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 Peace Pole from the Rotary Club of Pataskala.
According to the Rotary website, “A Peace Pole is an internationally recognized symbol of the hopes and dreams of the entire human family, standing vigil 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 sites in every country around the world. Local Rotary leaders selected Licking Heights as a pole location due to the cultural, ethnic, linguistic and religious diversity represented across the district.
This particular Peace Pole will have the phrase “May Peace Prevail on Earth” on it in English and the seven top-spoken languages in the Licking Heights district: Nepali, Somali, Spanish, Tigrinya, Amharic, French and Twi.
“We are deeply honored to be selected as a Peace Pole host site for the Rotary Club of Pataskala,” says Dr. Kevin S. Miller, Licking Heights superintendent. “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 to our rapidly growing community. I thank our students, staff and families for their work as agents of peace in Pataskala and across our region.”
The pole will be dedicated on Wed., Oct. 30 at 8:30 a.m. Members of the community are welcome to join at Licking Heights High School, 4101 Summit Road, Pataskala, OH 43062. The pole will be outside Door E117.
The ceremony will include remarks from district and Rotary Club leaders, student reflections from Licking Heights’ Cultural Identity Club and National Honor Society, and a performance from the award-winning, nationally-recognized Licking Heights Chorus.
Licking Heights Local Schools is one of the fastest-growing school districts in Ohio, including a significant population of New Americans. In 2023, the district was recognized by the Ohio Newsroom for having one of the largest English Language Learner programs in the state. As of the 2024-25 school year, 51 different languages are spoken across the district, with one in three elementary students coming from a non-English speaking home.