Englewood — The Dwight Morrow Academies at Englewood has a diverse group of students made up of approximately equal numbers of African-Americans, Asians, Caucasians and Latinos. While each ethnicity makes them unique, it’s their wanting to celebrate these differences that unites them as one.
The school held its sixth annual Diversity Day May 2 where everyone on campus celebrates the differences each person has and works together to develop an understanding and tolerance of them.
Producer of Diversity Day and history teacher Judy Aronson said the day began with multicultural breakfast parties in every homeroom. She said on a normal day, homeroom is 10 minutes and the students don’t get to know each other as well as they do the students in their classes. On Friday, homeroom was extended to an hour where students and teachers brought in breakfast foods from their cultures and listened to music from different countries.
Juniors and seniors attended the morning Diversity Day assembly – 15 acts designed, choreographed and performed by students who auditioned for a part in the day’s show. Aronson said the teachers who directed the show gave advice and some suggestions on how to perform better but the students did everything else.
"The acts and the ideas behind them and the costumes and the music – all of it is completely their choice," she said. "And I think that’s what makes this day so appealing to the students in the audience."
Aronson said it’s amazing to see how the students put their acts together based on what they think their fellow students want to see.
By the constant cheering, applauding and dancing in the audience throughout the two-hour duration of the show, the acts proved to be exactly what they wanted to see.
Senior Olga Correa co-hosted the show and has been involved in Diversity Day since her sophomore year. During her first year at the school, she took notice of all the different backgrounds and people she met and was really impressed by the celebration of Diversity Day.
"Seeing all the cultures, it really opened up my eyes…and I just had to become a part of it," she said. Sophomore year, she was involved in the acts and has hosted the show for two years now.
"Diversity Day is important because everybody should be aware of everybody else’s culture," she said. "Not to say that there’s ignorant people but people that go with the stereotypes and it shouldn’t be like that."
Senior Nenha Young, intern for the Dr. John Grieco Scholarship Fund, a scholarship fund where students raise money to help their fellow students go to college, helped with the show and thinks diversity should be celebrated every day.
She compared the school to a little model United Nations because there are students from almost every country.
"I’ve never met an Egyptian or an Albanian, I didn’t even know there was an Albania before I came here," she said. "And Diversity Day is just a celebration of it all here at the school in one day."
Teachers were encouraged to include diversity as part of their lessons Friday. Aronson said a math teacher might have done a lesson on statistics where a science teacher could have talked about natural selection and biological identity – what makes you who you are and what makes you different from other people.
The day ended with a new addition to this year’s celebration – World Cultures Festival. The festival was held in the gym and offered free food from a number of countries including Greece, Korea and Haiti as well as live music in the school gym.
Aronson said she is amazed that the kids are so open about sharing who they are at home with their peers and was delighted with the day’s turnout.
"When I was growing up and maybe even in other high schools, high school was all about fitting in, it was about not looking different than anybody else," she said. "And at our school, I don’t know if we’re unique or if it’s kids today but they celebrate it and they are eager to share with everybody."
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