The PUSD Student Holiday Calendar, featured on the main page of the “Calendar” tab of the district website, includes holidays and days off for all students within the district. Holidays such as Veteran’s Day, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day, and Thanksgiving Day are listed, along with their respective dates. However, this calendar doesn’t cover cultural observances in which school is still held.
While not often publicized, a calendar with these dates is also accessible to all PUSD community members under the “Cultural Calendar” tab on the website. The Learning Support Services department first created this Multicultural Calendar in 2014 to support the district’s diverse nationalities, religions, and cultures, recognizing holidays and other important dates. According to PUSD’s Director of Categorical Programs Mercedes Hubschmitt, the goal of the calendar is “to address and support the diversity of students, staff, and families” throughout the district.
After reviewing the calendar and its accompanying purpose, The Nexus supports the creation of the Multicultural Calendar and encourages an increase in its use as the year continues.
The PUSD Cultural Observances Calendar for the 2023-2024 school year features 135 events, their dates, and the associated religion or culture. This calendar includes cultural holidays, heritage and identity recognition months, well-known holidays like Easter, and rarely discussed religious holy days too. Some of the events have embedded links to reliable sources from which viewers can learn basic information about the cultural observance.
The calendar also includes qualifications for what is included, since they couldn’t possibly address every religion and every culture. The important events placed on the calendar are a) days in which a student may be absent from school, b) days in which a student may be disengaged from learning, c) days in which students may not be able to participate in holiday-themed activities, and d) days in which teachers can create a themed lesson to recognize the cultural significance of the day.
The district has clearly made a concerted effort to embrace the many diverse cultural observances of the student populations through the creation of this calendar. The Nexus appreciates what has already been done with the Multicultural Calendar, and we also urge PUSD to further publicize this imperative information so that administrators, teachers, and students alike recognize the importance of all cultural and religious observances.
With this calendar, teachers will be less likely to schedule important school events on days in which many students may be absent for a cultural observance or otherwise unable to participate. And, equally important, this calendar can inform ASB, teachers, and administrators of ways to celebrate their students’ unique multiculturalism through on-campus celebrations so that more students feel their identities are recognized.
PUSD prides itself on being a welcoming and diverse community, willing to adapt to meet the individual needs of its students. The Nexus views the Multicultural Calendar as a clear demonstration of these values of PUSD that would only be furthered by more awareness of the calendar’s existence for all district community members.
