Embracing Diversity

Embracing Diversity Must be a Community-Wide Effort

By Jim Fitzpatrick, Ph.D.
Superintendent, School District of Fort Atkinson

As school districts finalize their strategic plans at this time of year, it is not surprising that addressing their ever-increasing diversity that has emerged as an important area of focus.

Districts are not the homogeneous communities they were in 10 years ago. Nor in the next 10 years will they remain as they are today.

The third Friday count in 2007-08 reflected a student enrollment of 27 Asian-American students, 32 African American students, 237 Lationo students, and 14 Native American students among the total district enrollment of 2,712 students. Thus, in accordance with Department of Public Instruction reporting, approximately 12 percent of our students are non-white pupils with nine percent being made up of a growing Latino population, consistent with similar trends in the county.

In relation to socio-economics, it should be noted that one in every four students in our district qualifies for free or reduced lunch.  This is compared with one of 10 in 1999.

Our students with disabilities population was at approximately 15 percent for the current school year, up from previous years when we hovered from 10 to 12 percent.

I mention the above because the seeds of change in our country often have their origins