The Favorites featured in the October 2020 issue of the HomeTown News
Meet the Favorites. The Favorites have been at Visitation since their oldest son was in 1st grade. While searching for schools, the Favorites wanted a small school that was a challenge academically and had strong family participation. It was also very important to their family to find a school that values diversity, equity and inclusion.
“Education is not just about what is on a test or written in a book. Education can happen when you are surrounded by your peers that come from different cultures and backgrounds,” says Lynette, co-creator of Visitation’s new Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Resolution committee (or DEIR).
“One of the best moments at Visitation is the morning announcements. All of the classes meet in the courtyard (pre-covid) listen to announcements, recite a prayer and the pledge of allegiance. Looking across the courtyard you see the diversity in the children and the parents. It’s a beautiful thing.“
This passion for celebrating diversity is what led Lynette, along with several other parents and members of the faculty, to create DEIR. The goal of DEIR is be courageous and intentional in promoting understanding and addressing bias, respecting multiple perspectives and contributions, and valuing the dignity of all.
“The Diversity Equity Inclusion Resolution has a lot of inspiring ideas to get the students excited about celebrating the diversity of our community. My favorite goal is the book initiative. We will provide books to each classroom and library to showcase many cultures, family structures and abilities.”
Visitation is blessed to have dedicated volunteers like Lynette and Derek who help shape the future of our children’s education.
Email us to learn more about DEIR at [email protected].
“Education is not just about what is on a test or written in a book. Education can happen when you are surrounded by your peers that come from different cultures and backgrounds,” says Lynette, co-creator of Visitation’s new Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Resolution committee (or DEIR).
“One of the best moments at Visitation is the morning announcements. All of the classes meet in the courtyard (pre-covid) listen to announcements, recite a prayer and the pledge of allegiance. Looking across the courtyard you see the diversity in the children and the parents. It’s a beautiful thing.“
This passion for celebrating diversity is what led Lynette, along with several other parents and members of the faculty, to create DEIR. The goal of DEIR is be courageous and intentional in promoting understanding and addressing bias, respecting multiple perspectives and contributions, and valuing the dignity of all.
“The Diversity Equity Inclusion Resolution has a lot of inspiring ideas to get the students excited about celebrating the diversity of our community. My favorite goal is the book initiative. We will provide books to each classroom and library to showcase many cultures, family structures and abilities.”
Visitation is blessed to have dedicated volunteers like Lynette and Derek who help shape the future of our children’s education.
Email us to learn more about DEIR at [email protected].
The Armstrong family featured in the Hometown News - December 2019
Visitation Values and Thrives Off of Diversity
Hometown News December 2019
Through our pastor and principal, to the faculty and staff, Visitation values and thrives off of diversity. Diversity of peoples, cultures, religions, ideas and curriculum. We are preparing our students to be citizens of a multicultural world–not just to embrace the differences in each other, but to recognize that these differences make us stronger individually. As we celebrate the gift of diversity this month, we met with the religiously diverse Armstrong family, James, Kelli, JT and Peyton. Here Kelli shares their own experience at Visitation.
“When we first enrolled at Visitation, we knew that our children would be challenged academically. We quickly realized however that we were also joining a supportive and inclusive community. We came to Visitation looking for a structured Junior Kindergarten (JK) program that would continue to challenge our daughter. Our intention was to leave Visitation once she finished JK, however, by February of that year, my daughter's classwork was the same as her brother who was in 1st grade at a different school. Needless to say, we pulled our son out of his old school and now they both happily attend Visitation. It is the best decision we could have made!
Visitation really values diversity, which is important to us. Our family is comprised of various races and religions. I am Catholic and my husband James is Baptist. We allowed the kids to choose their religion since we are a mixed family. They were exposed to the Baptist Church through their grandparents and we all continue to attend the Baptist church together to celebrate Mother and Father's Day and other special events. The kids ultimately chose to be Baptized Catholic and to receive their Sacraments of First Holy Communion while in 2nd and 4th grades because of their experiences with religion at Visitation. They especially love Father Jim!
It is important to James and to myself that our children understand there is no such thing as being different; rather, we all simply have a different starting place. To us, diversity breeds tolerance. The inclusivity we felt from day 1 here at Visitation was remarkable. The children were amazingly warm and friendly, and the parents, faculty and Parish staff were exactly the same. The only thing Visitation judges you on is the completion of your service hours. And to be honest, you actually have fun completing them!”
