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Equity & Inclusion Newsletter

January 2021 - STAFF Edition

Equity & InclusionNewsletterJanuary 2021 - STAFF Edition

Honoring Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.: May we each do our part to realize the vision of Beloved Community Honoring Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.: May we each do our part to realize the vision of Beloved Community

Click here to access the Equity & Inclusion Council Minutes from 1/13/21 Click here to access the Equity & Inclusion Council Minutes from 1/13/21

January Read Aloud Video

With Dr. Martin Luther King Day, a federal holiday, on Monday, January 18, this newsletter is dedicated to the importance of learning about Dr. King in the context of the Civil Rights movement. One important, specific context for doing so includes teaching and learning around children's roles in the movement. This newsletter, therefore, focuses on Dr. King and the Children's March in Birmingham in 1963. The read aloud video we created, along with the resources that follow, are meant to foster learning related to this topic because "to fully understand the the movement, our students need to learn an accurate version of Dr. King's life and activism" (Dr. Charles McKinney, Historian). Teaching and learning about Dr. King in the context of the Children's March is just one entry point of many in studying Dr. King in context.


In this video, 3 PHS students, 2 GES students, and PHS Social Studies teacher, Mr. Syrotiak, volunteered as guest readers to share the text The Youngest Marcher: The Story of Audrey Faye Hendricks, A Young Civil Rights Activist, by Cynthia Levinson and illustrated by Vanessa Brantley-Newton.


The resources that follow delve deeper into the Children's March.


Note: This read aloud is displayed with the permission of Simon & Schuster.

The Youngest Marcher: The Story of Audrey Faye Hendricks, A Young Civil Rights Activist
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Read

Kids in Birmingham 1963 is a site about kids coming of age in Birmingham in 1963 to share their stories. It is a collection of primary source accounts of the ways "kids--Black and white, activists or observers--experienced that year. And what we think about it now."


Photo source: PBS

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Watch

Mighty Times: The Children's March is an Academy Award winning short documentary about the heroic organization and mobilization of children and young people in Birmingham, AL, which brought segregation to its knees.


Photo source: History.com

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Listen

Ain't Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me 'Round is a freedom song included in this month's read aloud video about the teaching and learning of Dr. King in the context of the Children's March. It is performed here by The Roots. A children's sing-a-long video from the Atlanta History Center is available here for young children.


Photo Source: Ed Jones/Birmingham News

Free Professional Learning Opportunities Free Professional Learning Opportunities

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Co-Conspiratorship: How white educators should approach & teach Black history

Here's a link to register for this webinar, which is this week, January 21, from 8-9 pm, through the Abolitionist Teaching Network.


If there is interest, I am happy to meet with anyone who would like for me to turnkey the learning from this session with you, your team, etc.! While Black history should not be relegated to Black History Month, we know that is coming up in February, so this is a timely event.

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How to Use the Books You Choose: Elevating the Status of Marginalized Identities in Children’s Literature through Classroom Teaching

Here's a link to register to this upcoming webinar from Boston University's Wheelock College of Education & Human Development on February 4 at 3:00 pm.


"Teachers and researchers are contributing to a growing body of work focused on discerning authentic from inauthentic representations of Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC) and intersectional marginalized characters and stories in children’s literature as well as empowering from disempowering narratives. Importantly, the current visibility of our nation’s racial unrest serves as the backdrop for this work...
How does this connect with children’s literature? When we fill our classrooms with books, we are presented with opportunities to choose well and choose wisely in order to, literally, change prevailing narratives about intersecting identities. These choices are consequential..."
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Making School a Safe Place for LGBTQ+ Students

This is not an upcoming session, but just a read or if you prefer, you can listen on LGBTQ+ inclusivity.

Paraprofessionals: Free Opportunity from SERC!

Paraeducator Online Training Modules: Relationship-Based Access to Learning and Self-Regulation for Students with Disabilities, Feb. 24 1-2:30pm

Elementary Staff: Call for recent work to highlight!!

In February for the Region 15 Family edition of this newsletter, work related to diversity, equity, and inclusion will be spotlighted for the elementary level. Please feel free to send a couple of sentences and/or pictures to include to celebrate good work happening!

Applications open for CREC TEACHER RESIDENCY PROGRAM

Region 15 may be seeking participation in CREC's Teacher Residency Program! What is this program? See below:


The CREC Teacher Residency Program with the Regional Educational Services Center (RESC) ALLIANCE is an alternate route to elementary certification focused on increasing teachers of color across the state of Connecticut. Resident candidates will be enrolled in rigorous coursework for 18 months and serve in a paid residency position in a mentor teacher’s classroom for the school year. Residents will work in a partnering district and attend classes virtually and on-site in one of our cohort locations.


  • Resident selection prioritizes potential to work with diverse students and minimizes barriers to traditional certification program admission
  • Residents participate in courses for 18 months at little to no cost
  • Coursework is designed by practicing educators and prioritizes skills necessary to be successful in a diverse classroom
  • Residents work for one year in a partner district under a mentor teacher while receiving pay and benefits
  • Residents are guaranteed a full-time teaching position in the partner district upon completion of the certification requirements
  • Residents are eligible to earn CT certification after fourteen months and 90 days of successful teaching in their own classroom


Reserve a spot today by clicking here: Information Session Registration Form

Thursday, January 21, 2021, 5:00 pm - 5:30 pm

Tuesday, January 26, 2021, 4:30 – 5:00 pm

Monday, February 1, 2021, 3:30 – 4:00 pm

Thursday, February 4, 2021, 8:00 – 8:30 am


Ready to Apply*? Click HERE!

*Candidates will select one of the four locations listed here: Hamden (ACES), Hartford (CREC), Old Lyme (LEARN) or Trumbull (CES).

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Contact & Social Media

Instagram: @r15equity_inclusion


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

Email: equity_inclusion@region15.org
Website: region15.org/globalcitizenship
Twitter: @r15equity

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