What began in January as a small idea to build cultural awareness blossomed over four powerful months into a heartfelt mission of discovery, empathy, and action at McManus Middle School
In their final meeting before submitting their “𝐍𝐨 𝐇𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐆𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐞𝐧 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐞” 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐡 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 (𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟒-𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟓) 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐣𝐞𝐜𝐭 on April 30, the sixth-grade special education students — a vibrant class where four to five different languages are spoken daily — reflected on their extraordinary journey.
𝐆𝐮𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐀𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐚 𝐑𝐢𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐚 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐒𝐮𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐃𝐫. 𝐀𝐭𝐢𝐲𝐚 𝐘. 𝐏𝐞𝐫𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐬, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐮𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐋𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐧, 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐜𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐫𝐨𝐨𝐦 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐚 𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐫𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐰𝐜𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬, 𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐝𝐚𝐲𝐬, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐠𝐥𝐨𝐛𝐚𝐥 𝐜𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐦𝐬.
Their project, developed under the theme 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦𝐞 "𝐂𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐛𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐃𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐞 𝐂𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐬," will culminate in a multimedia slideshow submitted to the New Jersey Division on Civil Rights, highlighting personal stories, cultural research, and the community impact they made by weaving Linden’s diversity into a living tapestry of understanding.
𝐀 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐣𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐑𝐨𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐈𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐔𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠
The “No Hate in the Garden State” journey began with a simple but powerful question: Who am I?
Through personal "I Am" poems and identity reflection activities, students celebrated what made them unique — setting the foundation for deeper conversations around culture, bias, and empathy.
“We start by discovering ourselves,” Ribeca explained. “Then we learn about others — and realize how much we have in common.”
As students explored their own backgrounds, they soon discovered they were part of something even larger: one of the most ethnically diverse cities in the Garden State. Linden Public Schools' nearly 7,000 students represent families from over 30 countries and speak more than 39 languages. What began as individual reflections blossomed into a class-wide celebration of global connections right at their fingertips.
𝐀 𝐉𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐚 𝐓𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬
The students’ research journey involved interviewing over 40 individuals — a powerful range that included teachers, students, staff members, senior citizens, district administrators, and even city leaders like Mayor Derek Armstead.
Each conversation shared a unique cultural story, from Haiti to Jamaica, Colombia to China, bringing to life the beautiful diversity that exists throughout Linden.
“We traveled the world without leaving our district,” one student proudly said, recalling interviews with Haitian educator Miss Doxy, Jamaican cultural ambassador Miss Treasure, and many others.
The students also visited key community landmarks, including the John T. Gregorio Senior Center, where they listened to the personal histories of the elderly, and the district’s Welcome Center, where they learned firsthand how Linden welcomes and supports immigrant families.
At every stop, the theme remained consistent: respect, empathy, belonging, and the celebration of cultural identity.
“𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐝𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠. 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐚 𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐛𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐠. 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐯𝐞𝐬,” 𝐃𝐫. 𝐏𝐞𝐫𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐬 𝐭𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐮𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬. “𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐯𝐨𝐢𝐜𝐞𝐬, 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐬 — 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐮𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐬𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐥𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐜𝐢𝐭𝐲.”
𝐋𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐣𝐞𝐜𝐭
Through hundreds of pages of notes, the students unearthed a powerful truth: Despite our differences, we all desire respect, understanding, and appreciation.
Students did not shy away from challenging conversations either. They tackled complex issues like the stereotypes faced by Muslim Americans, the xenophobia triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic, and the common misconceptions about Latino identity.
As one student reflected, "We realized that one bad thing someone does doesn’t mean everyone from that group should be judged."
Their learning expanded through hands-on experiences, such as Diversity Day celebrations, cultural workshops, and special art projects tied to global holidays like Diwali. Even during spring break, students stayed committed to their mission, joining Zoom workshops on civil rights careers, bystander intervention, and fighting bias across New Jersey.
𝐋𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐣𝐞𝐜𝐭
Their final multimedia project — a vivid slideshow filled with interviews, reflections, and photographs — will be a testament to everything they learned. But for these students, this work is only the beginning.
“The richness of your research will allow us to teach others,” Dr. Perkins said. “This is bigger than just this project — it’s a movement.”
Plans are already underway to showcase the students' work across the Linden School District, helping to inspire nearly 7,000 students and their families to embrace the spirit of inclusion.
Throughout their journey, the students wore matching shirts emblazoned with the phrase “10 Minds, One Purpose” — a powerful symbol of unity, commitment, and hope.
As the final class picture was snapped, capturing their proud smiles and colorful shirts, Ribeca looked around at her students — a world of compassion, discovery, and determination all wrapped into one unforgettable group.
“This doesn't end on April 30,” Ribeca said. “This is just the beginning.”