Cultural Understandings - Cultural Appreciation

It’s what we do here at Northglenn. We ask hard questions. We challenge the status quo and work for change when things are wrong.

That’s exactly what Ms. Durrum’s Spanish classes did during their culminating PBL. Yes, learning vocabulary and conjugation are important in a world language course, but so are culture, the resilience of a people, and a sense of belonging. These students applied their knowledge to current systems and pushed back in meaningful ways. Check out this amazing article about their findings in Colorado Public Radio (CPR), where students challenge the current status quo of having a large number of teachers in the building—and in education as a whole, who don’t necessarily reflect their own cultural understandings and lived experiences.

Along those same lines, we would like to extend our congratulations to everyone who helped plan our cultural dance. Several members of the staff, along with members of the Culture Club and the Cultural Ambassadors in Student Council, as well as the boys soccer team, sponsored an incredible opportunity to teach both staff and students about the experiences of the Hispanic community at our school. Northglenn has a large number of students who proudly represent their culture every day. These students took it one step further by incorporating music and food into a celebration on the last day of class in January, and it did not disappoint.

Alongside the band Conjunto Desatado, whose lead singer is a senior at Northglenn, hundreds of staff and students gathered in the gym for an unforgettable concert, dance, and all-around amazing experience. We are incredibly impressed by the effort these students put into creating one of the most unique events ever produced at the Glenn.

A huge shout-out to everyone who attended and helped reinforce the message that everyone is welcome, everyone is valued, and everyone can find joy in the music, dance, and food of others. A special thanks to Coach Medina and Ms. Cynthia Rodriguez, who worked alongside these students to curate this powerful example of what it truly means to be a Norseman.