Diversity an asset in education, business world
By Xavier Botana, with Melea Nalli
Our nation’s top colleges and universities are working very
hard to achieve something the Portland Public Schools already has: diversity.
These institutions of higher learning aren’t trying to look more like us to
be “politically correct.” Instead, they
know that diverse campuses are educationally beneficial for students.
BestColleges.com, a college-ranking site, sums up the benefits: “Studies have shown that interactions among racially and
ethnically diverse groups result in positive learning outcomes. Effects include
enhanced cognitive skills and self-motivation, a greater sense of purpose, and
a higher measure of personal growth.”
Colleges and universities also know that experience with
diversity helps prepare students for careers. Diversity is an asset in the
business world, research shows. A Harvard Business Review article titled “WhyDiverse Teams Are Smarter,” says that “striving to increase workplace diversity is not an empty slogan – it
is a good business decision.” The article states: “Working with people who are
different from you may challenge your brain to overcome its stale ways of
thinking and sharpen its performance.”
At the Portland Public Schools, Maine’s largest and most
diverse school district, we believe that learning in diverse groups prepares
students to thrive in an increasingly diverse, complex, and connected world. In
fact, that belief is the fifth of our district’s seven Core Beliefs about
Learning.
I’m writing a series of columns about our Learning Beliefs,
in collaboration with Melea Nalli, our Assistant Superintendent of Teaching and
Learning. This month we’re focusing on how our schools’ diverse learning
environments benefit students.
One-third of our approximately 6,800 students come from
homes where languages other than English are spoken – a total of 67 languages.
Nearly 44 percent of our students are students of color and about 56 percent
are white. We’re also socio-economically diverse. Half our students qualify for
free or reduced school lunch, while half do not.
Our students benefit from learning side by side with people
who are different from them – who by their very presence challenge their
assumptions and beliefs and help them see the world in a different way.
But diversity also can be an empty promise, if students
don’t interact with classmates who are different from them. That is why we
strive to ensure that our students interact with each other in meaningful ways
throughout their academic lives.
At Riverton Elementary School, for example, first-graders
learn to embrace their differences. Students are encouraged to share personal
experiences, and greet one another in their native languages during Morning
Meeting. The students also were visited by representatives from The Cromwell
Center for Disabilities Awareness, who taught them about "abilities"
and helped them begin to see each other from different perspectives.
A recent learning expedition at King Middle School, where
about 25 percent of students were born in other countries, focused on
immigration as a social and geographic phenomenon. Students explored the
history and impact of immigration in this country and the voluntary and
involuntary reasons people migrate. Students learned to take a deeper look at
how people are different, but also how they’re alike.
Portland High School student leaders conduct school-wide
courageous conversations on a variety of topics, including classroom
experiences and social interactions with peers. These discussions create
opportunities for students to share their perspectives in their diverse school
community. That contributes to greater understanding and a broader awareness of
the diversity of students’ experiences.
At the Portland Public Schools, we consider diversity one of
our greatest assets as we strive to prepare and empower our students for success
in college and career.
