LETTERS: Reader thanks school system for recognition of Jewish, Muslim, Hindu holidays

Dear Editor,

Kindness beautifies everything it touches. It’s something we’ve been missing in our communities for a long time. How did we go from taking care of each other to degrading each other? Where our elderly are being harmed in the streets because of their background? Where we are so self-centered that wearing a mask to protect those who are vulnerable is more of a violation than saving my neighbor who might be immunocompromised?  I believe it goes back to the fact that we really do not know each other.

In 2019, Henrico County became the first county in Virginia to recognize Eid-ul-Fitr, Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur and Diwali officially for the 2020-2021 school calendar.  While this seemingly may have come out of nowhere, I know this was a joint collaborative effort starting with HCPS leading by example and hiring its first Chief Equity, Diversity and Opportunity Officer, Dr. Monica Manns. Dr. Manns started her role with listening sessions throughout the county, which is where I, like many other parents, had the opportunity to meet her.  We connected and kept in touch frequently on multiple issues. She was engaged, responsive and timely in her feedback. So, when HCPS decided to discuss the school calendar and asked for feedback from parents, I responded to the call.  The meeting, however, was a mere handful of people.

A few years before, I had a good conversation with Dr. Beth Teigen, who at the time was the assistant superintendent for instruction of Henrico County.  They both were committed to ensuring students from all backgrounds felt seen and heard.  The Jewish friends in the meeting provided the county with a three-year calendar of all the holidays, along with dietary information, which I thought was a wonderful way to help the school system understand the needs of the students.

At the meeting, I – a Muslim American – noticed there was no one from the Hindu community represented and made sure that Dr. Manns had a contact directly to the Hindu Center of Virginia in order to make sure there was someone who could represent their needs, as parts of the West End had a diverse Indian community that included a large Hindu religious tradition, as well as Muslim and Christian traditions.

I worked with another Henrico Muslim mother in the community to come up with a similar three-year calendar, along with dietary guidelines that would be helpful for the school system, and shared it with Dr. Manns. I must point out how collaborative this was, the fact that we had multiple faiths working together to help support HCPS. While this wasn’t inclusive of every single holiday, HCPS made every effort to be as inclusive as possible according to the needs of the increasing demographic changes in the county.

Flash forward to Ramadan 2019, when a few friends of mine came to me and said, “Suja, my children came home and wanted to make Eid cards for their classmates who celebrate Eid!” While they were so happy to share that their children heard about religious traditions at school, I of course, had tears in my eyes. It was heartwarming to think about how that must have made the Muslim children in that class feel. It was just a simple gesture of kindness, but I cannot tell you how meaningful it must have been, for the children to receive, probably their first Eid card from their friends. I'm sure if it happened to these children, those who celebrated Rosh Hashana and Diwali also must have received similar kind gestures.

Building on that resilience and ensuring that all students should feel seen, known, supported, and safe are keys to charting a successful educational spaces.

In the aftermath of a worldwide pandemic, where we have seen inequalities and vulnerabilities worsening, recognizing the humanity of those around us and making an effort to care about how they are doing tends to get lost somehow. Kindness is one of the best aspects of an individual or of any action. I hope that kindness, especially in our schools, becomes contagious instead.  I hope that we can learn from these types of actions, not the divisiveness. True leaders lead with love and kindness. This is what I look for in any leader and those whom I choose to support.

Thank you Dr. Manns, Dr. Teigen and Henrico County for leading with kindness.

Sincerely,
Suja S. Amir, Henrico