As the nation's eleventh largest school district, Dallas Independent School District serves more than 160,000 students who come from homes where 58 different languages are spoken. Operating with a $1 billion dollar budget, DISD employs 18,613 employees including 10,000 teachers in 220 schools.
27 Oct 2000
By celebrating American Indian Heritage Month in the Dallas Independent School District, students learn that American Indian heritage and cultures are diverse; that there are American Indians in existence today; and that it is important not to be a victim of the stereotypes of American Indians, said Peggy Larney, DISD program manager–American Indian Education.
"Students need to know that their heritage is rich indeed and that any student who pursues his legacy will certainly not be disappointed with the rewards of the quest," Larney said. "American Indian students need to know that they represent a unique heritage and should be very proud of it. Non-American Indian students benefit as well. They will learn that the American Indian experience is a very multi-racial experience in the Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex."
From exhibits of artifacts to morning announcements, schools throughout the DISD will celebrate the spirit of the indigenous, tribal people of America during November, American Indian Heritage Month. The national theme for American Indian Heritage Month is Tribal Tradition and Technology...Our Pathway to the 21st Century. There are approximately 700 American Indian students attending the Dallas Independent School District.
The sixth graders in Doris McDow's gifted and talented class at Stevens Park Elementary (2615 W. Colorado) have been writing a play for the last four weeks about Pocahontas, the Indian maiden. The play, based on the students' research, will be performed Nov. 27-30 for the second and third graders as part of the school's recognition of American Indian Heritage Month.
The student-written play gives the schoolchildren the opportunity to learn about other cultures, creating an understanding and acceptance of different people. Pocahontas, the daughter of the Indian Chief Powhatan, helped with the settlement of Jamestown, Virginia–the first permanent English settlement in America. McDow says projects like the student-performed play during American Indian Heritage Month help students learn the complete history of their past.
To celebrate American Indian Month at Winnetka Elementary School (1151 S. Edgefield), the students will be exposed to the history of native Americans through one of the oldest art forms of communication, storytelling. A group known as Tipi Tellers will visit the school Nov. 6-7. The Tipi Tellers use a tipi in which to tell their stories. The storytellers present stories to the children that create an in-depth understanding to the intimate relationship with nature and cultivate a desire to protect the environment.
Larney says that the classroom of the DISD and many others across the state and nation are tremendously and culturally diverse. "Every student, regardless of their racial, ethnic, cultural background deserves to be recognized as important and as having something positive to contribute to the larger good."