Park City School District announced Monday the launch of its “We All Belong” campaign for 2024-25 school year.
In an email, the district said that the initiative “underscores the district’s commitment to creating an inclusive, welcoming environment where every student, staff member, and community member feels valued and connected.”
The email goes on to say that, throughout the year, the district will “emphasize various aspects of belonging, aligned with our district’s mission and vision.”
The email then links to a page on the district’s website, which has two videos elaborating on the initiative and how to report bullying and harassment, as well as a letter from superintendent Dr. Jill Gildea titled “What’s the Opposite of We All Belong?”
The letter opens by acknowledging the need for a safe school where everyone feels like they belong. The letter addresses that this renewed commitment comes after the Office of Civil Rights investigation into the district earlier this year.
“As we entered into the Resolution Agreement with the US Department of
Education’s Office of Civil Rights,” Gildea said in the letter, “we discovered that while we had maintained our mission to inspire and support all students equitably to achieve their academic and social potential, we fell short of our vision that our students are safe, supported, engaged, challenged, and healthy. Consequently, we have implemented several improvements as we enter into the 2024/2025 school year.”
Those improvements are quoted here:
- Policy changes that clearly spell out what is and what is not accepted within our schools, along with clarification on how incidents are reported, investigated, and resolved.
- A simple reporting system that can be accessed from all school and district websites that allows students, parents/guardians, staff, and community members to efficiently report when bullying, harassment, and discrimination occurs so that the district can properly investigate and resolve every incident: https://www.pcschools.us/about/bullying-or-harassment-reporting-form
- Training for every staff member on what behavior, language, and treatment is allowed, how to investigate it properly, and how to productively resolve incidents for every person involved.
The letter continues later on to specify what the We All Belong campaign includes:
- Support materials provided to all parents/guardians and educators reinforcing that each and every one of us belongs in our school community.
- Resources for parents, guardians, families, teachers, and administrators on how to build a better sense of belonging, especially for those who differ from ourselves.
- School-based community meetings to launch the We All Belong Campaign with families and stakeholders.
- A PCSD We All Belong website with resources, courses, and forums for all
stakeholders to join in this district-wide effort.
The campaign’s website is available to the public (along with a Spanish-translated version of the letter) at pcschools.us/about/we-all-belong-campaign.