The Essential

Welcome back to the 2023-2024 school year! Whether this is your first year in the district or your thirtieth, the Equity department is very excited to be here to support you in our district’s equity work this year.

The Essential is the equity department’s newsletter in which we will update you with news, events, and other resources that will aid you in the equity work that you are doing both personally and in your professional role. In this newsletter, we will also celebrate and uplift traditionally marginalized groups that are represented throughout our community.

Last year, our district continued with training in restorative practices as a way to address discipline disparities that disproportionately affect students of color. Restorative practices are evidence-based strategies focused on increasing positive and meaningful relationships with students in ways that benefit classroom communities, common spaces and students learning. This year, in your buildings, Restorative Practice professional development is going to be combined with your equity professional development. When restorative practice and equity are combined, they create a powerful framework for addressing and rectifying injustices in our society.

Every month, we will highlight the cultural and identity based celebrations that are celebrated nationally within each month. However, it is important to state that people who hold the identities that we are celebrating should not only be celebrated one month out of the year. We choose to celebrate the diversity of often marginalized groups because their histories and stories historically have been left out. There are many people who hold these identities within our community, students and staff, who deserve to see themselves in the work we do. We move forward with these celebrations encouraging a continuing visibility, representation, and celebration of the groups we highlight.

September 15-October 15 is Latinx/Hispanic Heritage Month! This is a month in which we can validate, learn about, and celebrate the people, both in and outside of our community, who are a part of this group! Remember that Latinx peoples are a rich and beautiful mixture indigenous, Black, and white, who speak many languages including Spanish, English and a wide array of indigenous languages. So much diversity exists within Latinx communities.

Rosh Hashanah, the first of the Jewish High Holy Days, the Jewish New Year. Generally, this is a time where family and friends come together in community to look forward into the new year and reflect on the year that has just past.

Yom Kippur, the holiest day on the Jewish calendar, is a day of atonement marked by fasting and ceremonial repentance. On this day, those who celebrate, traditionally ask for forgiveness for wrongdoings from God and from other human beings.

A collection of resources for Yom Kippur, Rosh Hashanah and other high holidays created by Jewish Educators.

When it comes to equity, we are all learners. As we become more intentional about this work in our schools, we may find the process challenging at times. It might be easier to be dismissive when we are uncomfortable. As educators in an extremely diverse district, we owe it to our students and the communities they come from to listen. We owe it to those students whom our data shows are consistently falling behind to seek to understand what exists beyond our own paradigms and experiences in order to better serve their needs.

Below are opportunities to listen, to challenge ourselves, reflect, and gain new tools for practice.

New Beginnings

The start of a new school year always brings new faces to the halls and classrooms of our schools. New students, new families, and new educators to connect with, learn from, and build community with. This September, one of our newest colleagues can say that she recently walked the halls of our schools as a student. Meet Ajah Bradley, graduate of the David Douglas class of 2023, recently hired as an instructional assistant at Mill Park, and starting her pathway to becoming a teacher through our Grow Your Own program!

Ajah arrived at David Douglas as a 4th grader, where she met one of her favorite teachers, Mr. Strobel. As she continued her experience in David Douglas, she discovered two of her greatest passions. In Alice Ott Middle School, she joined the orchestra and began her lifelong pursuit of the violin. As a junior in high school, she enrolled in culinary classes and fell in love with baking. She would like to start her own baking business and is happy to take orders, so shoot her an email if you are interested!

After graduation, Ajah worked as an intern during the summer, supporting 5th grade students in Mill Park as an instructional assistant. The internship was part of the Multnomah Educators Rising (MER) Summer Academy, a partner of our Grow Your Own program that gives high school students the opportunity to gain experience as classroom educators.

When asked about her summer internship, Ajah reflects on how her lived experience as a young Black woman and community member was essential to connecting with her students. She says, “In David Douglas the kids are so diverse. A lot of us go to the same parks. We see each other all the time because we live in the same community. It’s easier for kids to connect with someone who understands them.” She noticed that at times this made other teachers who were not community members uncomfortable. To that, Ajah replies, “It’s okay and good for you to be uncomfortable. It will help you so much in the long run. It will help you and it will help your students. Just thirty minutes of discomfort can give you a whole new insight into your students' experiences.”

With the summer coming to an end, Ajah decided to continue on the pathway to becoming a teacher and join our Grow Your Own Program. In doing so, she followed in the footsteps of her mother, Dee Dee Bradley, who this year will complete her degree in education at Warner Pacific University and has already been hired as a 5th grade teacher in Mill Park. To students, families, and employees of color who are considering pursuing a career in education, Ajah has this message: “When you’re a person of color, you’re a part of a large and diverse group that has been underrepresented in education. You’re giving input on problems that have been part of schools for a long time. Think about how the words that you say and the actions that you take will leave behind a legacy, an impact that you may not even see in your lifetime but that will positively affect children in the generations to come.”

If you are or you know a David Douglas student, family, or community member of color who is interested in pursuing a career in education, please contact Andreina Velasco (andreina_velasco@ddsd40.org), Grow Your Own Pathway Navigator.

Are you doing something wonderful in your classroom, building, or in the wider community that has to do with Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion? Are you super proud of an engagement strategy, a lesson, or a community bulletin board that you’ve created? Do you see someone else doing something wonderful and want to shout them out? The equity departments want to hear from you! Every month, we’ll be highlighting a few educators and staff members who are doing wonderful work. We know that there is wonderful work being done out there, and we would love to hear from you and share! To submit something, or invite one of us to your classroom or space, please email gabie_mbenza-ngoma@ddsd40.org.