Carl Wilde Has the Whole World in Its School

Even in a school district as large and diverse as Indianapolis Public Schools, the diversity represented by Carl Wilde School 79 families and staff this year is impressive. The school has faculty from:

· Colombia
· Dominican Republic
· England
· Haiti
· Puerto Rico
· Russia
· U.S.

Countries represented by Carl Wilde families are:

· Bhutan
· Burma/Myanmar
· Congo
· Côte d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast)
· Egypt
· El Salvador
· Eritrea
· Ethiopia
· Guatemala
· Honduras
· Iraq
· Mali
· Mexico
· Nepal
· Nicaragua
· Palestinian Territory
· Puerto Rico
· Rwanda
· Somalia
· Sudan
· Thailand
· United States

Languages spoken by families and faculty include:

· Arabic
· Bambara
· English
· French Creole
· Karen
· Kinyarwanda
· Nepali
· Russian
· Somali
· Spanish
· Swahili
· Tigrinya

The school has flags representing students’ countries hanging up in the gym, and they plan to create a wall display where newcomers write about themselves and the school puts their photo by the country they come from. The school also sends out a monthly ESL Toolbox newsletter to teachers with strategies for working with ESL students and facts about students’ countries and cultures.
 

What a great experience for the students, families and staff of Carl Wilde, who can all get an education in world cultures just by walking down the halls and talking to each other!