Let there be peace on earth – and let it start with the students and staff of Licking Heights. The district’s high school is a selected location for a Rotary Club of Pataskala peace pole.
According to the Rotary website, “A Peace Pole is an internationally recognized symbol of the hopes and dreams of the entire human family, which stands in silent prayer for peace on earth.”
With the installation at Licking Heights High School, the district will join an estimated 250,000 Peace Pole locations in every country around the world. Local Rotary leaders chose Licking Heights as the pool location because of the cultural, ethnic, linguistic and religious diversity represented in the district.
This particular Peace Pole will feature the phrase “May peace reign on earth” in English and in the seven most spoken languages in the Licking Heights district: Nepali, Somali, Spanish, Tigrinya, Amharic, French and Twi.
“We are deeply honored to have been selected as the host site for the Peace Pole for the Rotary Club of Pataskala,” said Licking Heights Superintendent Kevin S. Miller. “It is the perfect project for our diverse district, and I am proud to lead a school system that models the values of peace, harmony, tolerance and inclusivity for our rapidly growing community. I thank our students, staff and families for their work as agents of peace in Pataskala and throughout the region.”
The pole will be inaugurated on October 30 at 8:30 am. Community members are welcome at Licking Heights High School (4101 Summit Road). The pole will be placed outside door E117.
The ceremony will include remarks from district and Rotary Club leaders, reflections from students from Licking Heights’ Cultural Identity Club and National Honor Society, and a performance by the award-winning, nationally recognized Licking Heights Chorus.
Licking Heights Local Schools is one of the fastest growing school districts in Ohio, with a significant population of new Americans. In 2023, the district was recognized by The Ohio Newsroom for having one of the largest English language learning programs in the state. As of the 2024-2025 school year, 51 different languages are spoken across the district, with one in three elementary school students coming from a non-English speaking home.
Information submitted by Licking Heights Local Schools.
This article originally appeared on Newark Advocate: Licking Heights High School selected as a Rotary Peace Pole site
