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Students are often over tested, under challenged and disconnected to the curriculum. Students need more exposure to both the arts and wealth building which connect to their interests. The opportunity and exposure deficit in programming leads to students graduating without critical exposure in either field.

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pitch competitions that lead to new businesses

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Each student leave with a certificate of some entry level field + an understand of art theory 

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Each student leave with a certificate of some entry level field + an understand of art theory 

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Exeter Harkness + socratic method teaching methods and result in greater student engagement 

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Exeter Harkness + socratic method teaching methods and result in greater student engagement 

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EQUITY OVER ACHIEVEMENT. (Not an idea but the driving force)

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EQUITY OVER ACHIEVEMENT. (Not an idea but the driving force)

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Nuff said.

DCB is known for their achievement and they are a Tier 1 school. However, there are necessary actions in regards to equity that need to done.

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Reevaluating the school mission and vision to make it more equitable.

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Reevaluating the school mission and vision to make it more equitable.

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School culture is influenced by the mission and vision. Work bckwards.

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just like student social groups, but community-based, since not all students at a school are part of the same community

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Questions on race and equity should be included in hiring of staff.

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Teacher Evaluation to include race/equity.

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Teacher Evaluation to include race/equity.

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Keeping track of teachers and staff who are not treating students equitably.

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Keeping track of teachers and staff who are not treating students equitably.

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IMPROVEMENT PLAN OR YOU GOT TO GO.

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Conscious choice of books in both English and Spanish to include black characters.

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Conscious choice of books in both English and Spanish to include black characters.

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But going beyond choice, doing the work of not only choosing the books but talking amongst each other about why these stories matter. Having the conversations with staff so we can have these conversations with students.

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So both languages (most grade levels consist of many races) should come together to have honest conversation.

Caveat: since the staff is not as diverse as it should be, some black staff members may end up becoming the token...triggering.

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Young children of color do not have opportunities to be a part of an early well-developed STEM academic program. It is imperative that they are  immersed in a variety of STEM courses and opportunities as early as grades PreK through 4. An early grounding and substantive  introduction to the conceptual underpinnings of STEM will begin to address this systemic  problem and lead to meaningful STEM opportunities.

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Benjamin Banneker Charter Public School: Cohesive Around STEM

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mail traditional board games to families for family game play

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mail traditional board games to families for family game play

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School making a statement in regards to race.

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School making a statement in regards to race.

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If Black Lives Matter, then everyone should know. If we don't stand for discrimination or bias of any kind, then everyone should know.

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Trainings on race with follow-ups and open dialogue.

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Trainings on race with follow-ups and open dialogue.

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It should be explained that these trainings won't be easy but they need to go deeper than your standard "This is racism" staff trainings.

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mandated on-going trauma-informed care training for all school leaders/faculty/staff

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mandated on-going trauma-informed care training for all school leaders/faculty/staff

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KinderSTEM academic program implemented at 2 FPCS schools.

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student art exhibits that result in arts scholarships

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student art exhibits that result in arts scholarships

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kids in a particular school get together as a club whose focus changes over time. Kids can choose a topic that an adult will help them engage in, but kid leadership is preserved.

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student trips with intentional exposure to the business of the arts

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student trips with intentional exposure to the business of the arts

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entrepreneur academies that result in the formation of business for each student 

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entrepreneur academies that result in the formation of business for each student 

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How do students feel about their teachers and the way they are treated.

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Having students see black characters in more than just black history books.

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Having students see black characters in more than just black history books.

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Spanish books with black main characters.

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Holiday Deals Gift Cards Best Sellers Customer Service New Releases AmazonBasics Whole Foods Free Shipping Registry Sell Coupons #FoundItOnAmazon Shopper Toolkit Find a Gift Disability Customer Support

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Having genuine celebrations that are thought out and planned. Work done by ALL staff not just a select few who have deemed black history as important.

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AOC live-streaming Among Us in order to create voting plans

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AOC live-streaming Among Us in order to create voting plans

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utilizing augmented reality to meet people where they are

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Invite international foreign language interns from abroad to volunteer to collab with language teachers in the states in order to improve language comprehension and acquisition. 

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Invite international foreign language interns from abroad to volunteer to collab with language teachers in the states in order to improve language comprehension and acquisition. 

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Surveys to collect data on students from K-12 (including future plans)

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revised problem statement: Students need a way to show impact of including student voice in decision making in order to create demand from city leaders/school leaders to invest in youth policy making. 

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revised problem statement: Students need a way to show impact of including student voice in decision making in order to create demand from city leaders/school leaders to invest in youth policy making. 

