Beyond Tolerance: Moving Ahead Together
A Community-wide Conference Organized by the Santa Barbara School Districts
June 28, 1997
Acknowledgement
I was very encouraged to see so many members of this community participate in Beyond Tolerance: Moving Ahead Together. Over 350 people came together on June 28, 1997, to share information, communicate concerns, and work toward solutions on problems related to intolerance that we see in our youth.
Beyond Tolerance was one of several community events that have heightened awareness about diversity and tolerance. It provided a forum for the dialogue necessary to define a vision of diversity and to set goals for the kind of school/community we strive to become.
I would like to commend the leadership and activities of our Students Organized Against Prejudice (SOAP), Santa Barbara and San Marcos High Schools; Principal’s Advisory Council, Dos Pueblos High School; Strategic Planning Task Force; NAACP; Not In Our Town; City at Peace; organizers of the Anne Frank exhibition, Ensemble Theatre Company’s Kindertransport, and others for initiating opportunities for school and community dialogue. As we continue that dialogue, we broaden the circle of individuals and institutions who are willing to seek meaningful solutions to the problems that we face and work to identify ways that the entire community can become involved.
Beyond Tolerance was a day for us to step back, look at how our system works, and reflect on ways to make it better. Our Strategic Planning Task Force has spent a great deal of time during the past year focusing on issues related to diversity and tolerance in our schools. From the perspective of a school district, our focus is on academics yet we know that without respect for one another, education is not going to be as effective and valuable as we all want it to be.
During the day of the conference, we listened to the long lists of ideas that were generated and found several that we know we can implement and others we are already doing. I hope that the contents of this report documenting the speakers’ perspectives and experiences, the breakout groups’ recommendations, and the responses from local agencies and institutions, including the District, will become the basis for future programs.
Let’s make this a living, breathing document and continue to have a dialogue on this subject at our school sites and in the workplace. The ultimate goal should be to take positive, constructive actions to create mutual understanding and acceptance. This report will help us remember the moving presentations that we heard from speakers and panelists and build on the positive suggestions for change that resulted from our important day together. As a school district, we recognize that we have more to do and this will only occur if we continue to identify our challenges and work together on identifying and implementing solutions.
Michael W. Caston, Ed.D.Superintendent
Santa Barbara School Districts