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Equity for Our Native American/American Indian Students - American School Counselor Association (ASCA)

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GLSEN (pronounced “glisten”) is the leading organization working to improve K-12 school climate for LGBTQ youth by building the evidence base for action through our research; training educators and other school professionals to be LGBTQ competent; empowering

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Nofuente Example- AAPI History in the US

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Nofuente Example- AAPI History in the US

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Nofuente Example- Anti-Bias Mini Lessons

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Nofuente Example- Anti-Bias Mini Lessons

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Explore these interactive, online resources designed for you to learn and engage in topics about bias, bullying, identity, social justice and allyship. Learn on your own or with classmates or share with friends. You can move at your own pace, pausing and resuming as needed.

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Daelene H- Inclusive Teaching Practices | Equal Opportunity-Affirmative Action Institution

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Daelene H- Inclusive Teaching Practices | Equal Opportunity-Affirmative Action Institution

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Photo from "Real Life Indian" series by Viki Eagle, 2015.

American Indian students make up 1% of the total population in the United States. Despite 85% of Native students attending public schools, these students have the highest dropout rate of any racial or ethnic group at over 65% (Shield, 2004). A recent study revealed that faculty support is one of the most significant factors in increasing student success. The data shows that faculty support increased Native students' GPA by .13 whereas solely institutional support only garnered an increase of .10 (Marroquin & McCoach, 2017). Critical theory is crucial to understanding the relationship and influence higher education has on Native Americans; a population with 566 tribal entities recognized and eligible for funding by the Bureau of Indian Affairs (Grande, San Pedro & Windchief, 2015).

What are Native American Pedagogies?

Place-Based Learning

Place-based education promotes learning experiences that are rooted in the cultural, historical, environmental, economic and literary contexts of students. As such, it is critical to understand the ways that culture and place are intrinsic to the experiences of Native students and other populations. This framework provides faculty with an applicable set of best practice strategies to incorporate into the classroom and serve an array of students (Conti, 2013).

All-Senses Experiential Learning

Experiential learning in the Alaska Native way uses all the senses: sight, hearing, taste, touch, and smell, plus intuition and gut feeling. This framework recognizes that young people learn through engagement in activities that support their community in cooperative, collaborative and intentional ways that increase memory and skill development (Merculieff & Roderick 2013).

Storytelling

Storytelling is central to the learning of indigenous peoples. Stories convey information about history, survival, culture, and are used as a formative corrective method when an individual creates disharmony in the community. In this latter example, Elders may choose to tell a corrective story without criticizing, singling out or disciplining an individual knowing that lessons will be remembered better if they are conveyed in an animated style (Merculieff & Roderick 2013). Consider how you might incorporate case studies, biographies, fiction, and oral history in your course.

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American Indian students make up 1% of the total population in the United States. Despite 85% of Native students attending public schools, these students have the highest dropout rate of any racial or ethnic group at over 65% (Shield, 2004). A recent study revealed that faculty support is one of the most significant factors in increasing student success.

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Daelene H- Supporting Asian-American Students 

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Daelene H- Supporting Asian-American Students 

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5 Strategies to Help Black Students Feel at Home in School

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White teachers who take the time to know their Black students as individuals can foster a feeling of belonging that students need.

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Nofuente Example- ASCA Position Statement

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Nofuente Example- ASCA Position Statement

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(Adopted 2017; revised 2019)

ASCA Position

School counselors promote equal opportunity, a safe and nurturing environment and respect for all individuals regardless of citizenship status, including undocumented students and students with undocumented family members, understanding that this population faces a unique set of stressors. School counselors work to eliminate barriers that impede student development and achievement and are committed to the academic, career and social/emotional development of all students. "School counselors demonstrate their belief that all students have the ability to learn by advocating for an education system that provides optimal learning environments for all students" (ASCA, 2016, p. 1).

The Rationale

The 1982 U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Plyler v. Doe (1982) prohibits states from denying undocumented children a public K-12 education. In ruling the court stated that to deny these students an education would create a "lifetime of hardship" for the student, and it would create a "permanent underclass" (Eusebio & Mendoza, 2015).

Educators are on the front lines of implementing Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA). Because of their unique position within a school, school counselors are able to support undocumented students by assisting these students in gathering documentation for DACA requests, advising them on the many academic, career and social/emotional opportunities made possible by DACA (Avila & Zellner, 2015).

