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There are two major ideas which I implement in my classroom that shows a welcoming environment. First, I want my classroom to be arrange in a diverse collaborative setting. arrange my classroom in a group manner. I arrange tables and chairs in a way that students can sit in groups and able to interact and collaborate with each other easily. This type of arrangement create more engagements and discussions among diverse students, thus allowing students to accept and appreciate others' viewpoints. Second, I have decorated classroom walls with students' work and some life positive quotes that highlights:

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There are two major ideas which I implement in my classroom that shows a welcoming environment. First, I want my classroom to be arrange in a diverse collaborative setting. arrange my classroom in a group manner. I arrange tables and chairs in a way that students can sit in groups and able to interact and collaborate with each other easily. This type of arrangement create more engagements and discussions among diverse students, thus allowing students to accept and appreciate others' viewpoints. Second, I have decorated classroom walls with students' work and some life positive quotes that highlights:

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- Students' motivation to work and do better in class
- Make students feel positive and motivated in life

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Although I have not had a classroom of my own, I am teaching summer school this month and I have developed a Gratitude Board that students can write on to express what they are thankful for and if they want to express appreciation towards classmates or others in the building. I have also extended it to outside of the school environment that allows students to express gratitude for family members and others they come in contact with. When I taught in a long-term sub position, I had a lot of student work around the room that was supported by a lot of colors. Being able to see their work around the classroom and in the hallways makes them feel proud of their work and what they have created. I also have had a classroom agreement and norms that students need to follow in the classroom that they have signed and acknowledged. This means that students understand what their objectives and expectations are in the classroom towards the teachers and their classmates.

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I want all who enter my classroom to feel peace and belonging. For that reason I use a lot of colors found in nature, often leave my shades up from my windows and let the natural light in rather than the florescent lights, calm lamps and twinkle lights and have class plant-pets. I like to see people walk in and take a deep breath of what feels like fresh air (albeit my windows don't open). In addition to providing a calming space, I also want students to see themselves in the room. Whether that is their self portraits on the wall, actual printed photographs of them, their art they have made, projects they are proud of- some of the decorations and items on the board in the room are my own or for curriculum- but most of it is drawings and pictures of my students, and art they have made. I believe that a space where you can see yourself, and your work represented is a space where you feel safe and welcome. At the beginning of the year I talk to my students about how our class is a family, and our classroom is a home sweet classroom- and regardless of the home my students come from- I want them to be able to feel comfortable in the classroom home they come to. The texts in my classroom are representative of the diverse population that I serve and my students can also see themselves in the books that we read as a class and individually. I have signs in my room that say, "You are loved" and "Hate has no home here", and some encouraging words for my students and peers. I have a poster for myself and staff about, "Responses to racist comments collected form the field" which includes interruptions you can use when hearing and responding to racist comments. Finally, I always try to leave my door physically open (unless there is a safety or privacy concern). I do this to show students and my coworkers that they are welcome to come in and have a space where they belong, or at the very least I am able to see them, and smile!

I think moving forward I want to be more direct with my signals. In the past, with the littles (K/1), I believed that the nuance of certain images or phrases was over their heads, so the bigger ideas of love and anti-hate felt more age appropriate. HOWEVER, I am totally aware of my privilege with that and am working on including more direct signals such as pride and trans flags, and Black Lives Matter signs. For example, as a cis-hetero-woman, not having a pride flag would affect my comfort in the classroom to a very small degree in general, that is to say I would still feel represented in other ways, however it might make the biggest difference in the world for a student or a peer of mine to see one and know that they are safe, loved and celebrated. Also, how powerful would it be to start conversations about race and love and pride DIRECTLY, rather than hoping they are picked up or assumed indirectly. So those are things I will be adding this year.

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My classroom is a combination of color everywhere. There is a high representation of Mexican culture represented in my classroom. I attempt to maintain Spanish posters up. My space has the school rules hugely placed on the wall. There is some Si se puede signs. I have a lot of confidence building signs/imagery. I however do not have much signals of my room being a safe and welcoming for all. I am shocked that I don't.

Moving forward I think I will either be purchasing or making my own signals of safe space for all students and people. I teach 3rd grade and I think they would be able to have conversations about these posters. I would like some younger children messages. I am now aware that I need to do better on this.

