Student and Family Name Pronunciation

9/26/2025 6:13 am

Hello Dallin School Community:

We are Rye Daily and Kam Dennis, specialist teachers and aspiring school leaders. Together we are inviting all members of our school community to participate in a Student and Family Name Pronunciation initiative.   We think this activity will deepen and strengthen our school community by developing a data base for the Dallin faculty and staff to use as a reference tool for learning the correct pronunciation of student and family names.

Last year, our School Council conducted empathy interviews because school Panorama data  showed less-than-satisfactory scores in students’ and families’ sense of belonging. A key theme that emerged was name pronunciation. Mispronouncing or overlooking a person’s name can send the unintended message that their identity, culture, or heritage is unimportant. The empathy interview data revealed to our School Council that an initiative like this would have an impact on building greater school-community connection and belonging. Additionally, as part of library programming, Dallin’s new librarian, Melissa Maldonado, is supporting this initiative. In library programming students will engage and explore the origins and meanings of their names.

We would like to invite you to participate in this brief survey and voice recording tool. The instructions on how to complete the survey can be found when you open the link or by clicking this brief video link. The product of this survey form will be used as a tool to help the Dallin staff learn how to correctly pronounce student and family names. 

• Video How To 
• Survey 

All Dallin families are invited to participate in this initiative. In the survey you can include not only your student(s) name(s), but also your own or any other family member that will be interacting with the school. It is our hope this activity amplifies the importance of pronouncing student names correctly, honors student heritage and identity, while creating a stronger bond and sense of belonging for our school community.

Rye Daily and Kam Dennis