Alexander High School (Laredo, Texas)

Living on the border presents a variety of cultures and languages. This often leads to division by legal authorities and citizens alike. Our goal is to teach our students to lead our community into an acceptance of differences in faiths, races, languages, and cultures. We began by reading Night in our English I classes, after we watched the Gerda Klein video. We wrote poems and researched genocides across the world. The local rabbi spoke to our students about the reasons behind the Holocaust and how intolerance can lead to disaster. Then we invited Rachel Seigel, a 14-year-old author from Dallas who wrote about people who helped the Jews during the Holocaust. After Rachel we participated in the Web Cast with Gerda Klein. On December 5 we hosted two Holocaust survivors, Anna Rado and Rose Williams. The San Antonio Holocaust Center brought them to Laredo for us and we Web Streamed their two presentations throughout the district. In order to get a ticket to see them live, students and adults were asked to bring four items of food. We collected almost 10,000 items which were distributed to needy students, custodians and the South Texas Food Bank. The Web Streaming reached more than 10,000 students, teachers and community members. Our students are writing to people concerning their involvement in the Holocaust and the reason behind their involvement. Because of the problem with intolerance on campus, we have begun creating a Tolerance Zone with plaques, seating and plants. The cement will have the logo one of our students created, along with butterflies (representing innocent victims of genocides and intolerance) painted on the cement. Around the edge will be handprints of everyone who pledges to be tolerant of others. Each handprint will include the name and cost $5.00, which goes toward a Tolerance Scholarship we have begun. We have raised $1500.00 so far and expect to award scholarships totaling more than $3,000.00 the first year. Community members have donated time, work, and supplies to make this project a success. I also received a $1,000.00 grant from the Association of Texas Professional Educators to build an entrance to the zone. Five history professors are going to have a panel discussion next month concerning intolerance and how it can lead to war and genocide. Some of these professors have lived through genocides in their native countries. The art department is helping create art, the social studies is researching and bringing in speakers, and the English department is compiling writings from our students. Plans include a DVD of the year’s activities, along with a book of writings and illustrations by our students and the people who have visited or written this year. We have a dedication ceremony tentatively planned for April, with proclamations from government officials and guests from across Texas. This project has just begun and we hope to see major changes in the next ten years. Our students are excited about learning and our teachers are excited about teaching once again.