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My classroom is set up in a double horseshoe shape. I do this in order to facilitate discussion as well as a feeling of inclusion for all of my students. I typically try to move students' seats relatively frequently while making sure people spend time both in the front and the back of the classroom. This also ensures that students have peers directly next to them for small informal group chats that might lead to some ideas that they can use in full group discussion. I generally circulate the room listening particularly for students who are less inclined to share in the class to give them some praise for their answers and see if they might share them with the rest of the class.

In the first week of school, it is always my goal to memorize all of my student’s names. Once I put them in a seating chart, I begin practicing their names throughout that week. On the last day of the week I try to say all of their names. I also share that I used to not try to do this, but I realized that it actually isn't that hard and it is a good example of how when we tell ourselves we can’t do something we wind up limiting ourselves.

I find it to be important to have positive uplifting messages on the walls of my classroom, pop culture artifacts, and items that differentiate my room as an English/language arts room. I do not rely too much on my posters and room artifacts to create the tone for my class, but rather how we conduct ourselves and what we do in class. For that reason I do make an effort to have each of my students have something of theirs on the wall within the first week of class. This really sets the tone that they all serve a valuable role in the class.

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This past school year, we started in a new building. In the '19-'20 school year, amidst distance learning, we packed up our classrooms and stacked the boxes hoping they would end up in the right room. The new building was built with an "open concept." Rooms are joined with a sliding glass wall and w were told the intention is for collaboration between classrooms and sharing rooms. While excited for collaboration, as someone who loves to create a cozy, inviting, and safe space for students, I am pretty protective of the look of my classroom. When were allowed back in the building (pre students), I was eager to set up my space and library. I filled a wall with books, set up the lamps and twinkle lights, and covered my windows with pride and trans flags (pride photo shoot pictured below). I put words of empowerment and justice on the walls, many from printable posters from teaching for justice, and various "black lives matter" posters, many passed out at the racial protests this summer by OEA. I think often this sort of decor can feel performative, but I appreciate the opportunity to signal to students that they and an accomplice in the classroom. With all of my excitement to create a safe space, when hybrid arrived the set up changed dramatically. As students arrived in AM & PM cohorts, they were assigned one classroom. Teachers walked from class to class when the bell rang. This meant that we never taught in our own classrooms. It was hard to set a tone that I wanted when I was in someone else's classroom. Alas, these past two years have taught us all flexibility. I hope to continue to signal to students that they are safe and welcome in my classroom.

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Pre-COVID, as a PE Teacher, my room was the gym. Because of safety reasons, we are not allowed to have any furniture or materials around, so the gym is basically empty. It consists of two full Basketball courts, twelve electric hoops attached to the ceiling and two electric sets of bleachers. One thing that we have on our wall hanging from the ceiling , is a big banner with our mascot, our Hawk (it was already there when I was hired). Underneath the Hawk, there are three words: Diversity, Equity and Success. I think these three words truly represent our values as a school and the message that we want to transmit to our students. After reading “Speaking up and Responding to Bias and Stereotypes” and reflecting on what I can do next, I definitely see myself adding more visuals in my gym that invites a more welcoming and safer space. Also, I am thinking that I can add some pictures and quotes in the locker rooms as well. Last, I would like to mention that I always have an introductory conversation with my students on the first day of school about these topics. I like to set clear expectations and transmit to my students the importance of respecting others and responding to injustice.

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As you enter my classroom, I have a cover that I place on the front of my door for the first month of the year (picture below). It highlights the fact that they are capable of anything, and that I love and care for all of them.

This year, I will be switching from 6 tables and 30 chairs to a flexible seating model. I purchased a high bistro table with tall stools, several wiggle seats, yoga balls, wiggle discs, a large ottoman, a coffee table, two floor pillows an additional carpet, etc. Last year I had 8 students on an IEP and all of them had "preferential seating" in their plans. Beyond those 8, the majority of my class were diagnosed with ADHD and had severe focus issues. I began rethinking my classroom environment and reflected on my own learning style and where I prefer to do my master's assignments. The majority of the time I choose my couch, bed, or the floor. At no point do I choose a table and chair or a desk. Something clicked in my head and I began to bring in pieces to try with my class. They absolutely LOVED the changes and many could focus much better. I did some more research and decided on the pieces I wanted to add, and what I wanted to eliminate. In addition to providing students options for seating, I wanted to minimize the pieces in the room that waste space, and allow for more free movement around the room.

