Leaders and experts weigh in on involvement and communication strategies that can bring people together effectively. by Elizabeth S. Leaver 07/08/2020 What is your PTO doing to be more racially equitable? How are you reaching out to parents who don’t speak English? How do people of different cultures and backgrounds know you want them to have an equal voice? School parent groups are asking these questions, but the answers aren’t simple. While the ethnic backgrounds of Americans and their...

July 9, 2020 5:14 PM ET Heard on All Things Considered Pirette McKamey is fighting for anti-racist education . Over her more than 30 years as an educator, the principal at Mission High School in San Francisco spent a decade leading an anti-racism committee. "To be an anti-racist educator means I commit to educating all of the students sitting in front of me, including Black and Latinx students," McKamey tells NPR's All Things Considered. In a high school English class, for instance, if...

By Tony Weaver, Jr.     Jun 16, 2020 If there’s one thing Americans are doing right now, it’s talking. Talking even more than usual when schools are out and many are still working from home. Every day, new stories of discrimination and violence emerge that prompt new conversations. The moment our country faces weighs heavily on the mind of an adult. But one must wonder: What does it do to the mind of a child? Black students around the country are faced with a reality where they are isolated...

The Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian and Teaching for Change will host the annual Indigenous People’s Day Teach-In online on Saturday, September 12, 2020. The focus this year is environmental justice, in particular food and climate. The day will include: Keynote speaker Winona LaDuke , internationally renowned author, and activist, working on issues of sustainable development, renewable energy, and food systems. Breakout sessions with resources and strategies for your...

Education leaders seek collaboration to build equitable support programs By Sierra Lopez Daily Journal correspondent Jun 29, 2020 Parents preparing for a return to the office following a broader county health order are now faced with weighing the benefits of enrolling their children in child care services against the existing financial burden of programs and potential exposure to COVID-19. “If there’s going to be a workforce recovery we need to solve this child care issue. [Employers]...

The San Mateo County Office of Education has compiled a catalogue of resources for educators and community members on antiracism and social justice. Access the resources here: https://www.smcoe.org/for-communities/antiracism-and-injustice-resources.html#lessons

"Woke" language is not a substitute for the deep work anti-racism requires By Jamilah Pitts June 16, 2020 Educators have to move beyond the buzzwords and trends circulating today if we are seeking to truly transform schools. The terms “diversity,” “equity,” and “inclusion” simply are not enough. And I fear now that the radicalism tied to anti-racist work is being watered down. Educational trendy buzzwords pave a destructive road for the commodification of otherwise transformative action.

It started as a series of Instagram posts; then it became a downloadable workbook. Now, the “Me and White Supremacy” challenge is reaching the mainstream—and creator Layla F. Saad hopes all teachers with white privilege will find the courage to take it. ADRIENNE VAN DER VALK ISSUE 62, SUMMER 2019 The night of June 26, 2018, Layla Saad was unable to sleep. The previous year had been a taxing one for the writer, life and business coach, and spiritual advisor. The deadly Unite the Right rally...

Mar 30, 2017 Allyx Schiavone, Executive Director of the Friends Center for Children in New Haven, CT, discusses a three-year approach the Center administration took to address implicit bias among staff. [Click here to view link with video]

KIRSTEN COLE, DIANDRA VERWAYNE Young Children May 2018 Vol. 73, No. 2 At the beginning of the year in Ms. Verwayne’s kindergarten class, the children are working on an All About Me project. They begin by drawing pictures of themselves based on observations of their reflections in a mirror. Next, the teacher provides them with sentence starters asking them to describe their hair color and texture, their skin color, and their eye color. In this racially and ethnically diverse class, the...

Taking time to check assumptions about family engagement can make a huge difference in the lives of your students and their caregivers. DR. RACHAEL MAHMOOD APRIL 27, 2020 As educators, we often strive to find ways to increase family involvement in our classrooms. Research confirms that family involvement positively impacts students’ academic experiences. And in this moment of crisis, especially, engaging our students means engaging their families: Including caretakers is one way to support...

By SHAYNA RUBIN | srubin@bayareanewsgroup.com | Bay Area News Group PUBLISHED: May 21, 2020 at 10:59 a.m. | UPDATED: May 21, 2020 at 3:20 p.m. Distance learning in the COVID-19 era has put a strain on all families, but especially those with children with special education needs. “No one was ready. Obviously, we didn’t see this coming,” said Christina Schmidt, executive vice president of the Palo Alto Council of Parent Teacher Associations. And parents, she said, can be caught unaware of how...