The other day I had the privilege of seeing 50 first graders show off their reading ability in a Readers Theater at the Durham Community School. This was no ordinary performance. And the school is no ordinary school. On the way in, someone on the PA system reminded everyone that “Kindness is something that we use in and out of school wherever we go….”

We filled a small auditorium as three classrooms of children filed in decked out in costumes related to the characters in their story. Everyone had a role to play and was supported in playing it. Stronger readers helped their classmates who struggled with words. There was no segregating of children by income, ethnicity or ability. Everyone was given a chance to read and participate.

Teachers pointed out it how  important it was for students to learn how to decode tough words, to use emotion when reading, to act like the character in the story, and to help their classmates. Every classroom was a team that worked together. Not only that, but each student said their name out loud as a way of introducing themselves. One story — “Stellaluna” — illustrated the entire point of the Readers Theater and resonated with what our culture needs right now.

Stellaluna is a young fruit bat who becomes separated from her family. She is adopted by a family of birds who take her in as their own. She eventually finds her way back to her bat family. Most importantly, the birds and bats learn from each other and see their differences as a strength.

The children and the audience were a diverse crowd. There were white, brown, Black, Native and Asian people in the seats and on the stage. Everyone — no matter where they were from — was included in the celebration. The children appeared to accept their classmates as individuals, not part of a group based on color of their skin or the type of hair they wore or the accent they or their parents had. Everyone was treated with dignity and respect.

On the way out of the school, I couldn’t help but notice carved wooden plaques above each classroom door. I found out later the school is following a program called Character Strong that teaches children character development through social skills training. Every word on each plaque was powerful — honesty, kindness, integrity, perseverance, gratitude, empathy and responsibility and others.

These words are the bedrock of our country and our communities. They stand for the best we can give our children and the best we can model for a world that anxiously looks to America to embody the key words of our Declaration of Independence — “…that all men are created equal…” I didn’t see the words that we hear emanating from our current federal government — blame, scapegoat, lie, distort, demean or deny  — anywhere in the school.

We celebrate Juneteenth, the national holiday honoring the time when Black Americans found out they were free. Coincidentally, on June 19 in Maine, this newspaper printed a story of how a white woman, Karen Read, was found not guilty of killing her boyfriend.

The most important point was made by Boston University law professor Shira Diner. She said the verdict “gives us an opportunity to reflect on how this case would have been different if Karen Read was not a white woman of privilege.”

I hope our schools will continue to teach our children like the kids at the Durham Community School are being taught and to champion the rights of all of us — no matter our race, ethnicity, sexual preference, appearance, age and disability. We need it more than ever.