One of the most important jobs of an educator is to promote human rights within the school and surrounding community. At Amityville Memorial High School, staff members take their role and its impact on students seriously. This year, one of those teachers is the recipient of the 2009 Human Rights Award for Making a Difference in Education, a prestigious distinction that is granted once yearly by the Suffolk County Human Rights Commission. Special Education teacher Jason McGowan, who was nominated by high school principal Dr. Scott Andrews, was selected because his work with students exemplifies the pursuit to create innovative programs to further the cause of human rights and equality. “Mr. McGowan is to be praised for his dedication to promoting human rights through the development of social and emotional learning via real-life, hands-on activities,” Dr. Andrews stated in nominating Mr. McGowan for the award. “The positive activities implemented by Mr. McGowan have created an environment at Amityville Memorial High School that is open and embraces the diversity that exists within and beyond our walls.”
Mr. McGowan was responsible for bringing Awareness Weekend to the high school, a life-changing experience for students, who spend thirty-two hours together with their peers and staff volunteers during a sleepover that focuses on sharing, acceptance and celebrating diversity. The event features guest speakers from outside organizations, whole group sharing sessions and family-group activities from late Friday afternoon until late Saturday evening. A year after introducing Awareness Weekend, Mr. McGowan added Freshman Awareness Day, a full day program that addresses the needs of ninth- grade students as they acclimate to high school.
Mr. McGowan’s most recent success was the implementation of a Cultural Exchange Program, which allowed Amityville students and their contemporaries from Plainedge High School to come together for a full-day of shared activities at Amityville Memorial High School. The exchange allowed the two distinct groups, who only live a zip code away from each other, to experience diversity firsthand, and not just read about the differences that exist between people in the world today. As a result of the visitation, students from both schools had the opportunity to broaden their views of people who are different than themselves, and parted with a new acceptance of others.
The Suffolk County Human Rights Commission honored Mr. McGowan at an awards dinner, where he was publicly recognized by the Commission for making a difference in the lives of his students. During his acceptance speech, Mr. McGowan credited his students for his success, and thanked them for supporting his efforts to positively affect the climate of Amityville Memorial High School. "Receiving this award is a great honor, and wouldn't be possible without the wonderful students of Amityville who appreciate and believe in my programs,” he stated.
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