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Message in our weekly communication to staff at the beginning of January.

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Message in our weekly communication to staff at the beginning of January.

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Black History Month

DABRS PRIORITY #5

5.4                  The YRDSB will make mandatory the celebration of Black History Month in an identity-affirming way.

I just want to reiterate my message from the staff meeting.  It is most appropriate to focus on Black Excellence when working with our early learners up to and including grade 2 and even older students depending on the learner’s profile.  Please look for alternative ways to recognize Black History Month rather than continuing to focus on the enslavement of Black people, racism and oppression.

The Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade and the need for freedom fighters is a horrifically traumatizing period in Black History.  It is not the complete story of Black History.  Please do not expose our youngsters to this terrible story as their first or prevalent narrative about Black People.

To get a jump start on planning, I suggest that you look at the resources available on the bww from 2021.  https://staffweb-yrdsb.msappproxy.net/services/focus/equity/Pages/African-and-Caribbean-Heritage.aspx

Picture books about Black Excellence: image

https://staffweb-yrdsb.msappproxy.net/services/commcultural/Documents/Black%20History%20Month/SD-Elementary-Black-Excellence-Educator-Resource.pdf

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"Celebrating Black Excellence" is focussed on post-slavery contributions.  Black families have voiced that the contribution of African civilization pre-slavery is not recognized or celebrated and therefore we are upholding a white supremacist/colonial view of black history.  This is a reflective conversation some of our staff members have had.

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"Celebrating Black Excellence" is focussed on post-slavery contributions.  Black families have voiced that the contribution of African civilization pre-slavery is not recognized or celebrated and therefore we are upholding a white supremacist/colonial view of black history.  This is a reflective conversation some of our staff members have had.

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Need to include black students and families in "how we do things". Be open-minded to "hear" how things could change to make it better. Building relationships is key.

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Need to include black students and families in "how we do things". Be open-minded to "hear" how things could change to make it better. Building relationships is key.

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Who are our Black students? Unless we ask students, we can only perceive which students are Black. Does YRDSB has race data on which students are Black? That would allow us to collect quantitative data.

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Who are our Black students? Unless we ask students, we can only perceive which students are Black. Does YRDSB has race data on which students are Black? That would allow us to collect quantitative data.

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When a black parent begins the process of raising a concern, do they see themselves represented in guidance team? VPs? P? SO? Caring and Safe Schools?

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When a black parent begins the process of raising a concern, do they see themselves represented in guidance team? VPs? P? SO? Caring and Safe Schools?

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White supremacy rules. Teachers do not acknowledge that the curriculum and school structures centre white people

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White supremacy rules. Teachers do not acknowledge that the curriculum and school structures centre white people

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Building Connections with Caring Adults - following through with supports.  

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Building Connections with Caring Adults - following through with supports.  

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Learning occurs once a month at staff meetings -- how else for staff to engage in whole staff learning? 

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Learning occurs once a month at staff meetings -- how else for staff to engage in whole staff learning? 

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Are students not meeting the requirements, or not selecting the options. Need to revisit the goals of these programs, what they represent, who they service and the beliefs/biases behind them.

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learning about our own biases / reflecting about our own practice

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learning about our own biases / reflecting about our own practice

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Addressing ABR through many competencies in the TPA process.

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Addressing ABR through many competencies in the TPA process.

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More practice with scenarios where racism isn't so obvious

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More practice with scenarios where racism isn't so obvious

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Question is HOW to dismantle anti-black racism in my school. Want to get to the action for impact.

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Question is HOW to dismantle anti-black racism in my school. Want to get to the action for impact.

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under - representation in IB; systemic barriers:  transportation, cost, referral from elementary

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under - representation in IB; systemic barriers:  transportation, cost, referral from elementary

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bias about who can be 'successful' in gifted programs, what does 'gifted' mean for educators, families, communities?

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bias about who can be 'successful' in gifted programs, what does 'gifted' mean for educators, families, communities?

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We want our black students to feel safe, to be successful, to have a strong and positive path for their future.

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We want our black students to feel safe, to be successful, to have a strong and positive path for their future.

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Stating that they have more important...current work to do.  Reflecting on our practices is deemed as 'not important'.

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Stating that they have more important...current work to do.  Reflecting on our practices is deemed as 'not important'.

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under representation or invisibility of Black students in gifted programs

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under representation or invisibility of Black students in gifted programs

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Importance of acknowledging the harm that has occurred when incidents happen. 

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Importance of acknowledging the harm that has occurred when incidents happen. 

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hyper-invisibility in gifted and FI programs

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hyper-invisibility in gifted and FI programs

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supporting staff in not having all the answers? Knowing what questions to ask. Open stance to learning

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supporting staff in not having all the answers? Knowing what questions to ask. Open stance to learning

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Paternalism. Curse of good intentions, without really getting to know student barriers and working towards reducing or undermining them. 

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Paternalism. Curse of good intentions, without really getting to know student barriers and working towards reducing or undermining them. 

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We are able to shape the curriculum but do teachers have confidence to do so? What if I say the wrong thing fears. 

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We are able to shape the curriculum but do teachers have confidence to do so? What if I say the wrong thing fears. 

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At our school, one of the main challenges is the de-centering of anti-Black racism work. There is always a wondering of why are we not focused on other groups when the data is clear that we need to focus on supporting our Black students.

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Lack of trust between parents/school leading the conversation with "what do you need?"

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Lack of trust between parents/school leading the conversation with "what do you need?"

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Over and under representation of students in programs

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Over and under representation of students in programs

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Some staff feel the DARBS work isn't important because "we don't have many black students"

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Some staff feel the DARBS work isn't important because "we don't have many black students"