Rockwood School District: Dolls Help Rockwood Early Childhood Students Learn About Diversity And Inclusion

Press release from the Rockwood School District:

March 10, 2021

​​Geggie Elementary kindergartener Cooper recently received a gift of a doll that resembles a child with Down syndrome. It was the first time Cooper, who is a person with Down syndrome, had a toy in which he could see himself. Seeing Cooper's positive reaction to the doll gave his mother, Paige Carlson, the idea to start a fundraiser to go toward purchasing diverse, inclusive dolls to benefit all of Rockwood School District's youngest learners."Doll play can have a significant influence on children learning how to socialize, to respect and appreciate individual differences and to be inclusive of all," said Carlson, a 6-12 content facilitator for career and technical education in Rockwood. "Encouraging children to play with dolls that are diverse in skin color, appearance and abilities will help them to develop a social awareness and respect for others, to practice and model inclusive behavior and to celebrate the differences that make each and every child special."Carlson started the fundraiser on her Facebook page, and it spread quickly. The post was shared more than 90 times from her page, and the fundraiser collected more than $4,000. With those funds, Carlson was able to purchase 80 dolls. Some of the dolls, like Cooper's, resemble children with Down syndrome. Carlson also used the funds to purchase items such as hearing aids, eye patches and gastrostomy tubes (g-tubes) to add to the other dolls so that the diversity of Rockwood's youngest learners would be represented."We are all unique in our own ways, and children will learn to acknowledge, respect and admire these differences if their environment teaches them to do so," Carlson said. "In addition to having dolls that help students learn about difference, it is also important for a child to see themselves in their toys, resources and classroom as it sends a powerful message that they are important, they are worthy, and they are most certainly a vital part of the school and community."All 39 of the Early Childhood classrooms in Rockwood will receive at least one of the dolls resembling a child with Down syndrome, and all three of the district's centers – Clarkson Valley, Eureka and Vandover in Fenton – will receive dolls with hearing aids, eye patches and g-tubes. Emily McKnight, a counselor at Eureka High, has already seen the joy exhibited by her daughter, Tess, in her interactions with a doll featuring a hearing aid."She started wearing hearing aids a year ago, and it has been so hard to find books and toys where she can see herself in them," McKnight said. "Representation of all people is so important because these are people in our schools and in our community.  When we start teaching and including diversity at a young age, it shows that we care about other people, and we appreciate and respect the differences between us."Rockwood K-2 English language arts instructional coach Kristen Forth also prepared social stories that the Early Childhood teachers can use to help their students learn about the dolls. The stories are written in kid-friendly language and feature actual Rockwood students."Paige's project is exactly the kind of thing that our district is actively doing to ensure all of our students feel seen and represented," Forth said. "Through play and guided conversations, these dolls provide our youngest learners with opportunities to cultivate understanding of the beautifully diverse world we live in."Kerri Barth, a teacher at the Clarkson Valley center, was involved with the fundraiser from its earliest days and was elated to follow its success. Now, she is looking forward to her students interacting with the dolls in her classroom."I strive to ensure that the materials and resources we use resemble all of our kids to help children recognize, accept and respect individual similarities and differences in one another," Barth said. "It is so important for children to see themselves in their environment, and they now have the opportunity to play pretend scenarios with a doll that they may identify with!"​Last week, Cooper personally introduced dolls to the classrooms of two of his former teachers at the Eureka center: Jill Helgerson and Cindy Proffitt.The students welcome​d the dolls – and Cooper – with open arms."Classrooms, resources and the school environment should resemble all of our students and reflect the differences that exist among them," Carlson said. "These dolls will help bring awareness, encourage equity and build a foundation of acceptance and inclusiveness to classrooms across our district."

​​Geggie Elementary kindergartener Cooper recently received a gift of a doll that resembles a child with Down syndrome. It was the first time Cooper, who is a person with Down syndrome, had a toy in which he could see himself. Seeing Cooper's positive reaction to the doll gave his mother, Paige Carlson, the idea to start a fundraiser to go toward purchasing diverse, inclusive dolls to benefit all of Rockwood School District's youngest learners."Doll play can have a significant influence on children learning how to socialize, to respect and appreciate individual differences and to be inclusive of all," said Carlson, a 6-12 content facilitator for career and technical education in Rockwood. "Encouraging children to play with dolls that are diverse in skin color, appearance and abilities will help them to develop a social awareness and respect for others, to practice and model inclusive behavior and to celebrate the differences that make each and every child special."Carlson started the fundraiser on her Facebook page, and it spread quickly. The post was shared more than 90 times from her page, and the fundraiser collected more than $4,000. With those funds, Carlson was able to purchase 80 dolls. Some of the dolls, like Cooper's, resemble children with Down syndrome. Carlson also used the funds to purchase items such as hearing aids, eye patches and gastrostomy tubes (g-tubes) to add to the other dolls so that the diversity of Rockwood's youngest learners would be represented."We are all unique in our own ways, and children will learn to acknowledge, respect and admire these differences if their environment teaches them to do so," Carlson said. "In addition to having dolls that help students learn about difference, it is also important for a child to see themselves in their toys, resources and classroom as it sends a powerful message that they are important, they are worthy, and they are most certainly a vital part of the school and community."All 39 of the Early Childhood classrooms in Rockwood will receive at least one of the dolls resembling a child with Down syndrome, and all three of the district's centers – Clarkson Valley, Eureka and Vandover in Fenton – will receive dolls with hearing aids, eye patches and g-tubes. Emily McKnight, a counselor at Eureka High, has already seen the joy exhibited by her daughter, Tess, in her interactions with a doll featuring a hearing aid."She started wearing hearing aids a year ago, and it has been so hard to find books and toys where she can see herself in them," McKnight said. "Representation of all people is so important because these are people in our schools and in our community.  When we start teaching and including diversity at a young age, it shows that we care about other people, and we appreciate and respect the differences between us."Rockwood K-2 English language arts instructional coach Kristen Forth also prepared social stories that the Early Childhood teachers can use to help their students learn about the dolls. The stories are written in kid-friendly language and feature actual Rockwood students."Paige's project is exactly the kind of thing that our district is actively doing to ensure all of our students feel seen and represented," Forth said. "Through play and guided conversations, these dolls provide our youngest learners with opportunities to cultivate understanding of the beautifully diverse world we live in."Kerri Barth, a teacher at the Clarkson Valley center, was involved with the fundraiser from its earliest days and was elated to follow its success. Now, she is looking forward to her students interacting with the dolls in her classroom."I strive to ensure that the materials and resources we use resemble all of our kids to help children recognize, accept and respect individual similarities and differences in one another," Barth said. "It is so important for children to see themselves in their environment, and they now have the opportunity to play pretend scenarios with a doll that they may identify with!"​Last week, Cooper personally introduced dolls to the classrooms of two of his former teachers at the Eureka center: Jill Helgerson and Cindy Proffitt.The students welcome​d the dolls – and Cooper – with open arms."Classrooms, resources and the school environment should resemble all of our students and reflect the differences that exist among them," Carlson said. "These dolls will help bring awareness, encourage equity and build a foundation of acceptance and inclusiveness to classrooms across our district."

This press release was produced by the Rockwood School District. The views expressed here are the author’s own.