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Equity & Inclusion Newsletter

May 2021, Edition 9

Equity & InclusionNewsletterMay 2021, Edition 9

Click here to access Region 15's Equity & Inclusion Council's April meeting minutes Click here to access Region 15's Equity & Inclusion Council's April meeting minutes

Read Aloud Video: Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month

Like many commemorative months, AAPI Heritage Month was first introduced in Congress, and became public law in 1978. Please join us in watching the read aloud video below in honor of Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage month!


When we talk about the Asian American, and Pacific Islander communities in the United States, we are talking about a huge amount of people who are incredibly diverse. There are hundreds of languages spoken, countless different traditions and beliefs, and folks who trace their roots back to 48 Asian nations and 25 Pacific Islander nations, according to the UN. For the purposes of this read aloud, we selected to read a book about the warmth between a mother and a daughter as they share a piece of their Filipino heritage. The book is called Cora Cooks Pancit by Dorina K. Lazo Gilmore, illustrated by Kristi Valiant. In the video, listen as the guest readers introduce & share a bit about themselves, and how this book connects to them!


This book was read with permission from Lee & Low Books.
Cora Cooks Pancit

Did you know May is also Jewish American Heritage Month? Did you know May is also Jewish American Heritage Month?

Jewish American Heritage Month was passed by the House of Representatives in 2006 and the Senate in 2007. Click here for rich and extensive resources, including exhibitions and collections, audio, video and still image media, resources for educators, and more. Click here for a collection of resources for families and educators from the Anti-Defamation League.
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Read

Click here to access a list of 90 books by Asian and Asian American voices for grades PK-12!


Additionally, in partnership with YouTube Kids, The Conscious Kid has launched an AAPI Storytime program for May. Click here for more information.

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Watch

Asian Americans is streaming now for free. This is a "five-hour film series that delivers a bold, fresh perspective on a history that matters today, more than ever. As America becomes more diverse, and more divided, while facing unimaginable challenges, how do we move forward together? Told through intimate and personal lives, the series will cast a new lens on U.S. history and the ongoing role that Asian Americans have played in shaping the nation’s story."

(Source: PBS)

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Listen

For kids! The Dragon Kids podcast episode, Masked Kids, "is the winning episode for middle school in NPR's Student Podcast Challenge 2020. In this episode, The Dragon Kids teach you Mandarin words pertaining to the Coronavirus. They also talk about the harassment Asian students are receiving regarding COVID-19. The Dragon Kids are in 6th grade in NYC."


For adults, the Asian Enough podcast is about "being Asian American -- the joys, the complications and everything in between.They explore the vast diaspora across cultures, backgrounds and generations, and try to expand the ways in which being Asian American is defined."

Recent Work: Secondary Spotlight

Click here to access Memorial Middle School's student-run newspaper, the MMS Times. The current edition features multiple pertinent topics such as AAPI hate crimes and gender-based violence, and more.

Celebrating 3 students' winning projects at State History Day Celebrating 3 students' winning projects at State History Day

We are proud to announce three Region 15 winners from the National History Day state-level competition, which took place on May 1st! There were 14 students from Region 15 who competed at the state competition this year in both the junior and senior levels of competition. Three students received third-place ribbons for their work based on the theme, Communication in History: The Key to Understanding. Scroll down to watch and hear from the winning students themselves!


Interested in participating in National History Day? Information for participating next year will be shared in middle school Social Studies classes. Also, you may contact Mrs. Sharon Wlodarczyk or Mr. Karl Buckley, Region 15 National History Day Advisors.

National History Day

Senior Division

Senior Group Exhibit: Caroline Parrott and Emma Williams from Pomperaug High School

Project title: Charles Dana Gibson and the Gibson Girl - Communicating a new feminine ideal for women in the 1890’s

The Prayer Pilgrimage for Freedom - Katherine Vongsouvanh
Junior Division

Individual Documentary- Katherine Vongsouvanh from Memorial Middle School

Project Title: The Prayer Pilgrimage for Freedom: Hearing the Voices of the Civil Rights Movement.

Community Learning Opportunities!


  • How to Talk to Children About Antisemitism, ADL CT, May 10, 7:00 pm
  • Separate by Design: Teaching the History of Residential Segregation in Connecticut, Gilder Lehrman Center at Yale, May 13, 5:00-7:00 pm
  • The Tulsa Race Massacre: Looking Back, Looking Ahead, African American Intellectual History Society, May 19, 1:00 pm

  • Prevention, Wellness, and Healing: A Symposium with a Youth Perspective, SERC, May 20 9:00-2:00

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Contact & Social Media

Instagram: @r15equity_inclusion


*Note: Image (c) 2019 CLC Collective and Dottir Press

Email: equity_inclusion@region15.org
Twitter: @r15equity

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