Giving Back to the Community at Smith Elementary School
During the month of November, Smith Elementary School's Sunshine and Data Team, a student-led team, held a mitten and glove drive for Mitten for Detroit. The school set a goal to collect 300 pairs of mittens and gloves and exceeded that goal by collecting 600 pairs of gloves and mittens!
Mittens for Detroit is a nonprofit organization that collects, purchases, and distributes new mittens and gloves to children, teens, and adults in need in Detroit and other underserved cities. Thank you to Mrs. Zarate for sharing this information!
For more information about Mittens for Detroit please visit their website here.
Celebrating DEI Initiatives
Is your school or department doing something to celebrate or highlight diversity, equity, inclusion, or belonging? We would love to hear about it and share with colleagues! If there is something you would like highlighted in our newsletter, please send information to Katie Ilijic at katie.ilijic@pccsk12.com.
On January 15, 2024, we honor and observe the 38th anniversary of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day being recognized as a federal holiday and the 24th year that the day has been observed by all 50 states.
It took 15 years for federal recognition of MLK Day, as Congressman John Conyers (Michigan) first introduced the motion to recognize Dr. King's birthday as a federal holiday on April 8, 1968, four days after the assassination of Dr. King on April 4, 1968. Despite the introduction to the House of Representatives, it took 11 years before a vote, that subsequently failed, took place. For the next 4 years, Mrs. Coretta Scott King, widow of Dr. King; singer/songwriter Stevie Wonder; President Jimmy Carter; and several other influential people worked tirelessly to have the day federally recognized despite significant oppositions. In November 1983, President Reagan signed the bill into law and the first King Holiday was celebrated in 1986. On August 23, 1994, the King Holiday and Service Act was signed into law by President Bill Clinton. Despite federal legislation, there were several states that did not recognize Marin Luther King Day as a paid holiday. In 2000, all 50 states recognized the holiday by name and celebrated it as a paid holiday.
See the following resources for more information:
Martin Luther King, Jr. Lesson Plans and Activities
January 16, 2024, marks the eighth annual National Day of Racial Healing. This annual observance is hosted by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, and was created with and builds on the work and learnings of the Truth, Racial Healing, and Transformation community partners.
Racial healing is a tool and a process for celebrating common humanity, acknowledging the truths of our shared history, and recognizing our collective potential. Racial healing allows people to forge deep, meaningful relationships, lay the groundwork to transform broken systems, and bridge divides to transform our communities. For additional information, please visit the links below.
Racial Healing: The Heart of Racial Equity
January 27, 2024 is International Holocaust Remembrance Day. The United Nation's theme for 2024 is "Recognizing the Extraordinary Courage of Victims and Survivors of the Holocaust." International Holocaust Remembrance Day was designated by the United Nations in 2005 to honor the memory of the victims of the Holocaust and promote education about the Holocaust worldwide.
The UN resolution that established the day also incorporates tenets from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights by condemning all forms of "religious intolerance, incitement, harassment, or violence against persons or communities based on ethnic origin or religious belief" around the world. Please visit the following links for additional information.
International Holocaust Remembrance Day
International Day of Commemoration in Memory of the Victims of the Holocaust
P-CCS Hate and Bias Reporting Form
This is a safe online reporting platform for P-CCS students/ families to document incidents of hate and bias in our schools or at school-related events.
What do "Anti-Racism" and "Social Justice" mean?
P-CCS is committed to the success of every student in each of our schools and achieving our mission of developing capable, involved citizens who recognize that they are citizens of a global community, who use critical thinking skills, and are lifelong learners.
As stated in the P-CCS Educational and Racial Equity Policy (Policy 2260.03):
"It is the mission of the Board of Education to ensure that all students and staff have what they need to be successful, feel safe, respected, valued, and represented. With this at the core of our work, we will diligently seek to ensure that all students have the resources, support, opportunities and access to be productive and successful citizens. We will work diligently to remove barriers and with intentionality to ground our work through the lens of anti-racism, inclusion and social justice. We recognize and acknowledge simply stating that racism does not exist is not enough and must work intentionally to be anti-racist by proactively and deliberately eliminating racism."
The P-CCS Educational and Racial Equity Policy (Policy 2260.03) defines anti-racism and social justice as follows:
- Anti-Racism: Actively educating oneself on the history of race, racism and the current institutional and structural impact on communities of color which includes actively working to end racist policies, practices and attitudes to ensure equity.
- Social Justice: Fair and equitable relations between individuals and society. This includes the distribution of wealth, social privileges, and opportunities.
Please click here to read the entire Educational and Racial Equity Policy (Policy 2260.03) for Plymouth-Canton Community Schools.
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
DEI Climate & Culture Specialist
Email: katie.ilijic@pccsk12.com
Website: https://www.pccsk12.com/about-p-ccs/departments/diversity-equity-and-inclusion
Location: 454 South Harvey Street, Plymouth, MI, USA