Cultural Diversity & Equity
February 2021 Newsletter
In This Issue
- CPT Mandatory Monthly District-wide PD
- DPO Culturally Responsive Parenting Seminar
- Shout-out To Our Students!
- Shout-out To Our Teachers!
- Celebrating Black History Month
- Happy February Holidays!
- Commemorative Observances
CPT Mandatory Monthly District-wide PD
The Thursday after the trainings we also offer a "Debrief" session where participants and process and go over what they learned in the training the day before. This gives space for clarification, to answer questions, and to share concerns and has been a very helpful tool to refine professional development.
There has been overwhelmingly positive feedback to these trainings, and we have been so pleased to see our teacher's interest in learning and growing for their kids!
Culturally Proficiency Training for High School Parents
On January 27th Director of Diversity and Cultural Responsiveness, Laura Gray and our amazing facilitator team met with a group of secondary level parents to talk about Cultural Proficiency and the trainings that have been given to the teachers in the district!
Participants were given a training where they learned to identify cultural proficiency and assess where they are on the continuum. They also learned to identify barriers to it and ways to stand for equity.
Our department received positive feedback on this training, and there were definitely some thoughtful discussions during the session. We look forward to working with our wonderful parents in the future!
Shout-out To Our Students!
As we all know, our ICCSD students are pretty awesome! So, we'd like to shine a spotlight on a student this month who is doing BIG and AMAZING things in our community.
Dasia Taylor:
West High's own Dasia Taylor is making waves in the medical community after creating surgical sutures that change color to let patients know if a wound is infected! She is also making a name for herself right her in our district, as the Equity Advisory Committee's FRIST EVER student co-chair! Keep up the good work Dasia!
To learn more about Dasia's color-changing sutures click here: West High senior creates color-changing sutures to detect infection
Shout-out to our Teachers!
We are excited to highlight Melanie Hestor who teaches 5th grade at Alexander. She is really going above and beyond by adopting curriculum and creating amazing lessons for Black History Month for her students.
Melanie noticed that a lot of our materials did not work as well on a digital platform, so she decided to improve them so they could be more accessible! Her lessons provide an in-depth and unique perspective for Black History Month, and are perfect to use year-round!
Keep up the good work Melanie! We appreciate you!
Celebrating Black History Month!
We are so excited to celebrate Black History Month and provide some amazing learning opportunities, professional development, and showcase some amazing people who have changed history!
Please take the time to view all the cool information below, keep in mind that this History is not confined to one month, it is built into the foundation of our society and affects all of us every single day. Black history is world history, and it is our history.
We encourage you to visit the ICCSD Equity Department page of our website to view more resources that you can incorporate into your classroom ANY month of the year!
Do You Know Ruby Bridges?
If you haven't heard about Ruby Bridges (1954-), you really should! She advanced the Civil Rights Movement when she was just 6 years old by becoming the first African American student to integrate an elementary school in the South. Ruby made history by attending her first day of 1st grade at the all-white William Frantz Elementary School.
However, her admission to this school was a far cry from her white counterparts. Although the US Supreme Court had ruled in favor of desegregation in the famous court case Brown v. the Board of Education in 1954, many southern states resisted this change. They even went as far as creating admission exams for African American students. Ruby, of course, passed this exam!
So every day of school that year, this brave little 6 year old was escorted not only by her father but by four federal marshals as she walked past crowds of screaming protestors.
She didn't let this hate define her though, and she graduated from a desegrated high school and made a successful life and family! Not only that, she changed civil rights in education forever!
To learn more about Ruby Bridges, Click Here!
Can you guess what these three women have in common?
Amanda S. C. Gorman, National Youth Poet Laureate
Vice President Kamala Harris
Former Representative Shirley Anita Chisholm
A Note From Zaretta Hammond
It’s February. So, we know what that means… it’s Black History Month.
And that perennial question always pops up: Is it time to do away with Black History Month?
That’s a question folks have been asking for a long time, as if we are in a post-racial society. But the racial justice events of 2020 tell us that we are not post-anything.
While I don’t believe we need to do away with Black History Month, I do think we may need to reimagine how we use the month to share the experiences and contributions of Black people across the Americas. Because as African-American children’s author, Nikki Grimes put it, “Black history is American history. February is just the highlight reel.”
