Our

Mis

sion

The m

ission

of th

e Willi

amsv

ille C

entra

l Sch

ool D

istric

t, a

comm

unity

char

acter

ized b

y dive

rsity,

high

expe

ctatio

ns an

d su

ppor

t for le

arnin

g, is

to em

powe

r all s

tuden

ts

•

to

deve

lop th

eir un

ique p

otenti

als an

d cha

racte

r,

•

to

assu

me re

spon

sibilit

ies of

citiz

ensh

ip an

d lea

dersh

ip, an

d

•

to

thrive

in a

chall

engin

g and

rapid

ly ch

angin

g glob

al co

mmun

ity

throu

gh th

e com

mitm

ent o

f our

quali

ty sta

ff, in

partn

ersh

ip wi

th pa

rents

and c

ommu

nity,

utiliz

ing vi

siona

ry pr

ogra

ms in

a nu

rturin

g env

ironm

ent o

f mutu

al re

spec

t and

dign

ity.

Bac

kgro

und

In 19

86, a

task

force

on cu

ltura

l dive

rsity

was f

orme

d in t

he

Willi

amsv

ille C

entra

l Sch

ool D

istric

t to st

udy t

he de

gree

to w

hich

stude

nts w

ere l

earn

ing ab

out d

iffere

nt re

ligiou

s and

cultu

ral

grou

ps. T

he ta

sk fo

rce re

comm

ende

d tha

t the P

ACER

(Plan

ning

Adva

ncem

ent o

f Cur

riculu

m an

d Edu

catio

nal R

esea

rch)

Comm

ittee b

e ins

trume

ntal in

initia

ting m

ulticu

ltura

l pro

gram

s, su

ch as

: staf

f dev

elopm

ent fo

r tea

cher

s, a m

ulticu

ltura

l reso

urce

bo

oklet

, and

a kin

derg

arten

thro

ugh g

rade

twelv

e Infu

sion o

f Mu

lticult

ural

Curri

culum

.

As a

natur

al ou

tgrow

th of

these

activ

ities,

and r

ecog

nizing

an

incre

asing

ly div

erse

popu

lation

, on N

ovem

ber 5

, 199

1 the

W

illiam

sville

Boa

rd of

Edu

catio

n auth

orize

d a C

ommi

ttee o

n Re

ligion

to st

udy t

he di

strict

’s ph

iloso

phy a

nd pr

actic

e on

multic

ultur

al an

d reli

gious

issu

es.

T

he 22

-mem

ber C

ommi

ttee o

n Cult

ural

Dive

rsity

and

Relig

ion, w

ith B

oard

of E

duca

tion,

scho

ol, an

d com

munit

y re

pres

entat

ion, m

ade c

onten

t rec

omme

ndati

ons t

o the

Boa

rd

of Ed

ucati

on in

June

1992

. A su

bcom

mitte

e the

n dev

elope

d the

re

comm

enda

tions

into

a poli

cy fo

rmat.

The B

oard

of E

duca

tion r

eview

ed th

e dra

ft at p

ublic

me

eting

s, re

ceive

d inp

ut an

d mad

e rev

ision

s. Th

ey ad

opted

the

polic

y on M

arch

9, 19

93. T

his w

as fo

llowe

d by t

he de

velop

ment

of re

gulat

ions b

y dist

rict a

dmini

strato

rs. T

he po

licy s

ets th

e br

oad p

aram

eters

of an

issu

e whil

e the

regu

lation

s are

spec

ifi c

admi

nistra

tive g

uideli

nes f

or im

pleme

nting

the p

olicy

.

The

four

main

area

s add

ress

ed in

the p

olicy

inclu

de:

scho

ol ac

tivitie

s rela

ted to

relig

ious h

olida

ys or

them

es, u

se of

re

ligiou

s sym

bols,

mus

ic in

the sc

hools

, and

the d

istric

t cale

ndar.

