Salmon Bay Diversity Committee Meeting Minutes -- September 21, 2005

In attendance:

Dorothy Jacobsen----------K/1Teacher

Michelle Quackenbush----Parent

Irene Haddow--------------Diversity Committee Chair

Despina Strong-------------Parent

Stephanie Greaves---------Parent

Jodee Reed----------------- Principal

Kimberly Kinzer-----------Vice Principal

Kelly Delaney--------------Scribe

The Diversity Committee is open to all parents and guardians who have children attending Salmon Bay School, and teachers and staff members employed by Salmon Bay School, who want to participate on the Diversity Committee.

Diversity planning meeting dates and times: To encourage participation, we will alternate our diversity committee planning meetings times monthly at 6:30 and 7:00 pm.

Diversity focus group meetings: In order to focus on developing projects in detail, and provide task and moral support to project leaders, we will hold at least one daytime focus meeting each month. Dates and times will be posted in the weekly bulletins. This also encourages greater participation on the part of those who cannot attend evening meetings.

Minutes from all meetings will be posted on the school website.

Committee Direction:

The focus of our discussion was on the importance of Salmon Bay families. This year it would be good if we could have some cultural family celebrations, which might encourage community participation from members who have not been interested in Diversity Committee events in the past.

What tools do we have that might facilitate our adult community members in coming together to embrace cultures and talk about differences?

Dorothy suggested surveying parents/guardians/teachers: “what are the ten things getting in the way of having a healthy cultural community experience for you?”

Kimberly suggested that one way we might facilitate the goal of reaching out to families who do not normally participate in school related activities would be to invite Caprice Hollins to help us develop a Diversity Parent/Family Education event with this goal in mind. Kimberly’s main concern is for students without parent representation at school to feel connected to their school.

Jodee would like to see two diversity events this year that highlight our families. To know our families is to know what it would take to reach them. Also, to connect our SB diversity works to city wide diversity work.

Jodee elaborated on her understanding of how students succeed at school. A main goal could be to unite the school realm with the home, or private realm. One way white privilege manifests itself in our community is that the way things happen at school is similar to the way things happen at home. When school seems like home to kids a strong sense of familiarity leads to a strong sense self which often translates into school success. The flip side is that it is harder for minority students to define themselves in a school culture that is unlike their home or family culture. How can we help families unify?

Diversity Parent and Family Education and Celebration Events Suggestions:

Dispina suggested having an International Family Night. Others elaborated on this idea:

• Cultural tradition in dress, music, dance, performance
• Ethnic foods potluck
• Hold the event from 1:00 in the afternoon until 8:00 pm to accommodate a range of family schedules

Stephanie suggested, and is willing to team lead, a “Celebrating All Families” poster exhibit. (Jodee described a Whitman Middle School project, which included many of these points)

• Students, their families, and teachers, together or separate, could create posters showcasing the uniqueness and diversity of their own families

• All participants could be provided with the uniform materials i.e., poster board, markers, sticky notes, guidelines…so that the family stories, not flashy presentations, are what shine through
• Have a poster gallery night potluck combination
• On exhibit night, participants could write on sticky notes feedback to the creators of the posters

Irene wants to lead an event that either celebrates or explores GLBTQ (Gay/Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, and those who are Questioning their Sexual Identity) issues.

Kelly wants to lead Movie Night again this year.

There is some general disagreement about the direction of Diversity Committee work. Some feel that by focusing on wider issues in our society, such as GLBTQ and/or social class issues, we are excluding people in our community who do not think in these terms.

Kelly said that focusing on celebrating multiculturalism and focusing on the power structures that enforce social injustice in our society are equally important and not mutually exclusive.

Michelle would like to organize a Parent Education night that teaches parents and teachers (and middle school students?) about the Healthy Youth Act, a comprehensive medically accurate health program which addresses sex education in public schools. Michelle is concerned about an abstinence only program which is growing in popularity among public schools in the U.S. She wants to raise awareness among parents and teachers about both programs so that in the event that the abstinence only program ever makes its way to SB, parents and teachers will have all the information we need to determine what we want in terms of sex ed. for our kids.

There are some questions about whether this would be a good topic in and of itself for a parent ed. night, or rather information conveyed within a broader context.

Other Ideas:

Bite of Salmon Bay potluck - Celebration of ethnicity through food

Fieldtrip to MLK celebration at Nathan Hale

Student Diversity Club

Next Meeting:

Our next meeting will be on Wednesday, October 19.

Since we did not get to a single item on the September 21^st agenda we will carry over the same agenda to the October meeting.

The minutes are submitted – Kelly Delaney