newsstreak Celebrating Diversity Diversity Diversity Diversityin HCPS
The
The Best Burger in the ‘Burg
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where every person has a story
Harrisonburg High School • 1001 Garbers Church Road • Harrisonburg, VA 22801 • 540.433.2651
Volume XIC • Issue 7• March 23, 2012
High ESL population promotes diversity Vanessa Ehrenpreis editor-in-chief
M
erely walking through the halls of HHS would be enough to tip a person off—the ‘Burg’s ethnic composition does not quite match the characteristic rolling hills of farmland visible outside the window. Despite the city’s rural location, the Harrisonburg City School system appears to be similar to an urban division in regards to diversity. There are 47 languages represented in HCPS, not to mention the 50 native countries represented. Superintendent Scott Kizner grew up in a community of similar diversity to Harrisonburg in New York. At the time, he did not realize that there was anything “different” or “special” about being exposed to a variety of cultures, but since his tenure as Superintendent in multiple systems across the east coast, Kizner firmly believes in
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the importance of a global experience. “I want children to have an opportunity to learn with people from other countries and diverse backgrounds. There’s learning that students may or may not be aware of when they’re interacting with people from other countries,” Kizner said. “They’re not going to remember their SOL scores five years from now, but they’ll probably remember and appreciate being on the soccer team or in a classroom with kids from all over the world.”
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People think that all ESL students are Spanish speakers from Mexico, which is completely false.
-HHS ESL Coordinator Laura FeichtingerMcGrath
Native Countries Represented at HCPS
50%
Dominican Republic 2% El Salvador 2%
20%
this issue
Other 10%
Puerto Rico 7%
10%
Iraq 8%
US 65%
8 10 11 04 6 20 200 200 20 20
Conflict in the
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Taking a look at conflict in the Middle East
HCPS has the highest Limited English Proficient (LEP) and English as a Second Langugage (ESL) student populations in the Commonwealth of Virginia. There are over 47 foreign languages represented in HCPS. Farsi, Lao, Pashtu, Hindi, and Amharic are a few of the langugages represented. 64% of students were born in the USA, meaning that 36% of the student population is foreign born. There are over 50 countries represented in the HCPS foreign born population
Students who immigrate to the USA could experience culture shock, or a variety of other social difficulties. All information from HCPS
FEATURE
NEWS
Fast facts about Harrisonburg City Public Schools’ diversity.
Students who are recent immigrants, receive great support from HCPS’ English as a Second Language program (ESL).
Honduras 2% Mexico 4%
30%
Inside
See DIVERSE on A2
Percentage of LEP students
40%
YAM! Art students collaborate to paint a mural outside of the JROTC room as part of a Youth Art Month celebration. Photo by William Imeson.
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Although HCPS’s statistics are often touted as a selling point, HHS English as a Second Language (ESL) Coordinator Laura Feichtinger-McGrath is wary of their overall indication of diversity. “People think that all [ESL] students are Spanish speakers from Mexico, which is completely false. But we’re not very diverse within our diversity, if that makes sense. There are only one or two speakers in the entire HCPS system that speak some of the languages listed. It’s used like a token diversity,” Feichtinger-McGrath said. Despite Feichtinger-McGrath’s leery views of HCPS’s true diversity, she made one thing clear: it is an incredibly important element of the community. “Diversity is a huge part of what we have here. It’s something to celebrate beyond cheesy holidays and ethnic food,” Feichtinger-McGrath
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