Ins

tructi

on an

d acti

vities

in ea

ch of

thes

e are

as ar

e guid

ed by

fou

r bas

ic qu

estio

ns:

•

Is i

t Con

stitut

ionall

y per

miss

ible?

• I

s it e

duca

tiona

lly so

und?

• I

s it c

ultur

ally s

ensit

ive? a

nd

•

Is i

t age

appr

opria

te?

T

he pu

rpos

e of th

e Poli

cy on

Cult

ural

Dive

rsity

and R

eligio

n in

the sc

hool

distric

t is to

foste

r the

deve

lopme

nt of

know

ledge

, un

derst

andin

g, an

d res

pect

for th

e var

ious c

ultur

al an

d reli

gious

gr

oups

in an

d outs

ide of

our c

ommu

nity.

Sept

. 201

6

Civil

Righ

ts Po

licy -

The W

illiam

sville

Cent

ral S

choo

l Dist

rict,

its o

ffi ce

rs a

nd e

mpl

oyee

s sh

all n

ot d

iscrim

inat

e ag

ainst

an

y st

uden

t, em

ploy

ee o

r app

lican

t on

the

basis

of r

ace,

colo

r, cr

eed,

relig

ion,

nat

iona

l orig

in, p

oliti

cal a

ffi lia

tion,

ge

nder

, sex

ual o

rient

atio

n, a

ge, m

arita

l sta

tus,

vete

ran

stat

us, o

r disa

bilit

y. It

is th

e pol

icy o

f the

Boa

rd o

f Edu

ca-

tion

to co

mpl

y with

the r

egul

atio

ns lis

ted

in T

itle I

X of

the

1972

Edu

catio

nal R

equi

rem

ents

and

Sec

tion

504

of th

e Re

habi

litat

ion A

ct of

1973

. Any

mem

ber o

f the W

illiam

sville

Ce

ntra

l Sch

ool D

istric

t sta

ff or

any

Willi

amsv

ille C

entra

l Sc

hool

Dist

rict p

upil o

r par

ent b

eliev

ing h

imse

lf or h

erse

lf ag

griev

ed b

ecau

se o

f disc

rimin

atio

n ba

sed

on ra

ce, c

olor

, cr

eed,

relig

ion,

nat

iona

l orig

in, p

oliti

cal a

ffi lia

tion,

gen

der,

sexu

al or

ienta

tion,

age

, mar

ital s

tatu

s, ve

tera

n st

atus

, or

disa

bilit

y sho

uld a

ddre

ss qu

estio

ns an

d com

plain

ts to

the

Dist

rict C

ompl

iance

Offi

cer a

nd A

ssist

ant S

uper

inte

nden

t fo

r Hum

an R

esou

rces

, Dr. K

im A.

Kirs

ch, 1

05 C

asey

Rd.

, P.O

. Bo

x 500

0, Ea

st A

mhe

rst,

NY 14

051;

626-

8051

.

A br

ief re

view

of the

W

illiam

sville

Cen

tral S

choo

l Dist

rict

Polic

y on

Cultu

ral D

ivers

ity

and

Relig

ion

REL

IGIO

N

“”

We h

ope to

creat

e an e

nviron

ment

We h

ope to

creat

e an e

nviron

ment

where

stude

nts of

vario

us cul

tural

and

where

stude

nts of

vario

us cul

tural

and

religi

ous ba

ckgrou

nds f

eel co

mfort

able

religi

ous ba

ckgrou

nds f

eel co

mfort

able

and a

ccepte

d in o

ur sch

ools.

and a

ccepte

d in o

ur sch

ools.

Q. C

an o

ur t

each

ers

disp

lay

relig

ious

art

ifact

s in

C

an o

ur t

each

ers

disp

lay

relig

ious

art

ifact

s in

scho

ol?

sc

hool

?