A school counseling program is an integral component of the school's academic mission. Comprehensive school counseling programs, informed by student data and based on standards in academic, career and social/emotional development, promote and enhance the learning process for all students. The ASCA National Model ensures equitable access to a rigorous education for all students. Undocumented students and students with undocumented family members deserve the same services as all other students but face social, financial and legal barriers. These students need support to feel safe, in addition to needing assistance to find funding for any postsecondary educational goals, due to lack of Title IV federal financial aid that is not available to undocumented student in the form of grants, student loans or work-study.

Many students experience stressors due to:

separation from family

cultural differences

language barriers and interpretation for families

anxiety, fear, grief and loss regarding family members' detention and deportation * caretaker roles for family members

concerns about their futures

understanding how to navigate college access and availability to them

marginalization due to mixed cultures

PTSD due to traumatic immigration events

re-traumatization

Connecting with a school counselor will alleviate many of these stressors and fears, especially when individual counseling addresses the students' concerns. Having access to a qualified school counselor builds a support system needed at any age and will enable students to develop goals for their futures and feel safe and connected to their communities. School counselors recognize these stressors can be alleviated by intervention from a school counselor.

The School Counselor's Role

School counselors focus their skills, time and energy on direct and indirect services to all students, regardless of their citizenship, national origin, race, color, gender, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status or any other demographics. School counselors participate as members of the educational team and use the skills of leadership, advocacy and collaboration to promote systemic change as appropriate. Supporting all students with a variety of needs may include a diverse skill set, including knowledge about many legal factors affecting students.

"Undocumented youth, in particular, can experience high levels of acculturative stress from immigration-related issues such as separation from family and academic difficulties. The psychological costs of family separation, associated with the migration process and with U.S. immigration procedures such as detention and deportation, are well documented and, among children, may include symptoms of depression and anxiety" (U.S. Department of Education, 2015).

The role of the school counselor includes:

Advocating for the rights of all students, including undocumented students, by ensuring students are not barred from education based on foreign birth certificates, lack of a Social Security number or a home language other than English

Working with other district personnel so any information collected is uniformly applied to all students and not used to discriminate or bar certain students' access to education

Supporting undocumented students by helping them gain access to an equitable education that meets their needs and prepares them for postsecondary access, if necessary (e.g., referrals for ELL services, special education services and medical treatment)

Working with school and district personnel to promote awareness and to educate school counselors and school and district personnel, students, parents and the community on policy, procedures and rights of the students and their families and to eliminate discriminatory language and actions regarding these students and their families

Supporting the family with information about educational access and rights

Assisting students with seeking postsecondary goals, navigating college access and finding funding for their goals

Working with community partners and leveraging resources to provide support in keeping families intact, if possible, while supporting students who are separated from a parent due to deportation

Ensuring schools are a safe haven for undocumented students and will not divulge confidential information to any outside agencies without proper legal documentation

Providing counseling intervention and social/emotional support for students affected by immigration stressors, including assessment of possible trauma that they may have experienced

Keeping abreast of current policies and practices of postsecondary institutions regarding access for undocumented students

Advocating against the practice of separating children from their families at U.S. borders (ASCA, 2018)

Maintaining a database of community resources to support referrals in assisting families with various challenges related to issues surrounding undocumented status, including recovery associated with trauma resulting from separation

Summary

School counselors understand undocumented students face additional legal, financial and social stressors and need additional support with these barriers as well as assistance with postsecondary goals. School counselors have a responsibility to provide services to all students regardless of their citizenship status, to advocate for their access to services and to prevent discrimination against students by removing barriers impeding student development and achievement.

References

American School Counselor Association. (2016). ASCA ethical standards for school counselors. Alexandria, VA: Author. Retrieved from http://www.schoolcounselor.org/asca/media/asca/Ethics/EthicalStandards2016.pdf

American School Counselor Association. (2018). ASCA issues statement condemning the separation of children and families at U.S. borders. Alexandria, VA: Author. Retrieved from https://www.schoolcounselor.org/asca/media/asca/Press%20releases/ ASCA-statement-against-border-separation.pdf

Avila, K. & Zellner, M. (2015). Deferred action for childhood arrivals (DACA): Toolkit for educators. San Francisco, CA: Educators for Fair Consideration. Retrieved from http://e4fc.org/images/E4FC_DACAEducatorToolkit.pdf

Eusebio, C., & Mendoza, F. (2015). The case for undocumented students in higher education. San Francisco, CA: Educators for Fair Consideration. Retrieved from http://www.e4fc.org/images/E4FC_TheCase.pdf

Plyler v. Doe, 457 U.S. 202 (1982).

