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 Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) 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

DEI Coordinators

In Mr. Grazioli's AP Computer Science Principles, the class discusses algorithmic bias within AI tools. Specificialy, they explored how Twitter decided to discontinue their automated image cropping tool because it was biased towards recognizing white faces and not as good at recognizing faces of people of color. The tool was also found to favor female faces over male faces The issue stemmed from the data that was being used to teach the AI how to recognize faces not being diverse enough- it was predominantly white faces and not a good representation of the population of the world as a whole. Engaging in discussions like this encourages students to think critically.

There are currently four Rye Neck High School juniors preparing to present at the Westchester Holocaust and Human Rights Commission Conference in March. Eight sophomores will also be in attendance. We wish them luck and look forward to reporting back after they present!

We started our December Early Release Professional Learning with a faculty check-in. (Remember Kevin Hart? 🤣) Check-ins are a great conversation starter that allow you to take the pulse of how students are feeling, and provide opportunities for making connections that create a foundation for a safe and happy learning space. Here is a Google Slide-Deck of "Check-in's" to use or adapt. You might choose one to have on the board when students enter the classroom or during transitions as a spring board.

Consider selecting and building your own slide deck that would be relatable to your students. The check-in's not only provide an entry point into understanding the current feelings of our students, but give them an outlet for expression that creates a readiness for the learning ahead.

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!

Getting Started with Trauma Informed Practices

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eWIV3wWygS4
In this brief video from Edutopia, we see that when educators use strategies tailored for students who have experienced trauma, it benefits all students.

Understanding Trauma: Learning Brain v. Trauma Brain

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KoqaUANGvpA

In this video, Jacob Ham explains the differences between the brain of a child impacted by trauma and the brain of students who have not had traumatic experiences. Most importantly, he highlights what schools can do to successfully work with students in "survival brain."

Thoughts about Black History Month (click on the podcast symbol to listen.)

A brief clip of Black-ish, season 5 episode 14, with thoughts on Black History Month. (Streaming on Hulu and Amazon Prime if you would like to check out the full episode.)

Although there are none to date for January, two important events can be recognized:

1. Lunar New Year

2. Martin Luther King, Jr Day

Lunar New Year, will be celebrated on January 29, 2025, and will mark the beginning of the Year of the Wood Snake.

Here are some things you can teach kids about Lunar New Year.

Lunar New Year – It’s the Year of the Snake

Teach Starter Resources

National Geographic

The zodiac
Each year is associated with one of the 12 animals in the Chinese zodiac, and 2025 is the Year of the Snake. The snake is the sixth animal in the zodiac and is associated with wisdom, intuition, and elegance.

The Wood Snake
The combination of the snake with the wood element symbolizes growth, stability, and creativity. This pairing is rare and occurs once every 60 years.

Lucky colors, numbers, and flowers
Lucky colors for the Year of the Snake include black, red, and yellow. Lucky numbers are 2, 8, and 9, and lucky flowers include orchids and cactus.

Celebrations
Families and friends get together to cook and share special foods, wear new clothes, decorate their homes, and participate in parades, music and dance, and performances.

Crafts
Kids can make paper lanterns, good luck signs, or decorate zodiac animal masks.

Importance of family

The most important thing about the holiday is celebrating with family.

For the past 49 years, February has been designated as Black History Month.

We encourage you to teach cultural awareness, diversity and responsiveness throughout the year and not only during the shortest month of the year! (Although there is a reason February was chosen- a Dunkin Donuts gift card awaits the first person to email Meegan with the answer.) Black History Month does offer us the reminder to reflect on our practice. Below, please find resources that may be helpful to you in this endeavor.

https://www.responsiveclassroom.org/teaching-diversity-beyond-black-history-month/

https://diversebooks.org/programs/wndb-bookshelf/

https://www.learningforjustice.org/magazine/dos-and-donts-of-teaching-black-history

This year, we have created a collection of tools that can help you on your DEI 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 on their DEI journey, 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 DEI "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 DEI "Workshop" RN DEI "Workshop"

Tara Goldberg: tgoldberg@ryeneck.org

Meegan Lawlor: mlawlor@ryeneck.org