LCPS families and staff enjoyed the second annual Better Together Community Dinner hosted by the Minority Student Achievement Advisory Committee (MSAAC) and the Division of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility (DEIA) on Wednesday, Jan. 15 at the LCPS Administration Building. In support of the event, students submitted visual or written artwork to illustrate the dinner’s theme.
As explained by Erinn Kunkle, MSAAC chair, this event was designed as a time for members of the LCPS community to pause their busy schedules to engage and interact with one another. Kunkle said that she and Dr. Latisha Ellis-Williams, Assistant Superintendent for DEIA, developed the idea for this community dinner last year. She said they envisioned this dinner as a time for community members “to be in a room together with this community, with this family we are building, and to celebrate the things that make us unique, to celebrate our students and to just be.”
Dr. Aaron Spence, LCPS Superintendent, said he greatly appreciated the theme of Better Together and the work that MSAAC and DEIA do to build and expand this message. “Diversity is a strength, and diversity is our reality. We all come from different places and backgrounds, and yet we can come together as we are tonight. This is our reality. Diversity is who we are,” said Spence.
During the meal, which was a potluck of dishes showing the community’s ethnic and culinary traditions, participants viewed the artwork submitted by students.
Everette Callaway, DEIA Specialist, who organized the submission of student artwork, said that he was very pleased with the level of student engagement. “When I consider the works submitted by the students, I am so incredibly heartened by how they support one another and contribute to the LCPS community. This event is an opportunity to celebrate the tapestry that makes up LCPS,” he said.
Some of the students who submitted artwork were present for the event, including students from LCPS’s newest school, Henrietta Lacks Elementary School, displaying the books they had written about their school’s namesake. All students who shared artwork were presented with certificates of appreciation.