Melissa Buttaro and Donese Sylvester
During a recess at the beginning of last Wednesday night’s Town Meeting, the SHARYN WONG-CHAN / SARA HARRINGTON DIVERSITY AWARD was presented to this year’s co-recipients, Melissa Buttaro, a guidance counselor at Lexington High School, and Donese Sylvester, a fifth-grade teacher at the Hasting Elementary School. The award is given annually by the Lexington Public Schools Diversity Task Force with the generous financial support of the Chinese American Association of Lexington (CAAL).
The women for whom this award is named, Sharyn Wong-Chan and Sara Harrington, were both passionate about civil rights and unceasing in their efforts to make Lexington a warm and welcoming community that embraced diversity in its schools. In his remarks, Assistant Superintendent Bob Harris, described Ms. Buttaro’s and Ms. Sylvester’s deep commitment to diversity in the Lexington Public Schools and within the broader Lexington community.
Melissa Buttaro Melissa (Mel) Buttaro epitomizes the role of a caring educator who celebrates diversity in her work. Since coming to Lexington as a guidance counselor 14 years ago, Melissa has been instrumental in making the Gay-Straight Alliance one of the most visible and active clubs at Lexington High School. Mel’s students participate in the GSA Youth Pride Parade in Boston annually, she coordinates a regular speaking engagement at Lesley University each year where GSA members speak to university students who are pursuing careers in school counseling, and she has spoken at an Open and Affirming congregation meeting at Pilgrim Congregational Church. Mel also maintains the Big Queer Bookcase (BQB) which contains fiction and non-fiction books and movies on lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer issues. She has been on various achievement gap committees and discussion groups, has participated in a retreat to Thompson Island attended by METCO and other female students at LHS, has participated in LHS Diversity Day, and has attended numerous diversity related conferences including, “Empowering Multicultural Initiatives” offered through the EDCO Collaborative, “A World of Difference” sponsored by the Anti-Defamation League, “Teaching Tolerance” put on by the Southern Poverty Law Center, and “Safe Schools” training through the Middlesex Partnership for Youth. Last, but not least, Mel is a valued member of the town-wide Human Rights Committee.
Donese Sylvester Donese Sylvester has been a fifth grade teacher at the Hastings School for twelve years. Entering her classroom one is struck by the visual celebration of diversity, the non-verbal cues of respect and caring, and the explicit instruction she provides to students in building a community in her classroom, the school and beyond. Coming to Lexington after teaching in Zambia and Bostwana, Africa, for 24 years, Mrs. Sylvester has first-hand knowledge of working and parenting in other cultures. The depth and breadth of her past experience permeates her current practice.
Her classroom environment enables students to practice a set of values that will sustain them through life and enhance their ability to celebrate diversity in people they will meet and come to know. A prominent focal point in Mrs. Sylvester’s classroom is a large folding screen featuring a world map that symbolizes many learning opportunities. Students research their ancestry and mark the map to show where their family members came from. Book selection, whether read aloud or a book group choice, often focuses on multicultural themes. Projects such as writing to pen pals across the world, teaches students that they are part of the much larger global community.
Donese’s commitment to building community can also be seen when her students visit the Golden Living Center long-term care facility. Donese’s fifth graders plan each visit, bringing musical instruments, hobbies and social skills to share with the seniors. It is humbling to watch the residents respond to the children, their sensitivity, and the behavior modeled by Mrs. Sylvester. Last, but not least, Donese, as the chair of the Diversity Committee, has helped to organize the multicultural potluck dinner at the Hastings School for over 10 years. At this annual event, the entire school community basks in the opportunity to share their heritage through games, dances and traditions of their native cultures. The Diversity Committee is also responsible for filling Diversity Book Bags with books appropriate for each grade level that contain stories and activities that promote discussions about diversity.
At the conclusion of Mr. Harris’s remarks, Ms. Buttaro and Ms. Sylvester each received an engraved plaque, a bouquet of flowers, and small honorarium from Stephen Chan, CAAL representative and husband of the late Sharyn Wong-Chan.
