Creating Unity at Lawndale

As you know, many schools in Los Angeles have dealt with racial tensions, race riots, and violence on campus stemming from issues of race and misunderstanding.

When I first started working at Lawndale High School in 2005 as a counselor and peer mediator, I helped organize Mix It Up at Lunch Day [2] in order to address increasing concerns about social and racial tensions – and to promote dialogue and better understanding among different groups.

The peer mediators, counselors and I saw Mix it Up Day as a great opportunity to promote dialogue on issues of race, culture, violence, social/cultural barriers and stereotypes. We collaborated with ASB and the cultural clubs on campus (MEChA-Chicano/Latino Cultural Club, Black Student Union, Asian Club, Muslim Student Organization, and Gay Straight Alliance) to have the traditional Mix It Up Day lunchtime activities; we played games together, had some brief discussions and students met new people.

In addition, the counselors and I created lesson plans for all the teachers in their advisory period to talk about stereotypes and issues of race and culture. That same year, working with MEChA and the other cultural clubs on campus, we created a "Culture Week" celebration in the spring to showcase our school’s diversity.

Two years ago we decided to take Mix It Up Day to the next level. Starting in 2007 and continuing in 2008, we held Mix It up Week where we trained all the peer mediators to facilitate talking circles and discussions for all tenth-grade students in their World Culture classes.

We used the Mix It Up Day training materials and added a few more questions to have meaningful dialogue about culture, racial/cultural barriers, segregation, race, racism and violence. The program has been very successful and we included the results in our Counselor Support Personnel Accountability Report Card (SPARC).

This year (2009) we will continue to meet with all the tenth-grade students in their PE classes, and will have talking circles facilitated by the peer mediators about race, stereotypes, and how to break cultural/social barriers in our school and community.

We also will continue to have the lunchtime activities where we invite all the various cultural clubs on campus into to the library for Mix It Up Day. Additionally, some of the peer mediators, counselors, and I are going out to our local schools to promote Mix It Up Day and to train other student groups on how to facilitate Mix It Up Day activities.  

It is all possible through communication and collaboration of our students, staff and community members.

La unión hace la fuerza/Unity is strength!