Hometown News December 2019
Through our pastor and principal, to the faculty and staff, Visitation values and thrives off of diversity. Diversity of peoples, cultures, religions, ideas and curriculum. We are preparing our students to be citizens of a multicultural world–not just to embrace the differences in each other, but to recognize that these differences make us stronger individually. As we celebrate the gift of diversity this month, we met with the religiously diverse Armstrong family, James, Kelli, JT and Peyton. Here Kelli shares their own experience at Visitation.
“When we first enrolled at Visitation, we knew that our children would be challenged academically. We quickly realized however that we were also joining a supportive and inclusive community. We came to Visitation looking for a structured Junior Kindergarten (JK) program that would continue to challenge our daughter. Our intention was to leave Visitation once she finished JK, however, by February of that year, my daughter's classwork was the same as her brother who was in 1st grade at a different school. Needless to say, we pulled our son out of his old school and now they both happily attend Visitation. It is the best decision we could have made!
Visitation really values diversity, which is important to us. Our family is comprised of various races and religions. I am Catholic and my husband James is Baptist. We allowed the kids to choose their religion since we are a mixed family. They were exposed to the Baptist Church through their grandparents and we all continue to attend the Baptist church together to celebrate Mother and Father's Day and other special events. The kids ultimately chose to be Baptized Catholic and to receive their Sacraments of First Holy Communion while in 2nd and 4th grades because of their experiences with religion at Visitation. They especially love Father Jim!
It is important to James and to myself that our children understand there is no such thing as being different; rather, we all simply have a different starting place. To us, diversity breeds tolerance. The inclusivity we felt from day 1 here at Visitation was remarkable. The children were amazingly warm and friendly, and the parents, faculty and Parish staff were exactly the same. The only thing Visitation judges you on is the completion of your service hours. And to be honest, you actually have fun completing them!”
The Aguirre family featured in the Hometown News - November 2019
Visitation Values and Thrives Off of Diversity
Hometown News November 2019
Through our pastor and principal, to the faculty and staff, Visitation values and thrives off of diversity. Diversity of peoples, cultures, religions, ideas and curriculum. We are preparing our students to be citizens of a multicultural world–not just to embrace the differences in each other, but to recognize that these differences make us stronger individually. As we celebrate the gift of diversity no family comes to mind more than the Aguirres. Carlos and Sofia are students at Visitation, and their parents Juan Carlos and Sindy are active members in the PTO. Here Sindy shares their experience at Visitation as binational citizens of both the United States and Mexico:
“We chose Visitation because we genuinely believe that education is one of the strongest pillars of personal development. Giving our children the gift of an excellent education was very important to us. We looked at many options both public and private, but Visitation offered us all that we were looking for:
• A strong foundation of Catholic faith
• An outstanding curriculum for the kids
• Great teachers
• An inviting, welcoming and diverse community
• A friendly and well-organized staff
Being Binational and bicultural is a great experience, but not an easy task. We feel proud of both our countries and love both. We bring Mexican traditions to the US and US traditions to Mexico. By creating this cultural bridge, we enrich our families and our communities. That makes us ambassadors for each culture. Visitation, both the school and the parish, is always open to learning about our traditions and invites us to share our culture with the community with events like Dia de Los Muertos and Dia de la Virgen Guadalupe. And we always feel welcome. No matter if we speak with an accent, people are still interested in learning about our culture. It has been great learning from other cultures as well.
We gratefully experience and share with Filipino, Korean, Croatian, Japanese, and other Latin American Visitation families. We teach our kids to love both our cultures, be inclusive, and to learn from others and respect everyone, no matter where they come from. Being part of a community like the Viz Community that also recognizes and promotes the same values, is priceless.
Going on Sundays to Mass is a pleasure since we always see friendly faces. The sermon of both Father Jim and Father Tim is very current and practical for these times we live. They help us to be better people and parents. I want to take this precious moment to say thank you, Father Jim for the love you always show to us at church.”
