Principal Is Honored for His Work on Diversity

With 1,800 students, nearly 90% of whom are Latino or Asian, Santiago High School Principal Don Wise knows that ethnicity is as important an issue on campus as education.

The school’s diversity--students’ native tongues represent 24 languages--inspired Wise to institute an array of cultural awareness programs, including an Ethnic Relations Board that meets monthly.

Among the group’s early successes: a “Declaration of Diversity” that outlines the respect and tolerance with which students and teachers at the school should be treated.

“I look at the kids for what they are,” Wise said. “You can’t judge students by what they look like and what they wear. They all come from different places, but they all have the same needs--they want respect and a place where they can learn and can be safe.”

Such work has earned Wise, 58, the Diversity Award from the Assn. of California School Administrators, the first time the 14,000-member organization has bestowed such a honor. Wise will receive the award, announced Thursday, at the association’s conference April 10 and 11 in Costa Mesa.

Besides attending the awards ceremony, Wise will lead a workshop with two Santiago students explaining the school’s diversity activities.

When Santiago opened in 1963, there was a small percentage of minority students. But during the mid-1980s, the demographics of the student population began to rapidly change due to immigration trends. Now only 9% of the students are white.

Jim Monahan, principal of Westminster’s La Quinta High School, which is also in the Garden Grove Unified High School District, said that he nominated Wise for the award because his colleague worked hard to keep pace with the school’s changes.

“Over a period of time, I saw that he started a lot of really good things,” Monahan said. “He meets the kids at their level and sees that some might be from a ‘Leave It to Beaver’ house, while others are recent immigrants just trying to survive.”

In the spirit of celebrating diversity, Wise and the school have organized annual activities such as International Week, Foreign Language Week and the STAR program, which recognizes student academic achievements. Guest speakers such as NASA astronaut Franklin Chang-Diaz and author Victor Martinez also are routinely invited to the campus.

Wise noted that besides race, diversity also encompasses issues of gender equity, sexual orientation and disabilities.

Cavalier may be the school mascot, but such an attitude is not condoned at Santiago.

Wise said his efforts seem worthwhile when he sees students emulate this belief through their own projects, such as the “Declaration of Diversity,” which concludes: “Don’t hold onto the past. Respect and recognize where you came from is important but not nearly as important as where you are going.”

Also contributing to this report was Times staff writer Tina Nguyen.