with a Community Circle event. This program will bring your PTA and campus enormous benefits!! Identify ethnic community liaisons. Create a “Multi-Cultural” or “Cultural Awareness” group. Flyers and newsletter in the main languages spoken at your campus. Participate in every PTA and school activity (Back-to-School, grade level orientation night, Book Fair, Science Fair, Art Night, Music Night, etc.) During Grade Level orientation night have a table to reach out to cultural diverse parents. Have a signing sheet. Distribute the multilingual PTA flyers and a brief description of programs you are planning. During Book Fair you may invite a storyteller

Graciela Katzer Summer Leadership Seminar Diversity Programs for Local PTAs Diversity Programs for Local PTAs Suggested Programs and Activities Olympic Day -- work with PE coaches to include a Parade of Nations and Multicultural Games (see attached list of possible cultural games). Organize a Multicultural Family event. This is a great opportunity to celebrate your school diversity. You may start with a parade of Flags, encourage everyone to wear ethnic dress and be part of the “fashion show”; Hello and Welcome in many languages by students. Students talent show, Art exhibit in collaboration with your Art teacher, International Musical show in collaboration with your music teacher. Food tasting in collaboration with local ethnic restaurants, Cultural displays organized by parents or cultural community organizations and entertainment. Create a “world passport” (see attached templates) Work closely with your ISD Multilingual education department and Family Education and Guidance Services – Campus Parent Education Programs. Literacy nights at school, ESL classes for parents Participate in Cultural Diversity Community events (MLK, Local ethnic and International Festivals, Cultural Diversity groups of your city )

Graciela Katzer Summer Leadership Seminar Diversity Programs for Local PTAs Diversity Monthly Celebrations September:Hispanic Heritage Month October:Islamic/Arabic Culture, German American Heritage, Italian and Polish American Heritage Month November:American Indian Heritage Month December:African Culture January:MLK Celebration February:Black History Month March:Irish American Heritage Month, Art and Music in our School Month May:Asian American Heritage Month

Welcome! Community Circles Celebrations and Conversations

Graciela Katzer Summer Leadership Seminar “Conversation is a natural way we humans think together.” “It’s not differences that divide us. It’s our judgments about each other that do.” Margaret J. Wheatley

Graciela Katzer Summer Leadership Seminar Community Circles How do we get started? Invite : Invite parents, teachers, administrators, and business around your community. Provide school age kids child care. Plan to have a cultural diverse activity for them such as diversity bingo, Art of Collaboration (Create a work of art can help teach a group of children the importance of teamwork and sharing different ideas), The Autograph of People Who are Just Like Me, a video, etc. Organizing your Tables: make sure that each table is very diverse in terms of ethnicity, gender, grade levels, couples should not sit at the same table, etc. Food: if you decide to serve food, make sure you have a vegetarian choice. Table Host: you may choose the table host in advance and their responsibilities before the event. Event moderator should be your principal!

You are invited to (School name) Community Circles Celebration & Conversation Tuesday, July 27, :30 PM – 8:00 PM Location Come learn more about one another as we build greater community in this interactive program. You will enjoy dinner/snacks/desserts while exploring each others backgrounds and unique perspectives. If you send your reply form, dinner/snacks/ desserts will be provided at no cost to Parents and school age students of Andrews, grades K – 5. If you have any questions about this event, please Reply required by xxxxxxx Seating is limited. First priority will be given to guest who have not attended this event in the past Organized by (your school name) PTA Cultural Diversity Committee Please Return (school name) Community Circles Reply Form Please return to your child’s teacher by xxxxxxxx Father _____________________, _____________________ first name last name Mother ______________________, _____________________ first name last name Student name:_________________ Grade: _______ Teacher: __________________ Telephone: _______________________ _______________________________

Graciela Katzer Summer Leadership Seminar Community Circles Celebrations & Conversations Table Host Responsibilities Thank you for helping to be a table host tonight. The following information will help explain your responsibilities 1- Welcome your guest as they arrive. 2- Provide with name tags to your guests and make sure each guest fills out the name tag. 3- Please check off guest names of the master list enclosed. 4- In case a table guest assigned to your table is not there, leave the spot open in case they arrive late. 5- If a parent should bring their school age child to the table to sit, please remind them that we have a program in the Gym designed especially for the children. The children will eat their dinner/snacks in the Gym. 6- Ask your table guests when they arrive to go ahead and get their dinner or desserts for the evening. 7- After moderator (Ideal moderator the school principal) presentation you will be asked to share group norms with the table. You will find a copy of these group norms in the envelope. 8- You will also find in the envelope the question sheets that will lead the group discussion. 9- Finally, in the envelope, you will find the surveys and pencils for your table. Thank you for helping make the COMMUNITY CIRCLES a success!

Graciela Katzer Summer Leadership Seminar Community Circles Goals Get to know one another Building greater community Celebrate our community’s cultural diversity Recognize that everyone is special and has gifts to share Be aware that each of us can make a difference in our community and the world

Graciela Katzer Summer Leadership Seminar Norms Speak freely. Listen carefully to others. Try to really understand what they are saying and respond to it, especially when their ideas are different from yours.  Keep an open mind and heart.  Value one another’s experiences. Think about how your own experiences have contributed to your thinking.

Graciela Katzer Summer Leadership Seminar Questions Introduce and tell three things about yourself to the group. Describe your racial, ethnic, social class background while you were growing up and something that you are proud of about your background. In what ways have your upbringing, experiences, or thinking influenced your life? What can we do as individuals/group to bring understanding of others into our district and the (your campus name) community?

Graciela Katzer Summer Leadership Seminar Agenda TopicDuration Purpose Norms Introductions 10 minutes Celebrations and Conversations 60 minutes Closing Activities Evaluation Survey 15 to 20 minutes

Graciela Katzer Summer Leadership Seminar E valuation Survey Take a few moments answer the following questions based on our experience today 1. This learning experience was valuable to me. (Circle the number that best applies.) 1 strongly disagree strongly agree 2. What did you gain from tonight’s experience? (Check those that apply.) ___ Gained greater appreciation for our diversity ___ Learned about people’s backgrounds ___ Made connections with people ___ Found things in common with people from different backgrounds ___ Learned ways to build greater community 3. What suggestions do you have for next time? _______________________________________________________________________ 4. Would you be interested in doing this again? (Circle one) Yes No 5. Did the availability of child-care for school-aged children enable you to attend? (Circle one)YesNo 6. Would you like to be part of the Andrews Multicultural Committee? (Circle one) Yes No 7. Would you like to learn more about the (school name) Parent Teacher Association? (Circle one) Yes No 8. Optional information: Culture ___________________________Name _______________________________________

Graciela Katzer Summer Leadership Seminar Thank you! Organized by The Cultural Diversity Committee Sponsored by (your school name) Parent Teacher Association (PTA)

Graciela Katzer Summer Leadership Seminar Workshop Questions Introduce yourself to the group and tell why are you the cultural diversity chairperson. What can we do in our local PTAs to make diversity part of every day activities and programs? Share with the group a cultural diversity program successfully implemented in your school.