Staff member (name and title not specified) said Hopewell Elementary has at least 14 identifiable languages other than English spoken by students and described efforts to expand a student-led “culture connection” program at school assemblies.

"We were discussing how to expand our quarterly culture connection pieces that I do at assemblies, and we really wanted it to be student led," the staff member said. The program, the staff member added, is intended to be schoolwide and to move from a narrow focus on Hopewell-specific culture to a broader view of global cultural traditions.

The staff member described Hopewell Connect as a museum-style display in which students and families bring artifacts and explanatory notes and place them on tables and panels for others to view. The staff member said turnout and the number of artifacts and three-panel projects were "super pleased. Really pleased." The staff member framed the activity as a way to "empower the children of our whole school to share their culture."

A student (name not specified) who participated said they were proud to show Russian to peers and learn about other countries. "I'm really proud that I showed everyone in the school of Russian. I was proud to show my culture to everybody else," the student said. Another student said sharing artifacts helped classmates learn new things about Ethiopia and other places: "What I like best of sharing my culture was people were able to learn new things about Ethiopia...and to learn that everyone use different stuff for their culture."

The staff member said the program links schoolwide expectations — "have respect, act responsibly, work together, keep our schools safe" — with cultural learning, saying the displays can show how students are "more alike than we are different." The staff member emphasized the intention that any student who felt impassioned to share their culture would have an opportunity to do so.

Discussion in the transcript described the program as a quarterly assembly component and a student-led exhibit; no formal district action, funding decisions, or board votes on the program were recorded in the provided transcript excerpts. The remarks occurred in a presentation or comment segment and described existing practice and plans to expand the program rather than final policy changes.

Officials did not provide a detailed funding breakdown, a specific expansion timeline, nor named district approvals in the provided remarks. The staff member characterized turnout and participation as positive and emphasized student empowerment as a primary goal.