Human Resource Development Consultants

"This letter is an attempt to convey on paper the commitment and passion of a training team whose vision for students and communities does not waver...Improving race relations and human relations challenges all of us. Hanna, Ewing & Associates has accepted the challenge. They have met the challenge by designing programs and sessions that support positive approaches toward improvement and that offer hope."

—Camille S. Nairn, Education Associate for Character Education and Community Collaboration, South Carolina State Department of Education

Racial and cultural tension in schools is challenging in itself and can also exacerbate possible existing feelings of isolation, alienation, apathy and anger, any of which can lead to violence.  

How then can we help our students develop the kind of character and capacities that will enable them to build increasing levels of unity within their school environments so that learning can take place?

Each year student-faculty teams from as many as 35 South Carolina high schools convene for four days to explore ways in which they can reach across racial and cultural barriers in their schools, nurture a more inclusive student life, and improve student-to-student communications. To date students from over 130 South Carolina high schools have participated in the summer conferences.

The statewide initiative came about, in large part, because of the collaboration of local and state agencies whose representatives formed a steering committee to ensure that the students received the necessary training and on-going support. As a result, hundreds of students have gained knowledge, insights and skills in their efforts to address racial and cultural issues within their schools.  In addition, the Building Cultural Bridges training guide which serves as the basis for this  training, is being utilized in over 40 states.   The Building Cultural Bridges approach has been recognized by the White House as a "Promising Practice".

The following is an excerpt from a letter by Dr. Inez Tenenbaum, South Carolina’s State Superintendent of Education, which was sent to school districts and high school principals in May of 1999 encouraging them to participate in the Summer Building Cultural Bridges Conference:

 “... The goal of the conference is to engage students and faculty directly in building healthy and safe learning environments in schools.  Listening to the recent news coverage from Colorado, I realized how often the themes of this summer’s conference directly address concerns about inclusion and diversity expressed by students and teachers at Columbine.

'Building Cultural Bridges' is a strong and innovative approach to cultivating unity and mutual respect in a school’s student body....”

Order the "Building Cultural Bridges" Training Guide from the National Education Service

Though the statewide effort in South Carolina is still a “work in progress”, we have learned many things and developed a knowledge of best practices that can be tailored or adapted to your individual school, district or as a state-wide project. Hanna, Ewing and associates offers several tools to assist schools with this initiative, including:

We are available to share this innovative process with you.  Simply contact us for assistance.