8/10/2019 ACTIVITIES TO DEVELOP AN INCLUSIVE SCHOOL
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This newsletter is a joint effort between Herff Jones and
Leadership Logistics 2014
A HERFF JONESBELIEVE IN YOURESOURCE FOR ADVISERS
ACTIVITIES TO DEVELOP AN INCLUSIVE SCHOOLStudent leaders play an
important
role in establishing the climate and
culture of a school. Their behavior
and the things they consider cool
are powerful influences on the
behavior of their peers. You can
use this power to establish an
inclusive environment on campus
where every student feels welcome
and valued for who he or she is
by planning a variety of activities
specifically to address breakingdown barriers, bullying, and
name-
calling.
MIX IT UP AT LUNCH DAY
In surveys by Teaching Tolerance,
students identified the school
cafeteria as the place where
divisions are most clearly drawn
between individuals and groups.
Mix It Up at Lunch Day is a national
campaign started a decade ago to
encourage students to move out of
their comfort zones and connect
with someone new over lunch.
Its based on the ideasupported
by researchthat when students
interact with those who are
different from them, biases and
misperceptions can fall away. Mix It
Up seeks to break down the barriers
between students and improve inter-
group relations so there are fewer
misunderstandings that can lead to
conflicts, bullying, and harassment.
This year, national Mix It Up at
Lunch Day is Tuesday, October 28,
2014.
Research shows that Mix It Up
programming works. According to
Mix Day organizers who responded
to a 2008 survey conducted by
Quality Education Data, the MixIt Up program produces
powerful
results:
97% said students interactions were
positive during Mix It Up at Lunch
Day
95% said Mix It Up at Lunch Day
prompted students to interact with
people outside their normal social
circles
92% said Mix It Up at Lunch Day
increased awareness about social
boundaries and divisions withinschool
83% said the event helped students
make new friends
79% said as a result of the Day
students have heightened sensitivity
towards tolerance and social justice
issues
78% said as a result of the Day
students seem more comfortable
interacting with different kinds of
people
(Source: Mix It Up Survey conducted by
Quality Education Data, 2008)
Mix It Up offers an array of free
online resources at http://www.
tolerance.org/mix-it-up/what-is-mix
designed to help schools explore the
issue of social boundaries including:
Six key steps to plan, publicize and
pull off your event
Suggested mixers and other
activities
Classroom activities
Posters and social media tips to
publicize your event
Sample press release.
INCLUSIVE SCHOOLS WEEK
Inclusive Schools Week is an annual
event held each year during the
first week in December. For 2014the dates are December 15
and
the theme is Inclusive Education:
One School Community. The
week celebrates the progress
schools have made in providing a
supportive and quality education
to an increasingly diverse student
population, including students
who are marginalized due to
disability, gender, socio-economic
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