{"id":583,"date":"2017-03-07T03:58:55","date_gmt":"2017-03-07T03:58:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/stories.kera.org\/changing-face-schools\/?p=583"},"modified":"2017-05-09T15:21:30","modified_gmt":"2017-05-09T15:21:30","slug":"from-prayer-room-to-podcasts-liberty-high-shatters-stereotypes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stories.kera.org\/changing-face-schools\/2017\/03\/07\/from-prayer-room-to-podcasts-liberty-high-shatters-stereotypes\/","title":{"rendered":"From Its Prayer Room To Podcasts, Liberty High Shatters Stereotypes"},"content":{"rendered":"

The city of Frisco has transformed over the last quarter century \u2013 from a country town to a booming suburb that\u2019s home to high-end shops and the Dallas Cowboys. Its schools have been transformed, too. Here’s a look at how one school \u2014 Liberty High \u2014 is changing.<\/em><\/p>\n

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It\u2019s a Friday afternoon, a little after 2, at Liberty High School. Student Zaki Sayyid<\/span>\u00a0recites the Islamic call to prayer. He and 10 other Muslim students are inside a classroom, on their knees facing east.<\/p>\n

Girls wear hijabs. Everyone\u2019s taken off their shoes. They spend the next 15 minutes in prayer.<\/p>\n

This isn\u2019t a common scene at most schools. But at Liberty, it happens every Friday.<\/p>\n

Frisco, once a small, railroad town, is now one of the fastest-growing cities in the country. Two decades ago, three out of every four people living in Frisco were white. Today, it\u2019s a fusion of races and ethnicities.<\/p>\n

And the schools are a microcosm of the city. At Liberty, less\u00a0than half of the students are white, while 30 percent are Asian.<\/p>\n

\"Students

Students crowd the hallway after the last bell rings at Liberty High School in Frisco. Photo\/Lara Solt<\/p><\/div>\n

“What happened in Kansas was truly a tragedy…that could have easily been one of my relatives…”
Divya Murali, Liberty student, about the shooting of two Indian men<\/div>
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Embracing Tradition, Exploring Cultures<\/h5>\n

Divya Murali is a junior at Liberty. She was born in Mesquite. Her parents are from the Southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu, known for its majestic Hindu temples.<\/p>\n

Even though she was born in North Texas, Murali embraces her Indian roots. She celebrates Diwali and goes to the Hindu version of Sunday school.<\/p>\n

But when it comes to Tamil, the language spoken in southern India, it was hard for her to adopt.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I was younger, like in elementary school, my parents took me to like a Tamil school that they had running here, and I hated it,” she said. “I can understand Tamil, but my American accent is so strong, you can\u2019t really understand my Tamil.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Journalism

Journalism student Divya Murali talks to teacher Brian Higgins about her weekly podcast. Photo\/Lara Solt<\/p><\/div>\n

She\u2019s also learned some Hindi. This cultural curiosity is what fuels her \u2014 and the weekly podcast\u00a0she produces.<\/p>\n

\u201cHey there, Redhawks, I\u2019m Divya Murali and this is the 19th\u00a0episode of the United Colors of Liberty, and today I\u2019m here with senior Lizzie \u2026\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Every week, Murali has an in-depth conversation with a different Liberty student. There\u2019s an Indian student who\u2019s Christian, a kid who\u2019s a lesbian with interracial parents and a black student who doesn\u2019t celebrate Kwanzaa.<\/p>\n

Sometimes current headlines spark an idea. Like when she interviewed a Russian-born classmate.<\/p>\n

\u201cHow do you feel about there may potentially be more of an intense hostility between the countries?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think it would get to the same point it was at the Cold War\u2026\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Lately, Murali’s been thinking about the shooting of two Indian men<\/a> in suburban Kansas in February.\u00a0One was killed. The accused shooter is white. Before he was arrested, he\u00a0said he thought they were Middle Eastern.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat happened in Kansas was truly a tragedy, especially since the Indian man and his friend that were killed, that could have easily been one of my relatives \u2014 my dad, someone close to me,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

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\"Journalism

Megan Lin updates the storyboard for the student news site, Wingspan. Photo\/Lara Solt<\/p><\/div><\/p>\n

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Accommodating A Changing Student Body<\/h5>\n

Brian Higgins teaches journalism to Murali and her classmates.<\/p>\n

\u201cHopefully, they\u2019re hearing something that they maybe never thought of before,” he said. “And if we can get one student to think differently or to perhaps better understand the diversity and the different people and their backgrounds on this campus, then I think we\u2019ve done a good job.\u201d<\/p>\n

Higgins came from a different school \u2014 Lovejoy \u2014 that\u2019s affluent and about 85 percent white. He says being in a more diverse school gives kids the chance to explore a more challenging range of issues.<\/p>\n