Students in Clawson Schools are getting ready to have their first Diversity Day on Friday.

Seventy students from the district’s middle school and high school have volunteered to host display booths representing 23 different countries for students for Schalm and Kenwood elementary students.

The displays represent the wide cultural heritages of students within the district’s schools, said Michelle Haight, an English teacher at the middle school and member of the district’s diversity inclusion team.

Countries highlighted in Friday’s displays include Albania, Bosnia, Brazil, Canada, China, El

Salvador, France, Hungary, India, Iraq, Italy, Japan, Lithuania, Mexico, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Poland, Romania, Serbia, South Korea, Thailand, Uganda and Ukraine.

“We need to hear every voice if we are going to fulfill the needs of all of our students,” Haight said. 

Friday will be the first time there is a districtwide event including students from all the schools, Haight added. Middle and high school volunteers have worked to design the different booths.

The booths will be set up in a semi circle in the gyms at Schalm elementary from 8:30 a.m. to 11:20 a.m., and at Kenwood from 12:45 p.m. to 2:15 p.m.

“I’ve been so impressed with the quality of the display boards,” Haight said, “and some of the artifacts they have found and borrowed. They include everything from a Japanese jewelry box to coins from the Philippines and a game from Uganda.”

Elementary students will have a “passport” that will be stamped each time they visit one of the nearly two dozen displays.

Each booth features a colorful tri-fold display with information and pictures about the country, including the country flag, currency, capital, customs, holidays, climate, current events and sports.

There will also be artifacts from each country such as toys, games, food items and plants.

Student volunteers at the booths will do a short presentation on the different countries for the elementary students.

Haight and other school staff that take part in the event are members of the district’s Diversity Inclusion Belonging Team.

Another member of the team, Dorian Hackney, a high school math teacher, said everyone is excited to explore the richness of the community’s diversity.

“Celebrating the diversity of our community, learning more about the cultures of  different countries, and having our older students connect with our younger students in this manner will be a meaningful occasion,” Hackney said.

Elementary school teachers and principals have been talking to their students about Friday’s event, and had classroom conversations focused on diversity, Haight said.

“This is the first of what I hope will be many events,” Haight said. “The whole premise behind focusing on inclusion and belonging is the compassion we have for one another.”

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