THELEAVEN.ORG | VOL. 39, NO. 13 | NOVEMBER 3 , 2017
IT TAKES ALL KINDS
LEAVEN PHOTO BY JAY SOLDNER
Students at St. John the Evangelist School in Lawrence come from all over the world, including the continents of South America, Africa, Europe and Asia. Some of the students now call Lawrence home, while some are in Lawrence for just the year.
St. John School in Lawrence offers rich diversity
By Doug Weller Special to The Leaven
L it.
AWRENCE — Some schools talk a lot about diversity. St. John the Evangelist School in Lawrence lives
It is not just that Spanish is taught from preschool through eighth grade. Or that students proudly share that they were born in another country, or that their parents were. It’s that the administration both invites diversity and encourages students to share their cultures with others. “We’ve worked very purposely to attract Spanish-speaking students, especially students whose parents came from Spanish-speaking countries,” said principal Patricia Newton. And while most of those students are from Mexico, children
LEAVEN PHOTO BY JAY SOLDNER
Clockwise from bottom right, Gabriela Carttar, Gina Lee and Hanna Yokota work with their teacher Jessica Dunn on shading 3D objects in art class. Gina is from South Korea, Hanna is from Japan and Gabriela is the daughter of Spanish teacher Claudia Olea. from Central and South America, Europe, Africa and Asia also attend the school sponsored by St. John
the Evangelist Parish. Students born in another country or whose parents were born elsewhere, in
fact, account for 18 percent of St. John’s enrollment. “The diversity really makes it special here. Everyone knows someone who speaks Spanish,” said Claudia Olea, a Chilean native who has taught Spanish at the school for 10 years. Native English speakers are encouraged to attend a Spanish Mass, cultural events like the feast day of Our Lady of Guadalupe, the patron saint of the Americas, or El Día de los Muertos (“Day of the Dead”) celebration, when Mexican Catholics remember their ancestors and pray for the souls of the deceased. “I don’t have to convince them that Spanish is useful,” Olea said. “They see it.” The school’s effort to expose students to a variety of cultures doesn’t end with Latin America. In the upper grades, volunteers teach six-week segments of French, >> See “ST. JOHN” on page 6