Celebrating student identities with schoolwide celebration

Students were guided to explore their individual identities and reflect on how their identities influenced their ability to learn and leverage their strengths. To celebrate this work, the school held an Identity Day assembly.

To help encourage students’ individual development and understanding of their personal identities, leadership at Henry O. Tanner Elementary School leveraged student learner profiles to embed moments of reflection of their identity, which led to an Identity Day celebration during a virtual school assembly.

Approach

In preparation for Identity Day, each student at Tanner Elementary School was provided with opportunities for identity exploration and reflection on how their personal identity has influenced their ability to learn and help them to leverage their strengths during the pandemic. Upon completion of their reflections, students were invited to participate in a schoolwide assembly focused on celebrating student and staff identities as well as important figures from Black history, as the assembly was also dedicated to Black History Month. The assembly included a read aloud, celebrations of Black social justice activists and celebrities, and identity stories from students.

This strategy is a part of TLA’s Hop, Skip, Leapfrog release, which explores the concrete ways in which schools and systems pursued student-centered innovation during COVID-19. Explore the full guide to find additional strategies, insights, and resources.