OPENING THE DOORS TO BLACK HISTORY

by Izzy Scott

Local Efforts

In celebration of Black History Month Green High School welcomes and encourages students and staff members to celebrate this month of achievement and adversary. In conjunction with All In, each classroom will be participating in a door decorating contest, in which the decorations will promote black history, excellence, and success. Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Coach Tiron Jester believes celebrating Black History achieves purposes beyond educational value.

“Black excellence needs to be celebrated and appreciated, but it does not take away from other excellence. Excellence is excellence no matter the skin color, religion, belief, and ethnicity,” Jester said.

Black History Month is a time to learn, recognize and appreciate the contributions African Americans have made from past to present.

The Origin Black History Celebration

This celebration was not initially a month long, but rather a week. In 1926, this time of recognition was known as Negro History Week, created by Carter G. Woodson. In 1969, students a part of the Black United Students organization at Kent State University led several demonstrations and peaceful protests demanded that Kent State University extend Negro History Week into a month of black history celebrations. Following the approval and change, it became a month-long celebration nationally in 1976, and February was chosen to coincide with the birthdays of Fredrick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln. Other countries such as Canada and Germany celebrate in the month of February as well.

Modern Day Black History

Changing annually, there is a theme assigned to Black History month. The Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH), founded in 1915 by Carter G. Woodson, now leads nationwide celebrations for black history, as well as established the themes. The first theme was Civilization: A World Achievement and the theme for this year’s celebration is Black Resistance.

To Jester, Black Resistance is “refusing to accept that we are inferior and refusing to accept that we aren't as equal as everyone else. When you look at history itself, there have been tons of contributions to society from African Americans. Whether literature, inventions, in the science realm, etc. you just refuse to accept that African Americans didn't play an important part in history.”

GHS' APPROACH TO BLACK HISTORY MONTH

The combined clubs of All In and Chain Reaction are spearheading this month's celebration here at Green High School. Led and advised by Mrs. Jessica Kraus, All In teamed up with students, parents, and the Diversity Club to determine how GHS should celebrate this year, in a way that makes all students and parents comfortable.

“All In is a club at GHS that creates an accepting place for all. It is a social equity and diversity club that teaches students how to use their voice, and speak up about passions. It is a group of students from all backgrounds who come together to learn how to be allies for each other,” according to All In member Parker Green.

This year, along with the door decorating, All In hosted a family night, where they showed the movie Hariet, as well as played black history trivia games. Advisor Mrs. Kraus is proud to celebrate Black History Month at GHS. She believes it is essential that Green High School celebrates Black History Month.

“I think it's important [to celebrate] for several reasons. For one, it is not often celebrated in suburban schools. If you watch the news and hear people talk, it's often very derogatory towards African American people. They helped develop this nation and contribute things we as a United States cannot do without. It's important for the students here [at GHS] that are black to know that they are celebrated,” Kraus said.

by Amy Lin

The Seal of Biliteracy is an award granted by schools, districts, U.S. states or other organizations for students that show proficiency in English and at least one other language. This year, the STAMP assessment to earn the seal will be on Saturday, March 4. The deadline to sign up was Feb. 10, 2023. The test entails a reading, writing, listening and speaking section. All questions are asked in English. In order to earn the seal, students must show English proficiency in at least one of the following ways: earn a 3 or higher on an Ohio state standardized test for high school language arts I and II, earn a 18 on the English section of the ACT and a 21 or higher on the reading section of the ACT, earn a 430 on the English section of the SAT and a 450 on the reading section of the SAT, or earn a proficient score or higher on the Ohio English Language Proficiency Assessment (OELPA). Additionally, students must show proficiency in their other language by either scoring a 4 or higher on an AP language exam or earning an intermediate-high score or higher for reading, writing, listening and speaking on an Ohio Department of Education approved exam, i.e the STAMP test for Green High School. The test is offered for Spanish, German, Mandarin, Portuguese, Italian, Russian, Arabic, Hebrew, Hindi, Japanese, Korean and Polish; however, the seal is also attainable for Vietnamese, American Sign Language and more, along with those mentioned. To take this exam, students must submit a form and test fee prior to the application deadline.

The Green Local Schools English Learning (EL) Program is a system for helping students who are learning English and for their teachers to accommodate any potential needs while learning. There are seven types of EL programs: ESL Pull-out, English-Language Instruction, Contentbased ESL, Bilingual Instructional, Transitional Bilingual/Early-exit, Maintenance Bilingual/Late-exit and Two-way Bilingual. GLS utilizes the pull-out program, meaning ELL students stay in the classroom to learn with native English speaking peers and then get pulled out at a certain time for additional English lessons.

“The goal of the program is to help students be successful in the classroom by improving their English. We work on reading, writing, listening and speaking. The ultimate goal is to service the students until they can sit in a regular classroom with no need for accommodations. They must test in and out of the program using standardized tests,” English Learning teacher Joann Cornelius, who works across all GLS

Benefits of Multilingualism

buildings, said.

Why is it important?

The Seal of Biliteracy provides many benefits; it encourages students to further their language studies and showcases the skills they have gained from learning another language. It may also appeal to college admission officers, future employers and even military recruiters. Additionally, the state of Ohio requires at least two diploma seals for graduation, so this would provide another opportunity to earn one.

Students may become part of the program when registering to attend Green if they declare another language spoken at home and a language barrier is suspected. To discern levels of proficiency, Cornelius tests students according to the Ohio English Language Proficiency Screener (OELPS). To graduate from the program, students must show they have met certain goals based on OELPS scores.

As of fall 2019, 5.12 million English Language Learner (ELL) students were enrolled in public K-12 schools, representing 10% of public school students. According to the National Education Association, this is expected to increase to 25% by 2025.

“There are typically about 170 students in Green speaking another language. There are more than 30 languages spoken! I work with about 40 students individually,” Cornelius said.

While learning another language may seem intimidating, the benefits that come from it outweigh the obstacles one may face in the process. To begin with, multilinguals have a greater ability to connect with others since they can communicate with a wider range of people. This is helpful for those planning to study abroad in a foreign country or even for those who are just traveling. It can also help in advancing one’s career. Knowing another language is one of the top eight skills to have for most occupations, and the demand for multilingual professionals continuously rises. Studies have also shown that learning another language helps with memory, concentration, the ability to multitask, analytical and listening skills, and other cognitive functions. Plus, some may even be able to build a deeper connection to their own family by learning the language of their heritage.

How has knowing another language benefited you?

“Every four years, we take a trip to Pakistan to visit my mothers relatives. Since these three languages are the most commonly spoken in Pakistan, I can understand everyone there. So I guess my parents exposing me to these languages at a young age gave me the ability to effectively communicate with people of my culture.”

- Aaryan Quereshi ‘23

“It allows me to communicate with my grandparents and other relatives. They don’t know English, so being able to speak Chinese eliminates the language barrier between us and gives me opportunities to learn more about my culture.”

-

Ida Zheng ‘23

“Despite it being a love language, Portuguese is kind of brutal. We say things to each other in ways that seem we are being rude when in reality we’re just joking around. This really makes you grow tough skin which I'm grateful to have. People’s comments don’t bother me as much as they would have if I didn't have this extra layer of protection.”

- Julia Jodon ‘23