One of the DEI signs developed by Southern Lehigh parent Kristen Bruck with assistance from parent Krissy Laverty is located at Preston Lane and Rt. 378, near Southern Lehigh High School in Upper Saucon Township. The aim of Bruck’s sign initiative is to promote tolerance in the school district and show support for students from diverse backgrounds.
As brown patches of grass turning green hint at spring, white yard signs featuring a simple but powerful message have begun to appear around the Southern Lehigh area.
The signs say:
YOU BELONG
YOU MATTER
WE ARE ALL
Southern Lehigh
The lettering for “YOU BELONG” features the colors of the rainbow, while the lettering for “YOU MATTER” is printed in brown and tan hues.
That lettering–and the signs’ unmistakeable message of unity through tolerance–are part of an initiative conceived by Southern Lehigh parent Kristen Bruck, who is also an educator in another school district.
Bruck said she was inspired to create them as a message of support for families in the district, after hearnig criticisms of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives during public discussions at Southern Lehigh school board meetings last year.
“I heard parents talking about ‘Critical Race Theory’ at a few school board meetings,” she said. “Their comments were less about CRT, which is not taught in K-12 schools, and more about wanting the school to avoid all discussion of diversity and equity entirely.”
Bruck said she subsequently attended a Parent Advisory meeting at the high school and “heard parents wanting to limit bathroom use for transgender students, which would be a violation of these students’ rights.”
“As a mom and an educator, I felt the need to do something to support the students these parents were marginalizing,” she said.
The final ah-hah moment that inspired the DEI sign initiative was seeing a student in one of the classes she teaches wearing a shirt that said “You Matter,” she explained.
“I thought it was such a kind and important message for people to see,” Bruck said.
With the idea for a yard sign campaign now in mind, Bruck spoke to another parent, Krissy Laverty, who she said created the graphic design that is being used to print both signs and magnets.
Pre-orders for signs were taken on social media and can now be made via an online order form.
There is a $10 suggested donation for each 18 by 24-inch sign and a $2 suggested donation for magnets, which are 4 by 4 inches. Bruck said the money raised is all going toward production costs for the items.
“We have received a lot more orders since the (first) signs went up,” she said.
Bruck said that although discussions at public meetings and on social media can sometimes feel one-sided, she believes there are many more Southern Lehigh residents who want the district’s schools to be welcoming places for everyone–regardless of race, sexual orientation, gender identity and other identifying characteristics–than don’t.
“Oftentimes the (critical) voices are the loudest, even if they are not the majority,” she said. “I wanted to visibly show the students that we live in a community that values and embraces diversity.”
“There is no other objective other than just trying to pass on a message of kindness to the students and families of Southern Lehigh,” Bruck added.
