With the theme “Believe in the Dream,” this year marks the 37th anniversary of Plano ISD’s annual tribute celebrating the vision of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and the diverse Plano ISD community.
“I have a dream that one day I can be a great teacher at a school. I will achieve my dream by learning a lot and reading alot of books that is non-ficttion. I will studey alot of math, reading, sience, and righting. I will try my best to do every single piece of logeck! It is always important! I’ll put my t.v. time to turn on over to homework time. I’ll do my best to take most of the time of mine on learning and at last I’m going to be sure I’ll be a great perfect teacher for every grade and every student and every school.”
Harinee Swaminathan, 3rd Grade, Andrews Elementary School
“Believe in your dream!”
I believe in my dreams, I can choose any dream it seems, I hope an idea comes to my head, Well I get dreams of it in my bed, I will be a computer engineer, My decision is final and clear,
I'll talk to the experts that I know, And I'll start my dream like a flow, I will study technology hard and nice, To make my dream very precise, I will never give up, Until I get a golden cup,
I will make fun apps and games, And I'll be sure to give them all names, I will collect data and plots, So I don't end up in knots, I will program an application software, And with the money I earn, I will share,
This is the dream I want to achieve, And my faith for this will never leave, I will always be determined and nice, Even if I don't get a high price, I will always have hard work on my side, So I will never get denied.
Taylor Nguyen, 5th Grade, Boggess Elementary School
“Martin Luther King Jr. Writing”
Everyone has dreams right? Some people dream big, others dream small.
People like Martin Luther King Jr. dreamed huge! He dreamed that people of color and white people would one day be treated equally and fairly. Some people just want to become popular in school. While MLK helped people of color in so many ways, discrimination has never fully gone away. Think about the marches and riots against police. So many people want to stop police brutality and discrimination against those of color including myself. I dream that one day we won't hear those kinds of stories.
While everyone can dream, the people who work hard are the ones no can achieve their dreams. If you stop at the first obstacle you will never meet your goals. MLK was arrested multiple times, faced discrimination, and many other things but he never gave up. Now look at how much of a difference he has made. There are many ways people like me can achieve their goal of helping those of color. Maybe you could join a peaceful protest or even just spread the word. MLK changed the lives of so many people and so can you no matter who you are.
In the future I hope to be able to help those of color in as many ways as I can. Hopefully one day we truly will all be able to live equally and freely. Even if I can't help as much as MLK did, I hope I will be able to help at least one person and make their day better. In his wise words "If I can't do great things I will do small things in a great way."- Martin Luther King Jr. So go out and work hard whether it be to do well on a test or help those in need. Everyone can achieve their goals, so help those who believe they can't. Show them they can do or be whatever they want. Remember with enough hard work you can change the world for the better.
This year, Priscilla Brown, 2022-23 Plano ISD Diversity Advisory Committee Co-Chair, will have the honor of recognizing the 2023 Diversity Leadership Award nominees and winners in our MLK Diversity Celebration video presentation.
Each year, this prestigious award program works to honor not only the great leader Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., but also the many truly inspiring leaders in our own community. This award is coordinated annually by the Plano ISD Diversity Advisory Committee to recognize community members, staff and students who have shown leadership and commitment in fostering and promoting harmony, respect, acceptance and understanding among the beautifully diverse cultures within our community. Congratulations to the outstanding winners and nominees!
2023 Community Award winner: The Hendrick Scholarship Foundation
2023 Plano ISD Staff Award winner: Plano Area Alliance of Black School Educators
2023 Plano ISD Student Leadership Award winner: Bertha Mkawa
Nominees:
2022 Plano ISD Student/Group nominees — Bertha Mkwawa, Sara Salazar, Clark High School Red Cross Club, She's the First Clark, United Through Discussion
2022 Plano ISD Staff nominees — John Bhadelia, Tami Frank, Yahaira Rodriguez, Adeela Syeda, Plano Area Alliance of Black Educators (PAABSE)
2022 Plano ISD Community Individual/Group nominees — Vandita Parikh, Hendrick Scholarship Foundation
Lesley Range Stanton, Plano ISD - Chief Communications Officer
Suzy Sloan Jones, Art Centre of Plano - Executive Director
Greg Arp, Plano ISD - Speech and Theatre Coordinator
