When it comes to diversity and prejudice, what's a school's role?

Making peanut butter and jelly sandwiches isn't exactly inspiring work, but the teens doing the smearing on a recent afternoon are trying to build something much larger than sandwiches.

The diversity club at Pine Creek High School was making sack lunches for a religious forum they organized, giving students in this predominantly white, predominantly Christian suburban enclave a chance to learn more about Judaism, Islam, and even eco-spiritualism.

The club's goal is to build an atmosphere of acceptance and tolerance at the school.

It's an issue that's grabbed the local spotlight in recent months: A black student left The Classical Academy after she suffered racial harassment from fellow students, and the state Department of Education is launching an investigation of that incident and others.

Transgender student Blake Williams left Aspen Valley High School because he didn't feel safe there, sparking a protest of the school.

Teachers and students say those are merely well-publicized stories among many others at local schools. For example, a biracial student at Pine Creek said she heard the N-word when she wore her Obama shirt to school the day after the presidential election, said English teacher and diversity club co-sponsor Elaine Shore.

"She was pretty horrified and wanted to change schools," Shore said.

These situations raise serious questions for educators to ponder. What responsibility do schools bear in combating prejudice and hate? How many life lessons can they teach along with reading, writing and arithmetic? And how much can be accomplished in the classroom, as opposed to the family dinner table?

"I think the school plays a major role," said Samantha Mitchell, a senior in Pine Creek's diversity club, called SLATE (Students Learning Acceptance Through Education). "This is where we spend a majority of our day."

Not only can the school make a difference, it's part of the educational mission, argued Sandra Macklin, a science teacher at Sand Creek High School and sponsor of the diversity club.

"I don't think students will truly learn if there's an underlying issue that's bothering them, such as bullying because of identity," Macklin said. "If we can eliminate some of those issues, then we can make them better learners."

Advocacy groups agree, and they are stepping up their efforts here.

"The solution must involve administrators, teachers, students and parents," said Paula Brown, spokeswoman for the Anti-Defamation League in Colorado.

Pine Creek High in District 20 and Sand Creek High in District 49 have partnered with the ADL to bring its "No Place for Hate" program to the campuses. Meanwhile, the national group Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG) is launching a "Cultivating Respect" initiative in Colorado Springs, with training for parents in April.

The strategy is to approach schools through parents, rather than as outsiders.

"We've been very deliberate in deciding which cities to launch the program," said Steve Ralls, national spokesman for PFLAG. "And we want to be in places like Colorado Springs, more conservative areas where this work has not been done."

Marilyn Davis, president of the local chapter of PFLAG, says the time is right.

"I think that there's a different climate now because we've had some high-profile issues," Davis said. "So, the administrations are more open now."

"Before, a lot of schools said, ‘We don't allow bullying of any kind here, and we don't allow name-calling. We've got it under control. The parents don't want that discussed in the schools.' But eventually they're going to have to start talking about it."

Or are they?

"Some parents may find that they are uncomfortable with some aspects of the No Place for Hate campaign and may prefer that their children spend the time working on academic subject matter," said Pamela Benigno, director of the Education Policy Center for the Independence Institute, a Denver-based think tank that advocates for school choice and parent rights. "As with any type of public school program that includes controversial content, parents should carefully read the materials and decide whether or not the content and activities are appropriate for their children."

The issue is especially flammable when it comes to religion and sexual identity. Many parents don't want a government-run school to teach tolerance for other religions or homosexuality.

Shore and Macklin say they've met resistance from parents and some students in marking events such as National Coming Out Day and AIDS Awareness Week.

"We're real careful with that," Macklin said. "Everything we do is voluntary, so it's completely up to (students) and their belief system."

That's important, said Candi Cushman, an education analyst for Focus on the Family Action, because some schools around the country have introduced tolerance education as mandatory curriculum and, in her view, trampled the rights of parents to control when controversial sexual content is introduced to their children.

She also argues that the ADL's No Place for Hate program literature focuses too much on what divides us - ableism, ageism, classism and heterosexism - rather than the principles that unite us as Americans.

"We do recognize that bullying and harassment can be a serious problem in schools and should be strongly addressed. But we believe this should be done without politicizing the classroom and introducing controversial, sexual topics to children," Cushman said.

If a school opens a discussion on homosexuality, it must be prepared to tolerate students of faith who think homosexuality is sinful, Cushman said.

"The emphasis should be on drawing a firm line in the sand against bullying and emphasizing values we share as Americans," she said. "The emphasis should not be on defining certain categories of people. That sets up a system ripe for reverse discrimination."

Others argue that these discussions in schools are vital in turning around prejudice, and avoiding them is merely suppressing the problem.

"Administrators, and even parents, want to say that nothing is wrong," Shore said. "In the past, there have been some pretty serious issues that are just under the surface. The important thing is that it is being brought to the surface and talked about."

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