Above image: Meghan Hinsch, class of 2010

What if the world worked like PVPHS? Written by Sharon Cutcliffe      Peninsula High School Student Activities Office Assistant      Parent of Peninsula High and PV High Graduates For the entire letter, please click here. There are numerous examples that our school is a microcosm of a world run well. As in the greater world, Peninsula has a diverse population. Our diversity is an unspoken strength. I say unspoken, because Peninsula students interact daily - studying, playing, and competing together while ignoring cultural and racial backgrounds and recognizing each other’s individual contributions.

The adult world may be surprised that the students at Peninsula predominately define themselves by their personal strengths and characteristics. This was particularly evident following the Columbine tragedy. A Time Magazine reporter called our school and wanted to do a phone interview with one of our students. The press at that time was building a case that US high schools are petri dishes for breeding intolerance and this intolerance marginalizes students and increases the possibility of campus violence.

The morning the reporter called for the interview I handed the phone to a female student who had just walked into the activities office. I could tell from her responses that the reporter was not getting the story he wanted and Peninsula would not be featured in the next issue of Time. The student shared that her campus did have a wide variety of cultural and special interest groups. She said, yes, she and her friends felt comfortable interacting with all of these students and in fact could join any of the groups if they wished. The reporter that morning did not get the desired Columbine follow-up piece. If he had asked the right questions, however, he would have gotten the Peninsula High School story. He had no idea the student he was interviewing, who felt so very comfortable with her school, was a minority black student who was a cheerleader and senior class president.

For the entire letter, please click here.