This Friday the Creative Leadership class, the High School Diversity Team, The DeWitt Creativity Group, and Pride Alliance will proudly host 60 people from the junior high for the Empathy and Inclusion Workshop. This all day event is structured to ease the the anxiety of transitioning to high school while helping to create leaders who are empathetic, culturally responsible, and eager to create positive change. Collaboration, trust building, creative problem -solving methodologies, and social and emotional learning activities and discussion will fill the day.
This event will take place in the auditorium from 7:30 - 2:30 and will consist of 55 students from the junior high, 40 high school students, and 10 teachers from the high school and junior high.
Other points of interest include:
This is the third year for the Empathy and Inclusion workshop which has reached 225 students and close to 30 teachers in the district
This year the initiative was incorporated into the Community Partnership Group where it made a positive impact with community members, students, teachers and administrators
Portions of last year's event have been implemented into district Diversity Training and Leadership discussions with teachers, parents, and students
Students have distributed and practiced the 5 and 5 program that was created by students who attended the event. This program provide valuable tips and talking points that help students identify, approach, and engage with others who might need help
Earlier this year three students from the Creative Leadership class led two hours of informative training at Okemos High School where they introduced the Empathy and Inclusion event to students representing 42 school districts from around the state