I also have adopted Choose Kind as my classroom "theme." I created a Choose Kind board that lives in the front of my classroom. Any student who notices someone doing something kind, fills out a Choose Kind card for that person, gives it to them, and that person gets to post it on the board. I think this board supports the idea that everyone has the ability to be kind, in any way. It is not a "prize" a student earns, and there is no limit to how many cards can be for one person. For those who struggle with writing know they can go to a friend or myself to help them write their card. When the board gets too full, cards are taken down and placed on a ring underneath a picture of that student, and hung in the hallway. This is one of my favorite parts of our room.

Throughout the years, I have had many, many students who cannot read, due to being several grade levels behind, or limited English proficiency. In order for them to work independently, I have included many visual cues for my Exit Direction board. I want all my students to feel accomplished and that they have the tools they need to be successful.

About a year ago, I purchased a stack of cards with the word "Hello" in 25 languages. I would like to create a banner above my front whiteboard with all of the cards posted. In addition to the board, I wanted to connect those cards to our passport country studies I do every month. I think my students would really enjoy learning new languages, in addition to feeling like our room is more inclusive.

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2021-07-25 20_35_13-Hello from Around the World! Bulletin Board Set at Lakeshore Learning

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As a leader, I should focus on elements that create a better environment for all the students. Natural sciences for example as well as language development bring the social topic up first from a biological, and later from a sociological perspective to create the ambiance in the classroom. On one side, we share stories that make us think, we all are part of the same animal kingdom, on the other hand, we know our history is biased and that is why we need to discuss it!  For example, pain is experienced at a sociological and biological level and no one needs translation for that. Therefore, a plant in the classroom or a living thing can be symbolic of the idea that we are like plants, and like them, we belong to an ecosystem. Therefore, strategic participation modeling as part of language development instruction will help leadership skills be planted, as seeds in our students' minds. Leadership participation is essential for the members to create their community to be able to produce inquiries and new perspectives and projects or portfolios- so rearing those models is required in the classroom. Learning about the behaviors as holding a double-sided mirror, in a multicultural classroom ‘otherness learning experiences’ can weave a better social tissue by unlearning from our biological and ideological bodies. Another symbol to explore is the norms that involves each member of the community, it means us! By using sentences that I will rotate periodically, I would use quotes—over the whiteboard to discuss in different groupings. For example “The love of our neighbor in all its fullness simply means being able to say, ‘What are you going through?'” by Simone Weil. Additionally, a poster with the human rights declaration or alike that reminds us about our vision, to question what we signed for? What it is like to be part of this micro society?
But for us as leaders and educators, I think those elements should remind us about our own process. For example, I need to ask to myself: I am doing self-assessment? do I behave as having sense of purpose?
Finally, I would add the black lives matter sign in the classroom.
Thank you!

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For the past two years, I have been teaching in the dental hygiene clinic which is full of operatory chairs, counters, and sinks. Due to COVID and aerosol concerns, no posters or papers are near the chairs so it looks very bare! I started teaching my first didactic course this summer, but it was all virtual via recorded lectures (the class is now over). I did not include anything besides the curriculum so I feel that I could have improved upon inclusivity for my class. I did create a survey at the beginning of the course, asking students what their preferred pronouns are, what other languages they speak, etc in order to get to know them better individually (only I saw each survey answer). Perhaps I could incorporate a statement into my lectures about inclusion. One chapter of my course goes over teeth bleaching. There are some concerns in the dental world about using the words "whitening teeth" due to fears of offense. I tend to say brighten your smile, but this is something I did not go into depth for my students. I think it would be helpful for them to be aware of the impact of words. I would love any advice on how to include more inclusive ideas to my students in this setting. Thank you!

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For the past two years, I have been teaching in the dental hygiene clinic which is full of operatory chairs, counters, and sinks. Due to COVID and aerosol concerns, no posters or papers are near the chairs so it looks very bare! I started teaching my first didactic course this summer, but it was all virtual via recorded lectures (the class is now over). I did not include anything besides the curriculum so I feel that I could have improved upon inclusivity for my class. I did create a survey at the beginning of the course, asking students what their preferred pronouns are, what other languages they speak, etc in order to get to know them better individually (only I saw each survey answer). Perhaps I could incorporate a statement into my lectures about inclusion. One chapter of my course goes over teeth bleaching. There are some concerns in the dental world about using the words "whitening teeth" due to fears of offense. I tend to say brighten your smile, but this is something I did not go into depth for my students. I think it would be helpful for them to be aware of the impact of words. I would love any advice on how to include more inclusive ideas to my students in this setting. Thank you!