Hometown News November 2019
Through our pastor and principal, to the faculty and staff, Visitation values and thrives off of diversity. Diversity of peoples, cultures, religions, ideas and curriculum. We are preparing our students to be citizens of a multicultural world–not just to embrace the differences in each other, but to recognize that these differences make us stronger individually. As we celebrate the gift of diversity no family comes to mind more than the Aguirres. Carlos and Sofia are students at Visitation, and their parents Juan Carlos and Sindy are active members in the PTO. Here Sindy shares their experience at Visitation as binational citizens of both the United States and Mexico:
“We chose Visitation because we genuinely believe that education is one of the strongest pillars of personal development. Giving our children the gift of an excellent education was very important to us. We looked at many options both public and private, but Visitation offered us all that we were looking for:
• A strong foundation of Catholic faith
• An outstanding curriculum for the kids
• Great teachers
• An inviting, welcoming and diverse community
• A friendly and well-organized staff
Being Binational and bicultural is a great experience, but not an easy task. We feel proud of both our countries and love both. We bring Mexican traditions to the US and US traditions to Mexico. By creating this cultural bridge, we enrich our families and our communities. That makes us ambassadors for each culture. Visitation, both the school and the parish, is always open to learning about our traditions and invites us to share our culture with the community with events like Dia de Los Muertos and Dia de la Virgen Guadalupe. And we always feel welcome. No matter if we speak with an accent, people are still interested in learning about our culture. It has been great learning from other cultures as well.
We gratefully experience and share with Filipino, Korean, Croatian, Japanese, and other Latin American Visitation families. We teach our kids to love both our cultures, be inclusive, and to learn from others and respect everyone, no matter where they come from. Being part of a community like the Viz Community that also recognizes and promotes the same values, is priceless.
Going on Sundays to Mass is a pleasure since we always see friendly faces. The sermon of both Father Jim and Father Tim is very current and practical for these times we live. They help us to be better people and parents. I want to take this precious moment to say thank you, Father Jim for the love you always show to us at church.”
The Arichea-Brown Family featured in the Hometown News - October 2019
Visitation Values and Thrives Off of Diversity
Hometown News October 2019
At Back to School Night, our school families greeted each other with warm familiar smiles and hugs, filed into our beautifully renovated Parish Hall, and sat before our Pastor and Principal, ready to learn about the upcoming school year. Our Pastor welcomed all families of all cultures and religions to our Catholic School. He told of an experience he had while studying in Mexico. A life changing experience that led him to realize the importance of accepting each others’ faith for what it is – a beautiful, unique, and powerful thing.
Through our Pastor and Principal, to the faculty and staff, Visitation values and thrives off of diversity. Diversity of peoples, cultures, religions, ideas and curriculum. We are preparing our students to be citizens of a multicultural world – not just to embrace the differences in each other, but to recognize that these differences make us stronger individually.
Over the next few months we will share the experiences of a few different Visitation families. This month, we begin with the Arichea-Brown Family: Stephen (a dedicated member of the PTO as well as being the past Chair of the PTO and a Room Parent), his husband Randy and their children Sofia and Alexander.
“First off, our family is not the traditional family by societal norms. We are a same sex couple who have been blessed with a daughter Sofia and a son Alexander. When we were in the process of selecting a school for our children, many questions came to our mind. Our main priority is the safety of our children and the acceptance they would receive being that they are from a ‘Non-Traditional Family’. We interviewed 14 different schools in the area and sadly to say, some of the other schools would not meet with us. When we interviewed with Chris Watson, the principal at Visitation, we knew from the first minute, we found our home. We were accepted with open arms, caring and understanding. We sent our children to Catholic school because of the quality of the institution and the students who go there. I am also pleased to see that the students embody so much diversity and multiculturalism. Most of all, I appreciate that the educators are united in teaching from a moral compass, which includes a routine of praying and respect for God and the Church. Beyond the exceptional educators and leaders at the school, we have had the opportunity to make friends whom we can call family. While at Visitation the education and the support have far exceeded our expectations in terms of academic and moral performance. These expectations become internalized by the children, enhancing their self-esteem.
