Miramonte Elementary

Human Relations Council

Purpose:

The purpose of Human Relations Council (HRC) is to bring diverse student groups together to share ideas, plan and facilitate activities on campus, and promote a positive school environment that celebrates our differences. It is important for students to love themselves and learn more about their own culture.

HRC Activities:

• United Nations Week: United Nations Week celebrates the diversity of our campus while also celebrating the culture of Miramonte! We hosted a showcase assembly featuring performances from REC performance groups, classroom lessons, and daily lunchtime activities.
• Diwali Sand Art & Dia de los Muertos Offrenda: Coordinated by staff members and HRC, staff and students contributed to a community ofrenda, sharing pictures and memories of loved ones for Día de los Muertos (November 1-2) in the library and created colorful rangoli sand art for Diwali (October 20).
• Backpack Project: HRC students coordinate a backpack drive every year to fill backpacks with essentials to donate to the Fresno County Department of Social Services for foster youth in Fresno County. Last year we donated 15 filled backpacks!
• Lunch on the Lawn: Lunch on the Lawn is a community event we host every year. We invite families on campus to have lunch with their students. Lunch on the Lawn is also our cultural showcase where our various groups including Folklorico, Hmong Dance, Percussion, Oral Interp, etc. perform for our community.
• Video Announcements: Video announcements air every Monday morning. Highlighted during video announcements are: upcoming events for the week, Positivity Project, campus activities, and diversity/history/awareness month highlights.

Diverse Parent Representation

Parent involvement is instrumental to the success of our students. Our goal is to bring diverse parent groups together to share ideas, plan and facilitate activities on campus, and promote a positive school environment that celebrates our differences

Multi-cultural education encompasses how and what students learn. At Miramonte, a focus has been placed on the English Language Arts curriculum as an educational tool that can represent, teach, and respect a wide variety of cultures and backgrounds.

Social/Emotional Curriculum

Positivity Project

2nd Step

From the Second Step website:

Second Step is a program rooted in social-emotional learning (SEL) that helps transform schools into supportive, successful learning environments uniquely equipped to encourage children to thrive. More than just a classroom curriculum, Second Step’s holistic approach helps create a more empathetic society by providing education professionals, families, and the larger community with tools to enable them to take an active role in the social-emotional growth and safety of today’s children.

Miramonte Staff and Teachers are trained in a variety of skills, strategies, and curriculum to provide the best education to our students. Using the Teaching Tolerance Identity and Diversity Anchor Standards, our teachers are being trained to recognize and celebrate students of diverse backgrounds.

Identity Anchor Standards

1. Students will develop social identities based on their membership in multiple groups in society.
2. Students will develop language and historical and cultural knowledge that affirm and accurately describe their membership in multiple identity group
3. Students will recognize that people's multiple identities interact and create unique and complex individuals.
4. Students will express pride, confidence, and healthy self-esteem without denying the value and dignity of other people.
5. Students will recognize traits of the dominant culture, their home culture, and other cultures and understand how they negotiate their own identity in multiple spaces. 

Diversity Anchor Standards

1. Students will express comfort with people who are both similar to and different from them and engage respectfully with all people.
2. Students will develop language and knowledge to accurately and respectfully to describe how people (including themselves) are both similar to and different from each other and others in their identity group.
3. Students will respectfully express curiosity about the history and lived experiences of others and will exchange ideas and beliefs in an open-minded way. 
4. Students will respond to diversity by building empathy, respect, understanding, and connection.
5. Students will examine diversity in social, cultural, political, and historical contexts rather than in ways that are superficial or oversimplified.  

AVID Culturally Relevant Teaching

This strand is designed for Site Team members who are ready to work with their sites to conduct self-examination and address issues of race, class, gender, and accountability through a growth mindset. The strand will provide a framework of effective methodologies that validate the cultures of all students in the classroom and on the campus. These research-based strategies will enhance the site’s curriculum and help students make relevant learning connections to increase subject-matter comprehension. After attending this strand, participants will understand how to create multidimensional lessons while incorporating rigor for various learning styles.

Trauma Informed Schools

From the Trauma Informed Schools conference website: 

In a trauma-informed school, the adults in the school community are prepared to recognize and respond to those who have been impacted by traumatic stress. Those adults include administrators, teachers, staff, parents, and law enforcement. In addition, students are provided with clear expectations and communication strategies to guide them through stressful situations. The goal is to not only provide tools to cope with extreme situations but to create an underlying culture of respect and support. There are many ways to weave trauma-informed approaches into the fabric of schools, including strategic planning by administrators, staff training, and direct intervention with traumatized students.