Padonia International Celebrates Diverse Cultures

While Padonia International Elementary School is well known for its diverse population, some may be surprised to learn the real reason behind the school's unusual name.

More than 20 years ago, the word "International" was included to Padonia Elementary's name because the school offered a magnet program that allowed students to study Japanese and Spanish.

Though the magnet program was discontinued, the school, founded in 1968, kept the name.

"We have a very transient population," said , principal of the school. "About a third of our students are new each year. We couldn't sustain the magnet program."

But at a school where 16 different countries of origin and more than 17 languages are represented, Wolf said is still a fitting name.

"It's a wonderful opportunity to celebrate all ," Wolf said. "Diversity is something we celebrate regularly."

In fact, according to English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) teacher Molly Glassman, 95 of Padonia's approximately 420 students are involved in program, and an additional 100 students speak more than one language at home.

"I love [the diversity]," Glassman said. "It's one of the really exciting things about being [at Padonia]."

Wolf, who has served four years as principal and three years as assistant principal prior to that, considers the multitude of cultures a strong asset for the school community.

"Here at Padonia, we're all so different," she said. "It's a wonderful statement that our kids are so tolerant and accepting of one another."

Glassman, echoing Wolf's sentiments, said the many cultures at Padonia allowed the students to have some unique experiences that those at less diverse schools may not get. She recounted a story where a Chinese student invited her whole grade to her family's restaurant to celebrate the Chinese New Year.

"Yes, Baltimore County could have changed the name, but it really reflects the community," Glassman said. "There are really no preconceived notions about what a specific culture should be like."

Meena Vemuri, whose family immigrated to Maryland from India in 2007, has two daughters at Padonia; one in second grade and the other in pre-kindergarten.

"When we moved, my [second-grader] couldn't speak English so much," Vemuri said. "When she joined Padonia, she got placed in a special English classroom. Now she is speaking just like the other kids."

Vemuri credits the school for helping to ease her daughters' transition to a new country.

"As [my daughters] interact with the other kids they know, [the students] are all understanding that they are more the same than different," Vemuri said.