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Principal send open invitation to community to share information about their community and culture to have better education and represntation of different cultures at the school

Integrate cultural representation into activities throughout the year; encourage students to respect diversity

Develop a committee of parents that represents broader community; include those parents in regular meetings throughout the year to share input and make decisions on activities/practices within the school setting.

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Talk with principal

With guidance from leadership, create platform for learning does not need to only be a party

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1. Ms. Tate thank the parents for their input, redirect the conversation, and have the parents rethink the goals for the party

2. Guide parents to identify that the activities should be educational and inclusive of all of the cultures of the parents in the room (and request input afterward of parents whose cultures are not represented in the room)

3. Schedule follow-up meeting (invite the principal) to finalize activities; have the principal's goals for the party clearly outlined during the second meeting

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Provide families/communities with platform to present ideas for holiday parties

Consult with key stakeholders expectations regarding celebrating holidays

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The party is going to happen regardless, so first and foremost, ensuring the celebration is as inclusive as possible.

Potential focus for the celebration: Adjust the focus of the celebration away from holidays and towards school connectedness/identity

After....
1. Begin preliminary planning for next year's celebration
2. Involve principal more heavily in the planning process
3. Outline the focus of the winter celebration

For the parent group...
1. Adjust membership to represent student body
2. Consult local religious, cultural, ethnic leaders regarding holidays if the school chooses to go this route.

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See Step 5 & 6 ;-)

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(1) Wrap up the meeting by documenting ideas and recommendations, thanking everyone for their input, and scheduling an additional planning meeting

(2) Clarify the objectives/purpose of this event with the administrator; share concerns and ideas brought up in initial planning meeting

(3) Engage in further outreach to engage more families in next event planning meeting

(4) Open the next meeting by (i) clearly defining the scope and goals of this event, (ii) establish group norms for discussion, and (iii) conduct the meeting with a clear meeting structure

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1. Conduct additional surveys of parents and students in the district to understand what holidays are celebrated and what winter looks like for people
2. Ensure membership on parent committee represents the student body
3. Clearly outline or define what a winter celebration looks like to avoid this situation.

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Stop current planning to consult with school administration

Brainstorm ideas to provide to principal/school admin to discuss as group at a later date

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- Have all school parties be seasonal themed; this could just be a winter-themed party
- Make the celebration be an educational opportunity to learn about different cultural practices (instead of just a "party")
- Make the party be more about family traditions because there are variations in how different families celebrate the same holiday; all of the staff/families accept each other's traditions, whatever they are
- All staff, parents, and students would feel comfortable participating (i.e., not having to feel like they have to adapt or change to fit in)

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Ensuring input from parents, students, and communities

Including key stakeholders to determine expectations for holiday celebrations

Welcoming all holidays can create learning experience

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1. Ms. Tate could end the conversation and bring the ideas to the principal for further review
2. Ms. Tate could go back to the principal and define more clearly what "winter" means
3. Get more involvement from the principal to set the direction of the planning.

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(0) Build/increase admin buy-in and motivation to spearhead future DEI efforts

(1) Develop a REPRESENTATIVE committee/governing body comprised of school-based professionals, families, and community members to oversee DEI efforts

(2) Conduct needs assessment to expand culturally responsive and sustaining practices within the school (e.g., embedding within curricula)

(3) Develop strategic plan for promoting DEI efforts within the school (e.g., school-wide events, daily classroom practices, academic instruction)

(4) Develop guidelines for the planning of future events and activities

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Challenges:
- Someone will be offended by whatever is decided
- School expectation for seasonal holiday vs. parent expectation for religious representation
- Unclear expectations for this party

Opportunity:
- Changing all school parties to not mention the holiday but instead the season (e.g., fall party vs. Halloween)
- School is interested in bringing in parent input; expand to community input and representation of the community to teach about the cultures within the community

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A school-based event where all students, families, and school-based professionals:
- Feel included, represented, and accepted
- Can enjoy themselves
- Can connect with others
(If this is the desired outcome of the "Winter Party," learn about a variety of winter customs and traditions)

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Challenges:
(1) Providing a context for everyone to celebrate within their cultural preferences (if this is even the intended outcome)
(2) Defining the purpose/theme/intended outcomes of this event
(3) Identifying the parameters of this event and relevant school system policies to guide the planning of this event
(4) Is this a symptom of a general lack of responsiveness to diversity within the school?

Opportunities:
(1) Existing interest/structure for family engagement in school-based activity planning
(2) Existing interest in family outreach/school climate promotion (if done well)

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1. Pursue a winter-themed festival. For example, (a) snow, (b) snowballs, (c) fires/marshmellows, (d) Poke the nose on the snowman

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Challenges: unclear expectation for the group; what exactly is task and parameters; other traditions outside of America and assumption to adopt certain traditions because in America

Opportunities: parent involvement raised new awareness; students/families express holidays they celebrate

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Christmas, though a religious holiday, is the expected winter holiday and has become the American culture
Other cultures should learn the majority culture (e.g., Christmas carols)

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Opportunities
1. Welcome all the holidays for students to learn about each
2. Connect with kids and understand community and student needs through a winter celebration.

Challenge
1. By acknowledging all holidays, it blurs the religion-line
2. By adding all holidays, you could alienate students who do not celebrate any holiday. By adding all holidays, members of the school run the risk of it feeling superficial when discussing an added holiday.

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Societal biases: Christmas is THE winter holiday and everything else is ancillary
Ms. Tyler et al.: part of the privileged minority with bias that religious activities are just cultural activites
Ms. Mahadi: Feels like she has to learn the religious traditions of the larger culture to be able to fit in

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Ms. Tyler stating Christmas is American; principal and parents supporting that it should be a winter themed party; political correctness

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(1) Inclusive versus Christmas-centric individuals

(2) Folks who are familiar vs. not familiar with majoritized (i.e., in this scenario, Christmas) cultural references

(3) Teacher leader as semi-authority; wanting to not alienate individuals but also realize vision of the principal

(4) Principal ("winter party?") <-- What does this mean?

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1. Parents who feel it's important to maintain consistency of what's always been done. Also, the parent who spoke about political correctness.
2. Teacher who is the voice for the principal
3. The group who feels that Christmas is a secular, rather than religious holiday.

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- Prioritization of one winter holiday over others
- View that American culture = Christmas (lack of identification of other cultural views within America)
- Lack of comfort in addressing diversity within the school
- Equating inclusiveness to politically correctness; apathy for equity

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Biases/inequities: questioning trying to be politically correct; assumption that everyone celebrates Christmas; Christmas as not a religious holiday

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1. That all students would enjoy the Christmas themed activities and that focusing on inclusion is too politically correct.
2. Christmas = Winter
3. That Christmas is the only winter holiday celebrated
4. Assuming that everyone knows the lyrics to holiday songs.

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Department Meeting PLC Discussion 2021.08.12