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Lincoln Park Middle School (LPMS) received a grant from The Western Governors University to showcase and celebrate the school's diverse student backgrounds. The $500 grant, received this past spring, is being used to purchase books for the school library which reflect a variety of student experiences and cultures, and to create a club for students that promotes and celebrates student diversity. The efforts are part of the district's mission to provide a safe, inclusive environment for all students.

LPMS Counselor Katherine Dunlap says she and other support staff were approached by students wanting to form a club that emphasized promoting acceptance of all students and in the spring, the Prism Club was formed. Funds from the grant were used for club supplies and to create tie-dyed T-shirts for club members. Diversities focusing on race, religion, socioeconomic status, gender identity, and disabilities are all embraced and celebrated by students in the Prism Club. "I think overall, the main goal is to create a safe and inclusive environment for all students to thrive," says Dunlap. "Creating an accepting climate to help prepare them for success in the real world has never been more important."

According to theResilientEducator.com., cultivating an appreciation for diversity and inclusion in the classroom can promote creative thinking and problem solving skills, and boost creativity. Members of the Prism Club use their meetings to discuss issues of concern at the school and brainstorm strategies to help make all students feel welcome. The books purchased for the school library help to introduce students to other experiences, traditions, and cultures they may not have been aware of. Dunlap says academic performance improves when students feel safe and accepted as they are able to focus on studies and thrive as they learn. She adds that nurturing an attitude of acceptance of others can branch out beyond the classroom as well. "I think creating that accepting type of climate, it does trickle within the school and then out into the community and hopefully, there is this sense of acceptance created and expanded," says Dunlap.

"It has never been more important for all Railsplitters to learn in an accepting climate that helps prepare them for success in the real world," says Lincoln Park Schools Superintendent Terry Dangerfield. "I am proud of our students and staff for working together to celebrate the diversity of our students at Lincoln Park Middle School and throughout our district."

Dunlap says it has truly been a team effort to promote diversity in the district and hopes the idea continues to grow. "All of this has been really exciting, just to see our students and staff working together," says Dunlap. "I really look forward to this next school year and seeing what the students who are part of Prism Club decide to do and what goals they have in mind for the club. I really am hoping for it to expand and for more students to get involved."