The Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) defines equity in education as ensuring that all students have access to the educational resources and support they need to succeed, regardless of race, gender, ethnicity, language, disability, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, family background, or family income. In New Hope-Solebury, we are preparing students for a diverse and ever-changing landscape by encouraging them to broaden their perspectives, to empathize with others, and to embrace their role in supporting an inclusive environment for all learners to succeed.
Under the guidance of equity coordinators and school counselors, our students engage in programs aligned with the Anti-Defamation League's No Place for Hate curricula to build self-awareness, foster civil dialogue, and honor the lived experience of others.
At the elementary level, students participate in assembly programs introducing concepts of inclusion in an age-appropriate way. Students pledge to uphold the "No Place for Hate Promise" to highlight their role as a citizen of their school. The students also explore the impacts of bullying and how they can be "allies" for others. Within their individual classrooms, students engage in equity lessons centered around literature that explores four equity themes: Inclusive, Empathetic, Resilient, and Collaborative. Throughout the year, students a variety of stories written by award-winning authors, such as Kwame Alexander and Matt de la Pena, which exemplify these themes. Teachers facilitate class discussions about the stories, encouraging reflection on how this knowledge can inform interpersonal connections. Equity lessons also incorporate our Profile of a Graduate, which outlines the characteristics and qualities we aim for students to develop throughout their K-12 education.
In Middle School, students are engaged in conversations about empathy and acceptance in several contexts, including advisory lessons, in social studies classrooms, and in literature discussions facilitated within the Language Arts curricula. Shown above, the students hear from Holocaust survivor Peter Stern about his experiences, following in-class explorations of related literature, including The Devil's Arithmetic, White Bird: Survivors of the Holocaust, and True Stories of Six Extraordinary Children. The students also participate in schoolwide artistic projects, making welcome pinwheels to showcase their diverse traits and a butterfly mural project inspired by the Holocaust Museum of Houston. Additionally, the students prepare special features on their school news to celebrate and acknowledge unique heritage months throughout the year.
The High School also implements No Place for Hate lessons, which prompt classroom discussions about perceptions and social awareness. The High School also invites guest speakers representing marginalized groups to share their perspectives with students and maintains its own Student Equity Committee, which brings student voice to the districtwide Equity Committee and supports our annual Cultural Heritage Night in partnership with other high school student clubs.
Each year, the district presents a Cultural Heritage Night event, designed to introduce our school community to the diverse cultures and backgrounds that exist within it. Our students, staff, and families host tables reflecting their cultural heritage, serving samples of authentic cuisine, playing traditional games, showcasing cultural instruments, and more. Elementary students are encouraged to bring their own "passports" as they explore countries from around the world. Read more about this year's event in the Bucks County Herald here.
For the past three years, our district has worked in partnership with Mikayla's Voice, a non-profit organization committed to providing educational programs that encourage inclusion for children with disabilities. To start the program, students are introduced to the book My Friend Mikayla, first published in 2006 and written by the third-grade classmates of Mikayla, a student with multiple disabilities. The story encourages children to see that a friend with a disability is "nothing to be afraid of." After reading the book, the students painted canvases in bright colors depicting the tire tracks of Mikayla's wheelchair. The canvases come together to form an interactive mural that can be manipulated to form new works of art. Mikayla's Voice programs have been shared with students in grades 3-12.
Our district recently introduced a Unified Bocce team, giving students with disabilities the chance to participate in a PIAA sport alongside their regular education peers. Unified Sports are sponsored by Special Olympics to promote social inclusion through shared sports training and competition experiences. Our Unified Bocce team has encouraged students to build new connections and further promoted inclusion in our schools. This year, our team hosted its first Rain Rally for Inclusion as a fundraiser for Special Olympics and to give all students a chance to visually demonstrate their commitment to inclusive schools.