A. Y

es, te

ache

rs ar

e enc

oura

ged,

while

teac

hing a

bout

a r

eligio

n, to

displa

y artif

acts

that h

elp ex

plain

or

cla

rify re

ligiou

s con

cepts

and t

radit

ions t

hat a

re

inc

luded

as pa

rt of

a cur

riculu

m un

it. T

he us

e of

the

se ar

tifacts

or di

splay

s sho

uld pr

ovide

an en

viron

me

nt wh

erein

stud

ents

of all

faith

s and

back

grou

nds

ca

n par

ticipa

te wi

thout

betra

ying t

heir o

wn be

liefs.

Q. H

ow d

o w

e de

term

ine

wha

t ho

liday

s ar

e

H

ow d

o w

e de

term

ine

wha

t ho

liday

s ar

e

reco

gniz

ed b

y ha

ving

tim

e of

f fro

m s

choo

l?

reco

gniz

ed b

y ha

ving

tim

e of

f fro

m s

choo

l?

A. T

he B

oard

of E

duca

tion a

nnua

lly ap

prov

es th

e sch

ool

ca

lenda

r. Con

sider

ation

of th

e reli

gious

and c

ultur

al

demo

grap

hics i

n our

comm

unity

help

to de

termi

ne

wh

ich da

ys ou

r sch

ools

will b

e in s

essio

n.

Q. W

hat

is p

rohi

bite

d in

the

pol

icy?

Why

?W

hat

is p

rohi

bite

d in

the

pol

icy?

Why

?

A. T

he di

strict

proh

ibits

the pr

omoti

on of

the s

tudy o

f

one r

eligio

n ove

r ano

ther.

It also

proh

ibits

pros

elytiz

a

tion.

The

se pr

ohibi

tions

are t

he re

sult o

f cou

rt de

cision

s

statin

g tha

t we c

an te

ach a

bout

relig

ion bu

t may

not

sp

onso

r reli

gious

prac

tices

. The

y also

state

that

we ca

n

reco

gnize

relig

ious h

olida

ys if

the pu

rpos

e is t

o pro

vide

se

cular

instr

uctio

n abo

ut re

ligiou

s tra

dition

s rath

er

tha

n pro

mote

a par

ticula

r reli

gion.

(

)

If you

have

any a

dditio

nal q

uesti

ons r

egar

ding o

ur

Cultu

ral D

iversi

ty an

d Reli

gion P

olicy

, plea

se co

ntact

Rita

Wolf

f, Dire

ctor o

f Com

munic

ation

, at 6

26-8

008

or K

aren

Gre

co, In

struc

tiona

l Spe

cialis

t, at 6

26-8

033.

Q.

Wha

t is t

he P

olic

y on

Cul

tura

l Div

ersi

ty a

nd

Wha

t is t

he P

olic

y on

Cul

tura

l Div

ersi

ty a

nd

R

elig

ion?

R

elig

ion?

A.

The P

olicy

on C

ultur

al Di

versi

ty an

d Reli

gion i

s a

wr

itten d

escri

ption

of th

e bro

ad pa

rame

ters w

ithin

wh

ich th

e Willi

amsv

ille C

entra

l Sch

ool D

istric

t will

ap

proa

ch to

pics i

nvolv

ing te

achin

g abo

ut re

ligion

and c

ultur

es in

our p

ublic

scho

ols. W

e hop

e to c

reate

an en

viron

ment

wher

e stud

ents

of va

rious

cultu

ral a

nd

re

ligiou

s bac

kgro

unds

feel

comf

ortab

le an

d acc

epted

in ou

r sch

ools.

Q. C

an o

ur t

each

ers

talk

abo

ut r

elig

ion?

Can

our

tea

cher

s ta

lk a

bout

rel

igio

n?

A.

