Equity and Inclusion
Monthly Update - November 2022
Equity and Inclusion
Every month, you will find discussion topics, activities and evidence based strategies in the areas of English as a Second Language, Bilingual Education, Culturally Relevant Teaching and Learning and community updates on events related to Race, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.
Equity 5-10-15
November Theme: Inclusion
The truth is, we live in a society where the color of our skin, the language we speak, the religion we practice, the amount of money in our pockets, and the gender we identify with are major factors in our prognosis for success in school and in life. Ignoring this truth or wishing it was different will not change the reality. The ISD 719 District Equity Department believes that all of us have a responsibility to act to solve the injustices and inequities we see in our society and in our schools. And we will never know what action needs to occur if we are unwilling to have honest and courageous conversations on the topics of race, ethnicity, religion, poverty, gender, sexuality, and disability. This may make us feel uncomfortable, but the consequences of inaction are far greater than our own personal discomfort.
In an effort to spark these vital conversations, the District Equity Department will be sharing relevant and thought-provoking resources regularly with all staff members of PLSAS. Our hope is that, if you have 5,10, or 15 minutes (or more) to spare each month, you will engage with this shared content. Further, we hope this engagement will lead to meaningful conversations in all corners of our district. We ask that you approach these resources as a learner and that you are willing to model vulnerability and open-mindedness for your peers and our students.
We will know our work has been successful when we can honestly ensure that any gaps in access, opportunity, and achievement for our students are eliminated; Not narrowed – Eliminated. And when every student – no matter their race, native language, religion, economic status, gender, sexual orientation, or disability – are seen, heard, dignified, and eventually leave PLSAS with a world-class education, a diploma in their hand, and hope in their hearts for a bright future ahead of them.
English Learner Strategy
A way to carry out academic conversations - RISA Dialogue: Routine, Integrated, Structured, Academic
"Instruction that involves only reading, writing, or the teacher talking dooms SLIFE & Refugee-background students to fail."
While oral interaction around academic learning is essential for SLIFE and Refugee-background learners, it can also significantly deepen and enliven learning for all students (Zwiers, 2018, 2010). RISA is and has been used successfully in K-12 ESL classrooms in urban, suburban, and rural settings, in all content areas, in co-taught classrooms, mainstream teacher only classrooms, and university language courses.
RISA is not a lesson plan or a curriculum--it is an instructional strategy to support oral processing of content you are already teaching, a structured way to make sure students talk about what they are learning. It is inserted into short time segments in your lessons--it does not overtake your schedule. In addition to its instructional value, RISA is also useful for assessment; many language and content teachers find that quizzes and tests are both more accurate and less stressful when done orally.
Routine: It’s a part of your regular routine. 3+ times per week.
Integrated: Directly integrated with your content objectives. The information that students are interacting about comes from the content of your lesson or unit.
Structured: Give the students a structured template for their interaction. Not just, “Talk to your partner about ______.”
Academic: This refers to your language objectives, which are directly linked to your content objectives. The language you are having students use is academic. It contains both academic vocabulary and academic structures.
https://www.watsoneducationalconsulting.com/risa-oral-interaction.html
Improving Writing Skills: ELLs and the Joy of Writing
Writing is often the last and most difficult domain for English Learners to master. This is because it actively pushes students to display a strong understanding and control of English grammar. Writing makes students search for vocabulary words beyond social vocabulary. And unless it is making a list, Writing activities often ask students to convey a purpose with details to their thoughts personal thoughts by adding facts and opinions. All these skills can be very difficult for English learners and make it quite hard for English Learners to fully enjoy writing in English. The article below from "Colorin colorado" shares strategies on how to help bring back the joy of writing for your EL students. The article focuses on how one can differentiate writing activities through utilizing the following strategies:
- The Language Experience Approach
- Sentence Auction
- Error Correction
- Quick Write
- Cinquain Poems
https://www.colorincolorado.org/article/improving-writing-skills-ells-and-joy-writing
Native American Heritage Month: We Are Still Here
The Coalition of Teachers of Color (CTOC) and The Native American Student Coalition are putting on a virtual event for Native American Heritage Month. Please use the bit.ly below to register. If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to the members of CTOC at plseactoc@gmail.com
PLSAS Parent Engagement
Parent Group Meetings and AIPAC
- Student voice - PLSAS honors and empowers student voices as we work to sustain an environment that is welcoming and inclusive for all. Students at PLSAS can take part in various cultural clubs and participate in events that honors their culture and lived experiences such as Caring and Committed Conversations.
- Community engagement and parent engagement - Equity work is work that we do together. PLSAS have a variety of parent engagement events specific to each school. We also collaborate with our city partners and different service organizations to host Coffee and Conversations along with other events in our district and throughout the city.
- Professional development - Teachers and staff take part in high quality professional development throughout the year. PLSAS also partners with other districts in the Southwest Metro Collaborative to put on the annual Southwest Metro Equity Summit that is open to educators and community members in the Southwest metro.
- Policies - PLSAS reviews policies on a regular cycle to ensure that our practices and procedures are equitable to all.
- Curriculum and practice - PLSAS strives to have curriculum materials and texts that are culturally relevant and teaching practices that are engaging and culturally responsive to our students.
For the area of community and parent engagement this year, we have structure parent affinity group meetings for our top 5 language groups: Somali, Spanish, Russian, Cambodian and Vietnamese. We meet quarterly on various topics that bridges the schools and the communities' interests. Along with our American Indian Parent Advisory Committee meetings, all parent group meetings have been well attended. Our goal is to help parents stay engaged and have knowledge of our district's programs and practices. We value our parents as partners in creating the best educational experience possible for our children.
Photos of last months events and service work
Feed My Starving Children
The EL teachers, students and parents took part in volunteering to help organize food for children in need.
Students with Ms. Devaney
Students with Ms. Hoffman
Prior Lake's Heritage and Culture Festival
Here are a few photos from the Prior Lake Heritage and Culture Festival.