Douglas County School District has mixed things up this month in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day and to promote diversity in general.

On Jan. 15, Frontier Valley Elementary School, 23919 E. Canterberry Trail in Parker, held their very own Mix It Up at Lunch Day, where students ate their lunches with other students they might not otherwise have ever socialized with.

The "official" Mix It Up at Lunch Day took place Nov. 13, 2007, in schools throughout the nation, and Frontier Valley participated. On the Web site Tolerance.org, Mix It Up at Lunch Day is described as "a simple call to action: take a new seat in the cafeteria. By making the move, students can cross the lines of division, meet new people and make new friends."

Frontier Valley English as a Second Language teacher Kelly Bromeier said Mix It Up at Lunch Day promotes social boundary crossing and encourages kids to meet someone who may not look like them. Frontier Valley, like many schools in Douglas County, is on a track system, so the students don't really get a chance to meet students in other tracks.

"Tracks are a really big boundary in our school," Bromeier said. "Most of the kids get really comfortable with their class since they're with them every year, and they don't really get a chance to mix with other kids."

She said the students really enjoyed Mix It Up at Lunch Day in November, and they thought it appropriate to try it out again in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr.

"We thought it would be a great time to promote diversity and meet someone you might not necessarily be friends with," Bromeier said.

During this month's Mix It Up at Lunch Day, students each were given a card with a color on it during lunch time, and they had to sit at the respective color-coded table. Bromeier said each table had conversation starters for the kids to get them talking to each other. After lunch, teachers had the students reflect on the day and talk about their new friends.

Bromeier said she hopes the school will have more Mix It Up at Lunch Days throughout the whole school year.

"You tend to sit at the same spot," Bromeier said. "We're trying to encourage kids to be comfortable meeting new people and promote that diversity. I think it's a really positive thing for the kids for them to feel comfortable about meeting new friends. I want them to be open about meeting new friends, regardless of race or gender. It's OK that someone doesn't have the same color skin as them, or speak the same language or have the same religion."

An upcoming Martin Luther King Jr. Day celebration here in Douglas County is the annual MLK Unity Walk, taking place at 2 p.m. Jan. 20 at Fox Creek Elementary School, 6585 Collegiate Drive in Highlands Ranch. The walk will proceed 1.7 miles to Highlands Ranch High School, 9375 Cresthill Lane, where participants can enjoy refreshments and entertainment from 3 to 4 p.m. Featured entertainment will be Ricki Harada from THINK 360 Arts. The walk and entertainment is free and open to the public.

"The 2008 event theme, 'Living The Legacy,' sets the tone for the day," said Event Chair Jack Kronser. "We believe that Dr. King's message of non-violence as a way to resolve social, economic and political conflict helps us see one another as members of the same community, all working hard toward the same common goal - to build a better community for our children and the generations to come."