Caledonia Argus

Diversity group promotes tolerance

Posted: 4/22/03

by Andrew Miller
Argus News Reporter

Members of Interwoven, the Diversity Club at Caledonia High School, met with school board members at a meeting Monday evening to discuss plans for Diversity Day, which the group hopes to hold this spring.

The basic premise behind Interwoven involves ìacknowledging, embracing and promoting acceptance of all aspects of people... by educating and setting examples.î Six students are active in the group, and they are led by advisors Deb Morse, the K-12 school psychologist, and Lisa Buley, the high school and middle school counselor.

Three members of Interwovenñ Julia Quanrud, Vanessa Nelson, and Meggan Macomberñ were on hand Monday to expound their mission statement and to explain why they see promoting tolerance and diversity as a worthwhile endeavor.

The students attended Diversity Day at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse in March, which was a celebration of different cultures involving speakers and ethnic food, music, and dancing. Inspired by the event, the group decided to plan a Diversity Day at CHS, and administered a survey to ascertain in which topics the student body was most interested.

Among the dozen topics students could select from were ìDisabilities,î ìHarassment/Bullying,î ìMental Health,î and ìGender Identity.î Interwoven plans to incorporate all 12 of the sessions into Diversity Day, but topics most favored by students, as indicated by the survey, will most likely be presented more than once.

Surveys showed that Caledonia High School students were heavily inclined towards the topics of ìTravel the World,î in which they get to meet college students from other countries and cultures, ìAppearance/Popularity,î which explores societal definitions of attractiveness, and ìHealthy/Unhealthy Relationships,î which allows students to investigate the impact different kinds of interpersonal contact can have.

Interwoven members expressed the sentiment that Diversity Day would be a positive experience for CHS students, in that it would promote greater understanding of the diversity students bring to the school, and that it would alert students to certain types of intolerance they might take for granted, such as casually referring to people or things as ìgay.î

Test scores show improvement

Results from the 2003 Eighth-grade basic-skills tests show a substantial improvement in reading and math skills among Caledonia students, District Superintendent Jim Tool informed the board Monday night.

84% of Caledonia eighth graders passed the standardized math test, well above the 72% state average. The 84% passing rate is an improvement on the 2002 passing rate of 77%.

The percentage of students who passed the reading exam also increased. 84% of Caledonia eighth graders passed, compared to 84% in 2002 and 67% in 2001. Reading scores were also above the state average, which had 81% of students passing.

New staff hired for 2003-2004

Also at Monday nightís meeting, the board approved contracts for new teachers.

For the 2003-2004 school year, Elliot Kranz was hired as a vocal music instructor and the jazz symposium instructor. Lindsey Meyer was hired as a special education instructor, and a contract was offered to Luke Miller as an industrial technology teacher. Eugene Robert Power and Curt Campbell were both offered positions as instrumental music instructors; Power was also hired to teach band, Campbell to teach junior jazz bank.

In addition, the board accepted the resignation of current instrumental music instructor Richard Daily, and declined to renew the contracts of vocal music instructor Nikkole Koenig and high school LD instructor Laura Ogilvie.

Soccer cooperative approved

The school board approved a motion on April 8 to allow a soccer cooperative with the Houston School District, which means Houston students will be allowed to participate in the Caledonia soccer program. The board agreed to the proposal provided that there will be no name or uniform change. Caledonia already admits Spring Grove students into its program.

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