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intentional opportunities for student voice and direction  

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intentional opportunities for student voice and direction  

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Survey sent to students after graduation to assess impact

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Sister Circle for Black girls and girls of color/ run by a Black woman social worker/teacher

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Sister Circle for Black girls and girls of color/ run by a Black woman social worker/teacher

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hidden veggie brownies -- sneak in the good stuff in the fun

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K-6 STEM base school (in marginalized communities in DC) that uses STEM base curriculum to teach all other disciplines

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find current youth voice champions in city leadership, propose running a student voice/youth advisory council for them

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long-term implicit bias training with school leaders/educators/staff

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long-term implicit bias training with school leaders/educators/staff

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identify current challenges of youth - voice friendly city leaders, provide examples of how student voice could improve their policy making

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How do we access schools or institutions that need this programming most??

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How do we access schools or institutions that need this programming most??

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student run movie, books,music productions 

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student run movie, books,music productions 

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different version of problem statement -  Students need structures that support them in creating researched student voice recommendations so that city leaders create more just, equitable and representative policies that impact students.

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different version of problem statement -  Students need structures that support them in creating researched student voice recommendations so that city leaders create more just, equitable and representative policies that impact students.

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make assessment easier, adapt to virtual environment

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K-6 STEM based, all girls school(in marginalized communities) that uses STEM based curriculum to teach all other disciplines

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Having students see black characters in more than black history books.

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Having students see black characters in more than black history books.

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The first time I ever heard or thought about the concept of Afro-Latinx was when I was in college (the small town in Chihuahua, Mexico where I grew up was pretty homogenous). My junior year, I left the U.S. to do a summer internship in Honduras where I made some great Afrohondureño friends. When I came back to the States, I realized that I knew tons of people that identified as both Black and Latinx-I always just paid attention to their Latinx side!

Since starting Sol Book Box, one of my goals has always been to find books that act as "mirrors" for kids, the kind where they can read authentic stories that reflect their own lives and families. My revelatory experience from all those years ago has been on my mind as we're about to start Black History Month, because I don't know about you, but I don't often see Afro-Latinxs featured during this month that we celebrate achievements by Black people in U.S. history.

I definitely don't want my kids to be in college before they realize that lots of people are BOTH Black and Latinx (a Pew Research Center survey of Latinx adults shows that one-quarter of all U.S. Latinxs self-identify as Afro-Latinx, Afro-Caribbean, or of African descent with roots in Latin America), so I thought I'd go on the hunt for great books in Spanish that feature an Afro-Latinx protagonist to read this February. And then I decided I needed to share here!

You should know that I never recommend books that I haven't personally read with my kids and enjoyed. These 7 books highlighting Afro-Latinx characters are the ones that made the cut!

Lola by Junot Diaz (Spanish), also in English as Islandborn

Most of the kids in Lola's class are "from somewhere else." When their teacher assigns them a project to draw a picture of the place where their families immigrated from, Lola is excited- until she realizes she doesn't remember The Island, because she left when she was just a baby. So she draws on the memories of family and friends to discover the place where she's from. This is a beautiful and sensitive story of culture, identity and belonging.

Blanca Nieve y los siete gigantones by Yanitzia Canetti (Spanish)

If you've been reading for a minute you already know that I'm a huge fan of Yanitzia Canetti's "Había otra vez" series. This book reimagines Blanca Nieve as una niña "con los ojos rasgados y de color caramelo, su piel como chocolate y muy crespo su pelo," and replaces the forest with a tropical island. It's one of my favorites because of Canetti's rhymes, which are precise, musical, and hilarious. (Also it doesn't hurt that in this version Blanca Nieve tells the dwarfs they can do their own housework, and later informs the prince that while she's grateful he saved her life, she can't reciprocate his love until she gets to know him a little better!)

Última parada de la calle Market by Matt de la Peña (Spanish)

This book has won all kinds of awards, and happily the Spanish translation was exceptionally well done and retains the magic of the English version. Every Sunday after church, Jackson and his grandma, Nana, board the bus to go to la calle Market. Jackson has a lot of questions: Why don't they have a car like his friend Colby? How come they always have to get off in the dirty part of town? Nana, who with every answer encourages Jackson to see the beauty of the city and the people they encounter, is one of my very favorite children's book characters. (I'm also rather partial to the heavily tattooed man on the bus who spends the whole time looking at his cell phone, ha!). Definitely a can't-miss book for any list featuring

Nochecita by Yuyi Morales (Spanish)

This gorgeous book is the perfect bedtime story, with its palette of rich purples, blues and reds. I was hooked from the first line: " Al final del largo día, Madre Cielo llena la tina con estrellas fugaces y llama, '¡Hora de bañar a Nochecita!'" Both the images and the imagery are gorgeous, and I really loved the sweet relationship between the mother and her daughter (who insists on a little round of hide and seek before bedtime). This book also won a bunch of awards, ¡muy bien merecidos! Definitely a can't-miss book for any list of Afro-Latinx centered stories.

