Equitable Classrooms

We are excited to bring you this month's edition of our newsletter, "Equitable Classrooms!" These newsletters are dedicated to sharing and celebrating teaching practices that foster uplifting all students within our classrooms, and school buildings within the Rye Neck school district.

Our monthly newsletter is dedicated towards a commitment to celebrate, explore, and amplify the richness that diversity brings to our Rye Neck community.

We invite your feedback and suggestions to make this a valuable resource for your classroom!

Best,

Tara Goldberg & Meegan Lawlor

RN DEI Coordinators

• F.E.B. has started a community read, "One Book, One Bellows". The entire school is reading, "Fish in a Tree" by Lynda Mullaly Hunt. Everyone in the FEB school community will be reading the book together each night with special guest audio readers for each chapter, too. The novel speaks to anyone who's ever thought there was something wrong with them because they didn't fit in. "...Ally learns not to be so hard on herself and that dyslexia is nothing to be ashamed of. As her confidence grows, Ally feels free to be herself and the world starts opening up with possibilities. She discovers that there’s a lot more to her—and to everyone—than a label, and that great minds don’t always think alike."

• Third graders are working on Black History Month biographies and conducting research on influential and important Black Americans. They are creating mini-posters of the facts and accomplishments, too!
• Fourth grade is also commemorating Black History month with a selection of texts spotlighting the contributions and history of Black Americans including dancer Misty Copland. They also were able to access a Digital Library of over 30 titles celebrating Black History Month they could listen to in class and at home.
• Fifth grade classes are celebrating Black History Month with selected excerpts and passages as well as concluding the month with a read aloud of the picture book, "Hidden Figures".

• The students in Mr. Lauten's and Mrs. Slattery's English 12 classes viewed the film Selma. They are working on an analysis of Martin Luther King Jr.'s speech at the conclusion of the march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama in 1965.

• Throughout the year, the sixth grade ELA curriculum includes books that focus on themes of tolerance, acceptance friendship and survival. These books include The Cay, Seed Folk and Bud, Not Buddy.

• Westchester Holocaust and Human Rights Commission Conference! Three juniors are participating in 13th annual Running and Winning conference at Manhattanville where they "will hear from and interact directly with state, county and locally elected female officials as well as engage in a hands-on political campaign exercise."

• The Museum of Tolerance mobile classrooms will be visiting the MS/HS campus from April 28-May 3rd. MS/HS Social Studies classes will have the opportunity to visit.

If any of the topics we have introduced in "B.O.O.M" spark your interest, please see your building library/media specialist. They are happy to help you access more information!

Learning for Justice suggests ways to introduce Women's History Month in this article

A collection of women share the female historical "firsts" who have inspired them. (Mature Language at times.)

PBS LearningMedia for Teachers produced a brief video from a child's point of view to explain Ramadan.

March is designated as Women's History Month. Click on the picture to read last year's collected information on Women's History month from the NYCDOE.

This year, Ramadan begins on February 28th and continues through March 29th. Please click on the picture to read more about Ramadan and how your Muslim students may be impacted during the school day.

This year, we have created a collection of tools that can help you on your inclusive practices journey, Feel free to examine the links in this "workshop" slide. Throughout the year, we will add resources to this slide. When you come across resources you think may help others, please forward them to one of us so we can add them.

ADL Education

Morningside Center for Teaching Social Responsibility

Learning for Justice

NYSED DEI Resources

RN Inclusive Practices "Workshop"

We welcome feedback to help make this publication as resourceful and inspiring as possible, and tailored to your interests. We invite you to reach out to us if you have resources to share and/or questions to ask. 😊

DEI Page RNWebsite

RN Inclusive Practices "Workshop" RN Inclusive Practices "Workshop"

Tara Goldberg: tgoldberg@ryeneck.org

Meegan Lawlor: mlawlor@ryeneck.org