Not o

nly do

our t

each

ers h

ave a

right

to tal

k abo

ut

relig

ion, b

ut the

y hav

e an o

bliga

tion t

o tea

ch ab

out

dif

feren

t reli

gious

and c

ultur

al gr

oups

with

in the

frame

work

of the

New

York

State

and W

illiam

sville

Centr

al Sc

hool

Distr

ict cu

rricu

lum. S

tuden

ts ar

e

prov

ided w

ith op

portu

nities

to le

arn a

bout

cultu

ral

an

d reli

gious

trad

itions

in ou

r com

munit

y and

the

wo

rld.

Inf

orma

tion a

bout

relig

ious a

nd cu

ltura

l holi

days

and

tra

dition

s foc

using

on ho

w an

d whe

n the

y are

celeb

rated

, their

origi

ns an

d hist

ories

, are

infus

ed in

our p

rese

nt cu

rricu

lar ar

eas.

Reli

gious

mus

ic an

d

art a

re us

ed to

teac

h con

cepts

, to co

nvey

histo

rical

an

d cult

ural

conte

nt, an

d to c

reate

aesth

etic e

xper

i

ence

s in a

settin

g whic

h emp

hasiz

es ar

tistic

expr

essio

n

and e

duca

tiona

l valu

e.

Q.. W

ill m

y ch

ild b

e le

arni

ng a

bout

rel

igio

n?W

ill m

y ch

ild b

e le

arni

ng a

bout

rel

igio

n?

A.

Yes,

there

is a

kinde

rgar

ten th

roug

h gra

de tw

elve

cu

rricu

lum th

at inf

uses

the s

tudy o

f reli

gion a

nd

cu

lture

s in s

ocial

stud

ies. W

hen a

ppro

priat

e, re

ligiou

s

topics

may

arise

in ot

her a

reas

such

as ar

t and

mus

ic.

Cultu

ral D

iversi

ty an

d Reli

gion

Q. H

ow h

as t

he p

olic

y af

fect

ed

H

ow h

as t

he p

olic

y af

fect

ed

mus

ical

per

form

ance

s?

mus

ical

per

form

ance

s?

A.

Music

al pr

ogra

ms pr

epar

ed fo

r or p

rese

nted b

y stud

ent

gr

oups

as an

outco

me of

the i

nstru

ction

al pr

ogra

m

may i

nclud

e reli

gious

mus

ic. H

owev

er, a

relig

ious

the

me or

relig

ious h

olida

y cele

brati

on sh

ould

not b

e

the fo

cus o

f the p

rogr

am.

Q. I

n w

hat

othe

r w

ays

can

stud

ents

exp

ress

In w

hat

othe

r w

ays

can

stud

ents

exp

ress

th

eir

relig

ious

fait

h w

ithi

n pu

blic

sch

ools

?

thei

r re

ligio

us fa

ith

wit

hin

publ

ic s

choo

ls?

A.

Indiv

idual

stude

nt ini

tiated

expr

essio

ns in

resp

onse

to

an

y give

n pro

ject m

ay ta

ke th

e for

m of

relig

ious w

riting

,

music

al co

mpos

itions

, or a

rtwor

k. T

hese

crea

tions

will

be

guide

d, ev

aluate

d, an

d disp

layed

by th

e tea

cher

in the

same

man

ner a

s any

othe

r stud

ent p

rodu

ct.

Th

e wea

ring o

f reli

gious

symb

ols by

a stu

dent

is als

o

a pro

tected

expr

essio

n of fa

ith.

Q. W

hat

abou

t pr

ayer

in t

he s

choo

ls?

Wha

t ab

out

pray

er in

the

sch

ools

?

A. S

tuden

ts ha

ve a

right

to pr

ay in

dividu

ally o

r in gr

oups

as lo

ng as

they

are n

ot dis

rupti

ve to

the s

choo

l day

.

Howe

ver, t

he rig

ht to

enga

ge in

volun

tary p

raye

r doe

s

not in

clude

, for e

xamp

le, th

e righ

t to ha

ve a

capti

ve

au

dienc

e list

en or

to co

mpel

other

stud

ents

to

partic

ipate.