Children growing up with awareness of diverse family structures are provided rich opportunities to help them celebrate family diversity and engage in conversation about who is in their family — who lives in their house and more importantly, who takes care of them. Children tend to thrive when they come to understand there are varying family structures and that all families are wonderful, so long as the people in them love and care about each other. This repeated message helps children feel secure, even if their family configuration changes through death, separation, or other life events. So when children ask, ‘Can a family have two daddies?’ our response is: ‘Yes, some families may have two daddies, one mommy, no mommy, or even lots of mommies. And some families may have one daddy, no daddy, or even lots of daddies. Some families also include grandparents, foster parents, aunts, and uncles. Any combination works. It’s love that makes a family—just like in our family.’ And we have found this love and acceptance in the ‘Visitation Family’.
The teachers and staff at Visitation show diversity and inclusion in their everyday class assignments and school projects. As an example, for the Father’s Day gifts we have received two craft projects - one made for Papa and one made for Daddy. This was a great surprise and truly a gift from our kids as well as from Visitation that would probably not have happened at any other school. The teachers also make a diligent effort within class events, such as Mother’s Day, by inviting Sofia and Alexander’s aunt to attend any special events and making sure that gifts are made for their aunt and grandmother. Through field trips, teachers also inspire and educate their students to experience and embrace different cultures such as the trip to Olvera Street. They provide experiences and open our children’s minds to embrace the diversity and cultures that make up the fabric of the Los Angeles community, but also make up our Visitation community.”
Through our Pastor and Principal, to the faculty and staff, Visitation values and thrives off of diversity. Diversity of peoples, cultures, religions, ideas and curriculum. We are preparing our students to be citizens of a multicultural world – not just to embrace the differences in each other, but to recognize that these differences make us stronger individually.
Over the next few months we will share the experiences of a few different Visitation families. This month, we begin with the Arichea-Brown Family: Stephen (a dedicated member of the PTO as well as being the past Chair of the PTO and a Room Parent), his husband Randy and their children Sofia and Alexander.
“First off, our family is not the traditional family by societal norms. We are a same sex couple who have been blessed with a daughter Sofia and a son Alexander. When we were in the process of selecting a school for our children, many questions came to our mind. Our main priority is the safety of our children and the acceptance they would receive being that they are from a ‘Non-Traditional Family’. We interviewed 14 different schools in the area and sadly to say, some of the other schools would not meet with us. When we interviewed with Chris Watson, the principal at Visitation, we knew from the first minute, we found our home. We were accepted with open arms, caring and understanding. We sent our children to Catholic school because of the quality of the institution and the students who go there. I am also pleased to see that the students embody so much diversity and multiculturalism. Most of all, I appreciate that the educators are united in teaching from a moral compass, which includes a routine of praying and respect for God and the Church. Beyond the exceptional educators and leaders at the school, we have had the opportunity to make friends whom we can call family. While at Visitation the education and the support have far exceeded our expectations in terms of academic and moral performance. These expectations become internalized by the children, enhancing their self-esteem.
Children growing up with awareness of diverse family structures are provided rich opportunities to help them celebrate family diversity and engage in conversation about who is in their family — who lives in their house and more importantly, who takes care of them. Children tend to thrive when they come to understand there are varying family structures and that all families are wonderful, so long as the people in them love and care about each other. This repeated message helps children feel secure, even if their family configuration changes through death, separation, or other life events. So when children ask, ‘Can a family have two daddies?’ our response is: ‘Yes, some families may have two daddies, one mommy, no mommy, or even lots of mommies. And some families may have one daddy, no daddy, or even lots of daddies. Some families also include grandparents, foster parents, aunts, and uncles. Any combination works. It’s love that makes a family—just like in our family.’ And we have found this love and acceptance in the ‘Visitation Family’.
The teachers and staff at Visitation show diversity and inclusion in their everyday class assignments and school projects. As an example, for the Father’s Day gifts we have received two craft projects - one made for Papa and one made for Daddy. This was a great surprise and truly a gift from our kids as well as from Visitation that would probably not have happened at any other school. The teachers also make a diligent effort within class events, such as Mother’s Day, by inviting Sofia and Alexander’s aunt to attend any special events and making sure that gifts are made for their aunt and grandmother. Through field trips, teachers also inspire and educate their students to experience and embrace different cultures such as the trip to Olvera Street. They provide experiences and open our children’s minds to embrace the diversity and cultures that make up the fabric of the Los Angeles community, but also make up our Visitation community.”