Indeed, Sister Nikki. I’d add that Black history is World history.
But let’s get real. In many schools, Black History Month has been homogenized and sanitized. In a word, Black History Month has been whitewashed (pun intended). Our students deserve to know the complex truth about the experience and contribution of people of African descent across the Americas.
It’s time to get back to the roots of Black History Month, which started as Negro History Week in 1926 by Black historian, Carter G. Woodson. He was one of the first scholars to study the history of the African diaspora, not limiting the history of Black people to the U.S.
He was also the author of The Miseducation of the Negro, a forerunner of Michele Alexander’s The New Jim Crow, that laid out the role schools play in helping produce racialized outcomes across society.
Let’s take the month to begin the process of truly decolonizing our curriculum, not just trying to diversify it by sprinkling a few exceptional Black people into the mix. This is an opportunity to widen students’ aperture.
Yes, Black history has deep Southern roots, but the fact is that during Latin America's colonial period, about 15 times as many African enslaved people were taken to Spanish and Portuguese colonies than were brought to the U.S.
Make Black History Month responsive to your student population. For example, if your school has primarily Latino students, then Black History Month is a great opening to help Latino students learn more about their own African roots.
Did you know that in 2015, for the first time ever, Mexico allowed people to identify as black or Afro-Mexican through a new question in its census survey? About 1.4 million Mexicans (or 1.2% of the population) self-identified as black or of African descent based on their culture, history, or customs, according to Mexico’s chief statistical agency.
A place to start? Share Dr. Henry Louis Gates’ 6-part PBS series, Blacks in Latin America. Watch through Amazon Prime or order from PBS https://www.pbs.org/wnet/black-in-latin-america/
Make Black History Month an opportunity to celebrate, but also to recalibrate by naming and interrupting anti-blackness narratives across racial and ethnic groups that are White-adjacent. http://pewrsr.ch/3aievcw
“You can’t teach what you don’t know. You can’t lead where you won’t go.” - Gary Howard, author and activist
Have You Heard of Afro Latinos? Check out this website on ways to teach students all about it.
PBS provides some great resources in their series Black In Latin America: Click here to check it out!
Upcoming Events
In Dialogue: Social Smithsonian Objects And Social Justice – Race And Medicine
About this Event
Each month, educators from the National Portrait Gallery will partner with colleagues from across the Smithsonian to discuss how historical objects from their respective collections speak to today’s social justice issues. For this program, Scholarly and Social Justice Program Lead, Leslie P. Walker, will have a discussion with NPG colleague Beth Evans about race and medicine as represented by related objects.
Thursday, Feb 11, 2021, 05:00 PM
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NMAAHC Kids: Joyful Fridays
About this Event
Joyful Fridays: Black Music & Imagination
Create a sculpture of recycled materials. Daring music, movement and costumes have always been a special part of Black history and culture. Join us to create sculptures inspired by the Mothership and talk about how people use music and movement to express their feelings, ideas and beliefs during this webinar-style Zoom class.
Designed for: Children ages 4 to 8 years
Supplies: A list of supplies will be sent to all registered guests. To prepare for this project and future NMAAHC Kids programs, build an at-home creativity kit.
More information: Registered guests will receive Zoom information, a list of supplies, and a list of recommended books, online resources and links to related Learning Lab collections on the Monday before the program.
Friday, Feb 12, 2021, 09:00 PM
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Black History Month Mini-Storytime
Iowa City Public LIBRARY EVENT
Black History Month Mini-Storytime
Monday, February 15, 2021 -10:30am to 11:00am
In honor of Black History Month, this week our storytimes released on social media will have a focus on stories of achievements, perseverance, courage and talent that make up history of African Americans. Join us for a new story each day!
This event is open to the public.
Monday, Feb 15, 2021, 10:30 AM
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Culturally Responsive Teaching with Zaretta Hammond
The Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation
The Henry Ford Presents, inHub Webinars: Culturally Responsive Teaching with Zaretta Hammond
The Henry Ford Museum is launching a new platform that is for educators, built by educators. The purpose of inHub is to help prepare all learners to be world-changing innovators, inventors, and entrepreneurs leveraging primary sources from The Henry Ford Archive of American Innovation.
