Sheila Berger

Sumner Elementary Principal

Welcoming Week in Austin is just coming to a close. There have been many activities throughout our community to celebrate our diversity. Sumner Elementary participated in a Welcoming Walk, in which all students decorated a flag from one of the countries represented in our student body. The students then paraded around our neighborhood behind signs sharing that we welcome everyone in Austin. The students were excited to participate in our second annual Welcome Walk and were surprised by the number of spectators we encountered along our path!

The Sumner Equity Team created videos that were shared in each classroom this past week. Committee members interviewed individuals who have immigrated to our community. Interviewees shared their story of how they came to live in Austin. The videos were very insightful and humbling.  Many of our families have endured many challenging experiences in their previous countries and have at long last found peace and harmony in Austin.

Now that the annual celebration of our diversity is over, how do we strive to be “welcoming” more than just one week a year?

Here are a few of the tips learned over the past several years.

• First, learn how to say each person’s name correctly and make it a practice to call a person by name. Most are very compassionate to any inaccuracies when pronouncing their name’s correctly the first few attempts!

• Secondly, ask for input on how you can help everyone feel comfortable in your school, church or business.

• Lastly, when you have established a relationship, ask about how your school, church, or business is similar or different from their previous experiences. This helps create a common understanding of challenges community members have faced.

When a community embraces all of its members, the community grows together for the better!