I would echo the idea to have a multi-cultural event. We have one in December and we make crafts from all over the world. Each craft has an area at which we have a map of where it comes from and a short description of the significance of the craft and any history to it.

We have a very diverse school population. Many of our multi-c. parents are recent immigrants and are economically disadvantaged. Sometimes transportation is a problem. So, we send a bus to certain neighborhoods the evenings of events. We publish the schedule of where and when the bus will pick up. People tend to take advantage of it.

We also have a dance group that some of our parents help with. They have learned dances from Mexico, Central and South America. This is very fun for the kids and they get to perform at school events.

We are totally non-diverse. We have a population of 98.5% non-white residents in our county(2000 US Census Bureau) The majority of us are the same religion, with a handful of other Christians. I would like to see some Culteral Diversity programs added in our elementaries. I had thought of having parents to make different dishes for a pot luck gathering with a little history of the country their dish was from, but we are fried chicken and tater kind of people. I just don't know how that would work out.

We do have a parent from Venezula who volunteers her time to a couple of classes and teaches them Spanish. She also talked to the owner of our new Mexican resturaunt and they brought in dishes from different Spanish speaking countries. My son LOVED that, I think he was more interested in the history than the food. Perhaps you could talk to a few of your parents into doing something like that or have them as guest at your meetings so they can make a short summary of their culture.

Get the kids involved. Have them to make something artistic from another culture and have an assembly of some sort.

How far do those kids have to be bussed? Perhaps it is hard for those parents to drive that far. Perhaps you could sponsor a Family Fun Night closer to their neighborhood with the emphasis being on culture diversity.

If these parents see that an effort is being made to celebrate their differences perhaps they will be more willing for other things.

Research the different cultures and find their special celebration. Then talk to a Parent of that culture to see if they would help run that event. Maybe then you would get the different areas to combine when they work a event together.

Hi all,
I need some ideas to bring more parents from different cultural backgrounds into our elementary school. We seem to always have the same parents from the neighborhood coming to volunteer and taking part in activities. We'd like to see more parents of our students who are bussed in from different neighborhoods and have different cultural backgrounds. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Janice