Mix It Up

You’re likely feeling immersed in Mix It Up by now, having browsed our online offerings, read the blogs and emails, followed updates on Facebook and Twitter. But you might be asking yourself, “What are these model schools? How were they chosen? What’s special about them?”

More than half the students in my middle school receive special education services or some extra help for academics or behavior. We polled our student leadership to find out the biggest issues in school. They said, “Cliques.”

There are so many ways to mix up student seating at lunch that it can be difficult to consider them all. Don’t let this be a stumbling block. The outcome is the same, no matter the path that gets you there—You want to get students to sit with different people at lunch, and you want them to have a conversation so they get to know each other a bit.

The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) is a nonprofit civil rights organization dedicated to fighting hate and bigotry. Founded in 1971, SPLC is known for investigating and exposing hate group activities throughout the world. They focus on widespread issues of social injustice including children at risk, hate and extremism, immigrant justice, and LGBT rights. But they go a step beyond fighting hate and seeking justice for the vulnerable. The SPLC conducts one of the nation’s leading programs for teaching tolerance.

By now, you’re well under way to having a great Mix It Up at Lunch Day. It’s a good time to starting thinking about what happens beyond the Oct. 30.

When it comes to publicizing your Mix It Up at Lunch campaign, think a little bit old school, a little bit new school—and then start thinking beyond the school.

Some students—and others—may ask, “Why do we need Mix It Up at Lunch Day?” A good way to lead them to their own answers is to carry out group or classroom activities designed to explore issues of social boundaries.

So people are starting to ask you, “What’s this Mix It Up at Lunch thing? What is it you’re planning?” This is a time when you definitely need your “elevator speech” ready.

We’re a little less than two months out from Mix It Up at Lunch Day. What does your core planning group look like? Our most successful schools during the past decade of Mix It Up events illustrate several key points when it comes to the planning group.

Schools are busy places, with lots of things competing for attention. Based on input from hundreds of schools during the past decade of Mix It Up at Lunch events, success is best achieved when you can build momentum leading up to the day—and carry it forward through the rest of the school year.