KSD eSpotlight
Saturday, June 12, 2021
Updates from the Board of Education
The KSD Board of Education will hold a regularly scheduled work session at 5 p.m. on Monday, June 14. The board will meet in person with a zoom option for board members who wish to attend remotely. Any visitors will attend virtually at kirkwoodschools.org/VirtualBOE.
There will also be a board meeting at 7:00P the same evening. The board will meet in person with a zoom option for board members who wish to attend remotely. Any visitors will attend virtually at https://www.kirkwoodschools.org/virtualboe
On Tuesday, June 15, the BOE will have the first work session for the "Belonging Through a Culture of Dignity" training from 6p-9p. The presenters will be virtual so this will be a virtual meeting for all attendees, including board members: https://www.kirkwoodschools.org/virtualboe
Juneteenth 2021
Juneteenth, also called Emancipation Day or Black Independence Day, is observed annually on June 19. Juneteenth marks the day when federal troops arrived in Galveston, Texas in 1865 to take control of the state and ensure that all enslaved people were freed. The troops’ arrival came a full two and a half years after the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation.
After the war came to a close in the spring of 1865, General Granger’s arrival in Galveston that June signaled freedom for Texas’s 250,000 enslaved people. Although emancipation didn’t happen overnight for everyone—in some cases, enslavers withheld the information until after harvest season—celebrations broke out among newly freed Black people, and Juneteenth was born. That December, slavery in America was formally abolished with the adoption of the 13th Amendment.
Texans celebrated Juneteenth beginning in 1866, with community-centric events, such as parades, cookouts, prayer gatherings, historical and cultural readings, and musical performances. Over time, communities have developed their own traditions.
The Kirkwood Educational Equity Task Force believes teaching students about Juneteenth provides an opportunity to bring the conversation of racism and discrimination to the classroom while also commemorating the end of slavery.
The materials below will provide educators and parents with information that may help students learn about Juneteenth.
Event Opportunity:
Kirkwood School District
Email: news@kirkwoodschools.org
Website: kirkwoodschools.org
Location: 11289 Manchester Road, Kirkwood, MO, USA
Phone: 314-213-6100
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KirkwoodSchoolDistrict/
Twitter: @kwoodschools