U.S. Department of Education. (2015). Resource guide: Supporting undocumented youth. Washington D.C.: Author. Retrieved from https://www2.ed.gov/about/overview/focus/supporting-undocumented-youth.pdf
Resources
Chicago Public Schools & Choose Your Future. (2016). Undocumented Students. Chicago, IL: Author. Retrieved fromhttps://chooseyourfuture.cps.edu/high-school-college-career/undocumented-students/

Suárez-Orozco, C., Bang, H. J., & Kim, H. Y. (2011). I felt like my heart was staying behind: Psychological implications of family separations & reunifications for immigrant youth. Journal of Adolescent Research, 26(2), 222-257. doi:10.1177/0743558410376830

https://www.aft.org/our-community/immigration https://www.nilc.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/immigration-reform-chart-2013-07-11.pdf https://www.nilc.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/immigration-reform-chart-esp-2013-07-11.pdf

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The School Counselor and Working with Students Experiencing Issues Surrounding Undocumented Status

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(Adopted 2017; revised 2019) School counselors promote equal opportunity, a safe and nurturing environment and respect for all individuals regardless of citizenship status, including undocumented students and students with undocumented family members, understanding that this population faces a unique set of stressors.

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Provides multiple websites supporting the LGBTQ+ community.

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GLAAD | GLAAD rewrites the script for LGBTQ acceptance.

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Political Equality Federation Human Rights Campaign (HRC) National LGBTQ Task Force Victory Fund Bisexual BIENESTAR BiNetUSA Bisexual.org Bisexual Resource Center Youth Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network (GLSEN) GSA Network LGBTQ Student Resources & Support Point Foundation Safe Schools Coalition The Trevor Project Military The American Military Partner Association (AMDA) American Veterans for Equal Rights

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Danley - ASCA School Counselor and Cultural Diversity Position

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Danley - ASCA School Counselor and Cultural Diversity Position

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Article on the ASCA website on The School Counselor and Cultural Diversity.

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(Adopted 1988; revised 1993, 1999, 2004, 2009, 2015, 2021)

ASCA Position

School counselors have a professional and ethical responsibility to expand personal multicultural and social justice advocacy, awareness, knowledge and skills to be an effective, culturally competent school counselor. School counselors work toward cultural competence and cultural humility to provide culturally sustaining school counseling. School counselors demonstrate responsiveness by collaborating with students and stakeholders in support of a school and community climate that embraces cultural diversity and helps to promote all students' academic, career and social/emotional development.

The Rationale

Diversity is a "range of cultures and subcultures that represent attitudes, beliefs, values, rituals, symbols, norms and conventions, customs, behaviors and ideologies" (Stone & Dahir, 2016, p. 294). Culture is a powerful and pervasive influence on the attitudes and behaviors of students, stakeholders and school counselors. In response to cultural diversification in schools and communities, school counselors must be more globally responsive and culturally sustaining in the educational and social environment than ever before.

As a part of this charge, school counselors need to continue to enhance knowledge and awareness of prejudice, power and various forms of oppression and utilize culturally responsive skills to support ever-changing student needs (ASCA Ethical Standards, 2022). In support of students, school counselors implement "equitable academic, career and social/emotional developmental opportunities for all students" (ASCA Ethical Standards, 2022). It is an "expectation, not the exception" for school counselors to integrate multiculturalism and social justice perspectives into their work as advocates and leaders (Ratts and Greenleaf, 2017, p.8).

The School Counselor's Role

The ASCA Ethical Standards for School Counselors (2022) and a "host of voices in school counseling literature point to school counselor advocacy as a key factor in making progress toward this vision of equitable schools and communities. Our vision for equitable, inclusive and culturally sustaining schools can inform our advocacy goals as people and as professionals" (Grothaus, et al., 2020, p. 26).

School counselors can provide culturally responsive counseling by:

exploring their personal knowledge, attitudes and beliefs about working with diverse student populations

ensuring each student has access to a school counseling program that advocates for all students in diverse cultural groups

addressing the impact poverty and social class have on student achievement

identifying the impact of family culture upon student performance

delivering culturally sensitive instruction, appraisal and advisement, and counseling

ensuring all students' rights are respected and all students' needs are met

consulting and collaborating with stakeholders to create a school climate that welcomes and appreciates the strengths and gifts of culturally diverse students

using data to measure access to programs and to close disproportionate gaps in opportunity, information and resources that affect achievement among diverse student populations (Henfield et al., 2014)

enhancing their own cultural competence and facilitating the cultural awareness, knowledge and skills of all school personnel (Ratts & Greenleaf, 2017; Ratts, et al., 2015)

A culturally sustaining school counseling program includes a school counseling program advisory council that incorporates diverse perspectives and has representation reflecting the school's cultural census. Advisory councils can support the school counseling program in the development of goals, culturally relevant curriculum and pedagogy. and strategic planning, as well as community bridging, awareness and advocacy (Grothaus, et al., 2020).

