Community-Wide Dialogue discusses cultural appreciation Oct. 22

Oct. 18, 2024

A group of Cazenovia Central School District students are welcoming parents and guardians to join them in a series of discussions that will focus on topics such as appreciating differences and celebrating individuality. 

The students are members of Cazenovia High School’s InterGroup Dialogue Club, which is hosting a series of Community Wide Dialogue sessions in which students and their family members talk about various topics that affect the student body and local community. Its September meeting focused on cell phone use within the school setting, and the next meeting, at 6 p.m. Oct. 22 in the high school library, will open dialogue around cultural appreciation. 

Three more sessions are planned throughout the school year: 

• Jan. 27, 4:30 p.m.

• March 24, 4:30 p.m.

• May 12, 4:30 p.m.

More information, such as location and topic, will be shared on the district website when closer to the session dates. 

The district partners with InterFaith Works, a nonprofit organization based in Syracuse that helps communities create culture, racial, and religious equity. Several years ago, InterFaith Works, which works with several other school districts in the area, helped build a connection between Cazenovia High School and Syracuse City School District’s Public Service Leadership Academy (PSLA) at Fowler, a Career and Technical Education (CTE) school. 

The InterFaith Works program is designed to help students identify inequalities and learn to create an inclusive climate and culture within their schools as well as gain insight into each other’s schools. The program aligns with the district’s strategic plan, which includes a focus on fostering an inclusive culture. 

“We invite all high school stakeholders to engage in these important conversations,” said High School Principal Molly Hagan. “Our students are showing great leadership in learning how to hear others’ perspectives and respond with empathy and understanding. I am so proud of the student facilitators for stepping up to guide community conversations and for their roles in reinforcing our building expectations”.

Cazenovia senior Jonathan Sweet said that in last year's sessions with Fowler, students met in small circles so they could discuss and relate to one another. Each circle consisted of a diverse group of Cazenovia and Fowler students as well as two InterFaith Works facilitators and Cazenovia and Fowler teachers, who Interfaith Works trained to serve as adult allies.

The discussions allowed participants to find an outlet to talk about serious topics that typically wouldn’t come up in everyday conversation, said Cazenovia senior Sophia Kupinsky. She said the school exchange sessions “are a good place to discuss topics you normally wouldn’t talk about [casually] with friends.”

Cazenovia senior Owen Woodworth, one of the student facilitators for the Intergroup Club’s Community Wide Dialogue Series, said that prior to the sessions, students educate themselves on how to facilitate meetings and learn to have conversations instead of arguments. 

“It is learning how to speak productively, create dialogue, and maintain constructive conversations,” Woodworth said.