This article was written by Milena Wilson, Senior Guidance Instructional Specialist at Clovis Elementary in Clovis Unified School District in Clovis, California. In Clovis Unified, Guidance Instructional Specialists serve on each school's site leadership team alongside the principal and lead teachers. Clovis Unified serves roughly 42,800 students across 49 schools, making it one of the largest districts in California.
Each November, Clovis Elementary Jaguars plan a Heritage Week focused on celebrating others and giving back to their community. Some of the events included a canned food drive for the local community, a cultural jars art project to showcase their unique backgrounds, and multicultural games at recess.
The week even had various performances from cultural groups including the Native American Dance Assembly, the Indian Culture Club from the neighboring high school, and the Interactive African Drum Assembly.
The Heritage Week coincided with the Positivity Project’s gratitude weeks in the month of November. While students learned about gratitude, showing thankfulness and seeing the good in others, they also were able to put it into action through serving their community and learning about each other’s unique heritage.
It was a week rooted in the belief that other people matter—a time to celebrate uniqueness, foster appreciation, and build a stronger, more connected school community.