Latest news with #LotusSchool
CBS News
19-05-2025
- General
- CBS News
Lotus School in Colorado embraces "No Place for Hate" initiative
Earlier this year, Lotus School for Excellence in Aurora was in the headlines after a basketball game between them and Denver Academy of Torah got heated. But school leadership says that's not reflective of their values at all. Lotus School for Excellence CBS Second-year elementary school principal Andre Underwood thinks that learning begins before students step into the classroom. "I was a teacher for about 15 years, and that was the biggest thing that I got out of that was building relationships with students first," said Underwood. He sees his job as an educator as making sure that all his students feel comfortable coming to school first. That's why he has implemented social emotional learning lessons every week in all classrooms. "So, the students learn about empathy, they learn about bullying," said Underwood. "To be able to deal with conflicts with people." And he has embraced the "No Place for Hate" initiative. A self-directed ADL program to help all members of the school community combat bias and bullying. CBS "I see students from every single background, from being born here in America, from students coming from Ethiopia and from Sudan, and teaching them about their cultures. And so, I just feel that the students embracing those cultures and learning about the cultures sends them a sign of respect for each other," said Underwood. Lotus School for Excellence is a charter school, which means no student pays tuition, and it serves the Aurora community. And if you know anything about Aurora, it's a very diverse city, so welcoming everyone is one of their core values that enables them to better serve the community. The "No Place for Hate" initiative started at the beginning of the 2024-2025 school year, and soon they will submit their progress to the ADL in hopes of gaining official "No Place for Hate" status. Principal Underwood says it may seem like a small or insignificant thing to some, but he has seen his efforts make a huge difference for his students. In their everyday lives and in the classroom. "I stand at the door every single day to greet these students, and the majority of them are running into the building, to see their teachers or see their classmates, wanting to learn," said Underwood.
Fox News
29-01-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
HS basketball coach suspended after hanging up Palestinian flag, refusing to shake hands with Jewish coaches
A Colorado high school basketball coach was suspended after he was seen hanging up a Palestinian flag, and after he refused to shake hands with the opposing coach following a game against a Jewish school last week. Lotus School for Excellence in Aurora and Denver Torah Academy competed against each other on Jan. 22. The Lotus School told Denver's 9 News that the head coach of the team, identified only as Coach O., brought out a Palestinian flag before the game and hung it up. The school said after the game the coach reacted to the flag again before going to the handshake line. The coach reportedly failed to shake hands with the coaches of Denver Torah. "He grabs his flag and puts it around his neck," Lotus School's athletic director Deon Jackson told the station. "We saw the intent at that point." Emrek Bakyt, the school's principal, announced the coach was suspended along with another assistant coach, according to the New York Post. "It has nothing to do with Lotus," Bakyt said. "It does not represent us, and we are, again, all about respect and diversity. That's what we celebrate. That's what we take pride in." Brandon Rattiner, a member of the Jewish Community Relations Council, condemned the coach's actions in an interview with the New York Post. "I think everybody in the Jewish community is very aware that there's been a rising tide of antisemitism since Oct. 7," Rattiner, who spoke on behalf of Denver Torah, told the paper. "And we've seen it in schools here and all throughout the country on many different occasions." Rattiner added that he thought the "key issue" was when the coach refused to shake the hands of the Jewish coaches. "The key issue here is when the coach refuses to engage with a Jewish coach and Jewish students simply because they are Jewish or holding them personally accountable for a conflict started, not by Israel by the way, halfway across the world thousands and thousands of miles away," he said. "Holding Jewish people accountable for the state actions of Israel is a textbook form of antisemitism." Follow Fox News Digital's sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.
