Ninth grade students at Valencia
High School are getting an up-close
look at the personal effects of racial intolerance this week as they visit the
SHARE Tolerance Trailer provided by the Los Angeles County Sheriff's
Department.
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The trailer, staffed by Deputy Dave Jennings from the
Antelope Valley Sheriff's Station and local school resource officers, is a
mini-theater which shows a 35-minute video depicting actual cases of
discrimination that have occurred in the Los Angeles area, including one that
actually happened in the Santa Clarita Valley.
After witnessing the incidents and hearing videotaped
interviews with the victims, students return to the classroom for a discussion on
tolerance and how to reduce discrimination in the local community. Students
will be asked to share incidents they may have witnessed and what they might
have done to defuse a situation.
The program originated in the Antelope
Valley and will make only a limited
number of stops in the Wm. S.
Hart Union High
School District before moving on to
other parts of the county. The program debuted at Sequoia
Charter School
and Hart High School
before moving to Valencia
this week.
"The program was offered to the principals in all of our
schools and was scheduled at the first ones to respond," noted Greg Lee, the
district's diversity coordinator. "This is a proactive program that gives
students every opportunity to discuss these types of issues. The goal is to
stop hate and emphasize respect for everyone."
Because the SHARE theater seats only 24 students at a time,
the program is being offered only to a limited number of local schools and only
to a single grade level at those fortunate enough to be chosen, Lee indicated.
