The diversity of Dist. 308’s Grande Park Elementary School in Plainfield is shown by the fact that about 40 languages are spoken at the school.

“We have more languages spoken here at Grande Park Elementary than at any other school in the district,” Grande Park Elementary School Principal Sean Smith said. “There are approximately 40 different languages spoken in the homes.”

That diversity was on display on March 5 during the school’s fourth annual Diversity Fair, part of its Diversity Spirit Week.

“It’s incredible to see all the different backgrounds and where all of our kids and their families come from,” he said.

Smith has seen the school’s diversity increase over the years.

“I’ve been an administrator here for 14 years and I’ve seen just a large shift in our student multilingual population,” he said.

The fair is put on by a committee of about eight teachers partnering with the school’s Parent Teacher Association.

“It’s such a large event and requires a lot of planning and preparation,” Smith said.

Planning for the event starts in September.

Along with booths, this year’s fair featured performances from such student groups as the GPE Great Pretenders. The third-grade group presented the play “We Come From Everywhere” to show the school’s diversity.

In addition, members of the Korean Performing Arts Institute of Chicago performed during the Diversity Fair alongside the Barraza family, which performed songs from the movie “Coco.”

Families are invited to participate in the Diversity Fair and highlight their culture.

“They can bring food to share with the community, or they can do some kind of performance,” Smith said.

He is happy about the impact the school’s diversity week is having on students.

“It’s nice to see the smiles on our kids’ faces,” Smith said. “They’re just so happy and proud. They really enjoy sharing who they are.”