These virtual events will be a part of a series of webinars that focus on providing educators with inspiration and resources that can be implemented into the classroom.
5:30pm ET Register at http://bit.ly/3rbKpyr
Wednesday, Feb 17, 2021, 05:30 PM
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Diversity Best Practices: 2021 Black History Month Event
From inspirational stories of individual achievements to highlights on company strategies, this engaging Black History Month webinar will celebrate and explore different dimensions of diversity within the Black community. This is an opportunity for attendees to gain valuable insights into unique ways to support and uplift Black colleagues and communities, and understand the barriers, trends and actions we can take to continue to foster advancement.
Who Should Attend
ERG Leaders and Members
D&I Practitioners
HR and Talent Leaders
Participants will hear...
- Stories and highlights from LaSaia Wade, Executive Director of Brave Space Alliance on how the organization supports Black LGBTQ+ Chicagoans, and its unique partnerships with local organizations to provide much needed resources and programming to that community.
- Best practices and strategies from Salesforce’s Racial Equality and Justice Task Force, and the many ways they’re supporting and advancing Black employees, businesses and initiatives.
Tuesday, Feb 23, 2021, 01:30 PM
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Happy Holidays!
We'd love to give a big shout out to all the holidays happening in February! If you celebrate any of these, we hope that you have an amazing day for yourself and your families!
- Nirvana Day - Feb. 08
- Chinese New Year - Feb. 12
- St. Valentine's Day - Feb. 14
- Vasant Panchami - Feb. 16
- Ash Wednesday - Feb. 17
- Purim - Feb. 26
- Magha Puja Day - Feb. 27
- Shushan Purim - Feb. 28
Commemorative Observances
This year we will acknowledge the various diverse cultures that are celebrated throughout the year. We understand that our calendar may not be all inclusive, so if you know about any cultural holidays of months of observance that we should know about, feel free to reach out and let us know.
African American History Month (February)
National African American History Month in February celebrates the contributions that African Americans have made to American history in their struggles for freedom and equality and deepens our understanding of our Nation's history.
Women's History Month (March)
Women’s History Month honors and celebrates the struggles and achievements of American women throughout the history of the United States.
Irish-American Heritage Month (March)
Irish-American Heritage Month is a month to celebrate the contributions which Irish-Americans have made to the United States.
Jewish American Heritage Month (May)
Jewish American Heritage Month is a month to celebrate the contributions Jewish Americans have made to America since they first arrived in New Amsterdam in 1654.
Asian Pacific Heritage Month (May)
Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month is a month to celebrate the contributions Asian/Pacific Americans have made to American history, society and culture.
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer Pride Month (June)
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer Pride Month commemorates the events of June 1969 and works to achieve equal justice and equal opportunity for LGBTQ Americans.
National Hispanic Heritage Month (September 15 - October 15)
National Hispanic Heritage Month celebrates and recognizes the contributions Hispanic Americans have made to American society and culture and to honor five of our Central American neighbors who celebrate their Independence days in September.
National Disability Employment Awareness Month (October)
National Disability Employment Awareness Month celebrates the accomplishments in the workplace of persons with disabilities and reaffirms the commitment to ensuring equal employment opportunities to all citizens.
American Indian Heritage Month (November)
National American Indian Heritage Month celebrates and recognizes the accomplishments of the peoples who were the original inhabitants, explorers and settlers of the United States.
By Month
https://www.loc.gov/law/help/commemorative-observations/index.php
Who is in the Equity Department?
Laura Gray
Director of Diversity and Cultural Responsiveness
Charita Martin
Equity and Engagement Specialist
Andrea Jayne
Equity Program Facilitator
About Us
Non-Discrimination Policy
It is the policy of the Iowa City Community School District not to discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, disability, religion, creed, age, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity and socioeconomic status in its educational programs, activities, or employment practices. There is a grievance procedure for processing complaints of discrimination. If you have questions or a grievance related to this policy, please contact Jeremy Tabor, Director of Equity & Employee Relations
Email: tabor.jeremy@iowacityschools.org
Website: https://www.iowacityschools.org/domain/64
Location: 1725 N. Dodge St., Iowa City, IA 52245
Phone: (319) 688-1000