Pakanasink Elementary School was one of just five schools in the United States chosen to participate in an international cultural diversity identity project. The project is a partnership between the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) No Place For Hate and the Chelsea Football Club in England.
(See the Times Herald-Record article about the project here.)
Pakanasink Assistant Principal Colleen Delles saw an opportunity and decided to apply. She figured the chances were slim that they would be chosen since this was open to so many schools in the country. Needless to say, she was thrilled when she heard from the ADL that PAK had indeed been chosen as one of the five US schools to participate.
“Of course I was hoping we would be selected but I didn’t get my hopes up,” said Ms. Delles. “We were so happy to be chosen and our students were thrilled. We got right to work on the project.”
The project itself was an identity project where students would use art to show and list traits that are visible for all to see as well as list traits that are not obvious to others. Their projects portrayed their own unique identities as well as their interpretation of the identity of Pakanasink Elementary School.
“It was so interesting to see how students perceive themselves compared to how others see them,” Ms. Delles noted.
The big day came in early February as the US students had their Zoom meeting with students from five schools in the United Kingdom. Also on the call were players from the acclaimed Chelsea Football Club. Students explored how peoples’ identities are expressed differently in ways that are visible, less visible and invisible. They discussed why it is important for all of us to be aware of how our identities can be different from each other and why it is vital to make their school a place where everyone feels included and respected.
Four student council/No Place For Hate members represented Pakanasink for the project: Damola Ajayi, Madison Archible, Arielle Donatien and Gigi VanSickle.
All seven Pine Bush schools are active in the ADL’s No Place For Hate program. The partnership between ADL and Chelsea comes from the soccer club’s very successful campaign against anti-Semitism, “Say No to Anti-Semitism.”
The club’s owner, Roman Abramovich, launched the “Say No to Anti-Semitism” campaign after witnessing the number of anti-Semitic incidents that had taken place across Europe, including during soccer matches. He wanted to take a stand. Now, Chelsea is considered one of the most proactive sporting organizations in tackling anti-Semitism. The Chelsea Foundation runs equality workshops in 75 schools across the UK. This international program kicked off the “Say No to Hate” partnership with the ADL.
“This was an incredible opportunity for our students and their peers in the UK to share their ideas and to reinforce just how important it is to respect each other and include everyone,” said Ms. Delles. “I am so grateful to our students who did a wonderful job on their projects, opening up about themselves and sharing their thoughts. No Place For Hate is an invaluable resource for us and I’m grateful to the ADL for providing such real-world lessons to our students.”