Merrick district developing diversity curriculum

As educational leaders look to address bullying in the schools, Merrick School District officials are introducing a new diversity curriculum.

The announcement came at the Dec. 7 Board of Education meeting, at which Lisa Ruiz, the assistant superintendent for curriculum, instruction and pupil services, along with Eric Arlin, the director of pupil services, gave a presentation to review the new curriculum.

According to Ruiz, the curriculum “was formed to look at ways that our district can foster understanding and acceptance of differences that exist in our community and our society so we can better prepare our students for a diverse and global world.”

The curriculum will soon be taught to teachers during a half-day training session, and it will be introduced to parents during a presentation at Birch Elementary School at the end of January.

“We believe that this is one of the most critical elements necessary in order to provide a high-quality educational experience for our children,” said Merrick’s superintendent, Dr. Ranier Melucci.

Merrick officials said the curriculum will be designed to help students:

n Understand and value human similarities and differences.

n Learn to accept others who are perceived as different.

n Understand the unfairness of discrimination and the harm it causes.

n Develop the ability to interact respectfully with all people.

The curriculum will be presented to the children through literature and writing, music, images and film, physical activities, problem-solving activities, examination of the environment and discussions.

“One thing that we did not want to do is mire the teachers with additional lessons to teach,” Arlin said. “So the structure of the curriculum is integrated into the existing curriculum.”

The New York State Education Department recently stated that the “school climate may be the single most important factor in preventing, limiting and/or dealing with bullying and cyberbullying incidents.”