On Tuesday, Jeremy Ranch Elementary hosted an information session for the Park City School District’s We All Belong campaign at the school’s Community Center. The evening featured two 30-minute sessions, the first in English and the second in Spanish.
The small and quiet crowd for the English-language meeting quadrupled in size for the Spanish-language session that followed.
The district launched the We All Belong campaign earlier this year in response to a report from the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights on the Park City School District in 2023.
“Last school year, the Office of Civil Rights concluded an investigation of harassment and hate speech within our schools. When the case was released, I knew that despite our efforts, we’d not done enough and we have to do more,” said interim District Superintendent Caleb Fine. “And we are, we’re teaching kindness and resilience at the elementary levels. We are explicitly addressing the -ism issues: racism, sexism, anti semitism and all other forms of hate speech, harassment and discrimination.”
The campaign aims to provide students, parents and teachers with a way to resolve discrimination, harassment and bullying.
Parents attended Tuesday’s meeting to learn what the campaign is about and how they can be involved.
“I am interested in learning more about these things because it doesn’t only happen in schools, it happens everywhere,” said Juan, a parent who attended the Spanish session. “Outside, at a store, they can harass you. There’s discrimination, offenses, racisms, so I need to be informed because sometimes we think we know everything, but in reality we are missing information. … These talks are very important.”
He added that communicating these trainings to the students is needed so they can use the tools provided through the campaign.
“The different schools are really trying to personalize this campaign in different ways and what’s appropriate at different age groups,” said Heidi Mathews, member of the district’s Family and Community Engagement Team.
The meeting focused on informing how the online reporting system works, expounding on resources such as the SafeUT app and introducing parents to the student services deans.
There are seven student services deans across all the district’s schools.
“Their primary duties include investigating student behavior issues — such as misconduct, harassment and discrimination — while ensuring compliance with policies like Title II, Title VI, Title IX and section 504. Acting as liaisons between students, administration and families, the deans play vital roles in maintaining a safe and welcoming school environment,” said the September issue of the district’s newsletter.
“Our mission is to inspire and support all students equitably so they achieve their academic and social potential,” said Fine. “Our vision is to be student centered, focusing on the whole child … that students are safe, supported, engaged, challenged and healthy.”
To learn more about the campaign visit pcschools.us/about/we-all-belong-campaign, where the district has posted an instructional video on how to report an incident, along with other information.