Letras al carbón by Irene Vasco (Spanish)

In Palenque, a small town in Colombia, nobody (except the shopkeeper) knows how to read or write. But when our protagonist's older sister, Gina, begins to receive letters from Miguel Ángel-who had visited the small town previously-the girls' need to read and discover what these mysterious epistles say gets real. I can never resist a book about reading and books, and I really like the illustrations in this one. Also I like that this book was recommended to me on Instagram, yay for the internet!

Draw! by Raúl Colón (Wordless)

This book is technically wordless, but I'm going to go ahead and count it as Spanish! (As a side note, I used to not be a huge fan of wordless picture books because I felt like I was "reading" them in the most boring way ever... but I've come around thanks to the fact that I can make them all Spanish and that makes me happy.) This book, about a boy who begins in his room with a sketchbook and ends up drawing all sorts of animals in the jungle, is cute and great for animal lovers (so basically every kid ever).

Pelé, el rey del fútbol/King of Soccer by Monica Brown (bilingual English/Spanish)

Ideal for the soccer-loving crowd, and a nice tribute to Pelé, a poor boy from Brazil who grew up to become the world's greatest soccer star. The text itself is ok (though I must admit I found the random italicized paragraphs weird and distracting), but the illustrations are what really make this book, with high-energy, full-bleed pictures throughout. Brown describes Pelé's humble background (he and his friends didn't have enough money to buy a soccer ball so they used a grapefruit; they also couldn't afford shoes so the soccer team played barefoot), but doesn't dwell on it.

I go through periodically and update this list as new books featuring Afro-Latinx protagonists are published, so if you have a recent favorite, I'd love to hear about it!
Amazon links are affiliate links, meaning that if you click a link and make a purchase I may get a (very) small commission. It won't change how much you pay for an item.

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Phenomenal Picture Books Featuring Afro-Latinx Characters - BILINGUAL BOOKWORM

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The first time I ever heard or thought about the concept of Afro-Latinx was when I was in college (the small town in Chihuahua, Mexico where I grew up was pretty homogenous). My junior year, I left the U.S. to do a summer internship in Honduras where I made some great Afrohondureño friends.

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initiative to increase social workers/counselors/school psychologists in schools and remove school resource officers

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initiative to increase social workers/counselors/school psychologists in schools and remove school resource officers

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Create a connection with Habitat for Humanity and public schools where students participate in building of schools, where students can meet other natives and use their foreign language skills to improve their conversational skills and confidence in the language.  

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Create a connection with Habitat for Humanity and public schools where students participate in building of schools, where students can meet other natives and use their foreign language skills to improve their conversational skills and confidence in the language.  

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KinderSTEM program implemented concurrently with other previously adapted after school programs geared toward  STEM (all girls, all minority or in underserved schools)

Schedule
3:45-4:00 share time
4:00. Wash hands
4:00- 4:30 snack/ reading on carpet
4:30- 4:50 read aloud
4:50- 5:30 project
5:30-6:00 freeplay, Legos, Lincoln logs, Kinex
6:00 dismissal

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Use partnership with DC Public Schools to get insight into 1-2 key questions that principals are struggling with at this time. Use that as framing research question for a youth participatory research project on that question

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An additional elective offered at schools in underserved communities offering STEM based curriculum

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Create monthly PD's for existing teachers to learn the different learning styles of their students to encourage more participation amongst the students in the classroom. 

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Create monthly PD's for existing teachers to learn the different learning styles of their students to encourage more participation amongst the students in the classroom. 

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Maybe instead of advocating for student voice, tactic needs to be gleaning what school and/or city leaders are struggling with, and offering student voice as part of the solution

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PD - train other educators in digital pedagogy

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PD - train other educators in digital pedagogy

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Teaching that centers around empowerment, inclusion and racial discovery. 

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Teaching that centers around empowerment, inclusion and racial discovery. 

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Many times students learn about Spain, Europe, and Latin America but they rarely highlight that the Latino culture is not a race but it's conglomarant of ethnicities within one culture. Meaning,there are black, white, indigenous, mixed and even Asian peoples included int the Spanish/Hispanic culture. Thus, why aren't teachers teaching curriculum to highlight the brown and black kid's heritage within the foreign language classroom? If this was done, maybe the bye in from the parents, admin and students would change. Selah.