Summary

School counselors implement a culturally sustaining school counseling program that creates systematic change through growth, self-awareness, humility, knowledge of worldviews and cultural identities (Grothaus, et al., 2020). School counselors collaborate with all stakeholders to provide relevant interventions and strategies that advocate for and promote social justice for all students (Ratts, 2015, as cited in Grothaus, et al., 2020). Through their school counseling programs, school counselors are positioned to actively become a part of the solution where cultural diversity is fully embraced in schools (ASCA, 2020).

References

American School Counselor Association. (2022). ASCA ethical standards for school counselors. Alexandria, VA: Author.

American School Counselor Association. (2020) Standards in practice: Eliminating racism and bias in schools: The school counselor's role. Alexandria, VA: Author.

Grothaus, T., Johnson, K. F., & Edirmanasinghe, N. (2020). Culturally sustaining school counseling. Alexandria: VA: American School Counseling Association.

​*Note this position statement includes minor updates to reflect the revisions to the 2022 ASCA Ethical Standards for School Counselors.

Henfield, M. S., Washington, A. R., & Byrd, J. A. (2014). Addressing academic and opportunity gaps impacting gifted Black males: Implications for school counselors. Gifted Child Today, 37(3), 147-154. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1177/1076217514530118

Lekas, H. M., Pahl, K., & Fuller Lewis, C. (2020). Rethinking cultural competence: Shifting to cultural humility. Health Services Insights, 13, 1178632920970580. https://doi.org/10.1177/1178632920970580

Ratts, M. J., & Greenleaf, A. T. (2017). Multicultural and social justice counseling competencies: A leadership framework for professional school counselors. Professional School Counseling. https://doi.org/10.1177/2156759X18773582

Ratts, M., Singh, A., Nassar-McMillian, S., Butler, S. & McCullough, J. (2016). Multicultural and social justice counseling competencies: Guidelines for the counseling profession. Journal of Multicultural Counseling and Development. 44. 28-48. 10.1002/jmcd.12035.

Stone, C.B., & Dahir, C.A. (2016). The transformed school counselor (3 rd ed.). Cengage Learning.

Resources

American School Counselor Association (2019). ASCA national model: A framework for school counseling programs. Alexandria, VA.

American School Counselor Association (2019). ASCA Standards for School Counselor Preparation Programs. Alexandria, VA.

Atkins, R., & Oglesby, A. (2019). Interrupting racism: Equity and social justice in school counseling. Routledge.

Chu-Lien Chao, R. (2013). Race/ethnicity and multicultural competence among school counselors: Multicultural training, racial/ethnic identity, and color-blind racial attitudes. Journal of Counseling and Development, 91, 140-151.

Council for Accreditation of Counseling & Related Educational Programs (CACREP; 2016). Social and cultural diversity professional counseling identity. Alexandria, VA: Author.

Frances, D. (2020). Multicultural counseling: Understanding bias and practicing humility [Webinar]. American School Counseling Association. https://videos.schoolcounselor.org/cross-cultural-counseling-understand-bias-and-practice-humility.

Guzman, M. R., Calfa, N. A., Kerne, V., McCarthy, C. (2013). Examination of multicultural counseling competencies in school counselors. Journal of School Counseling, 11(7), 1-27.

Howard, T. (2020). Why race and culture matter in schools: Closing the achievement gap in America's classrooms. New York: Teachers College Press.

Merlin, C. (2016). Build multiculturally aware students [Webinar]. American School Counseling Association. https://videos.schoolcounselor.org/build-multiculturally-aware-students.

Merlin-Knoblich, C., Moss, L., Cholewa, B., & Sringer, S. I. (2019). A consensual qualitative research exploration of school counselor multicultural education behaviors. Professional School Counseling. https://doi.org/10.1177/2156759X20940637

Nieto, S & Bode, P. (2018). Affirming diversity: The sociopolitical context of multicultural education. Pearson.

Owens, D., Bodenhorn, N., Bryant, R. M. (2010). Self-efficacy and multicultural competence of school counselors. Journal of School Counseling, 8(17), 1-20.

Studer, J. R. (2015). The essential school counselor in a changing society. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications.

Shure, L., West-Oltunji, C., & Cholewa, B. (2019). Investigating the relationship between school counselor recommendations and student cultural behavioral styles. Journal of Negro Education, 88(4), 454-466.

​*Note this position statement includes minor updates to reflect the revisions to the 2022 ASCA Ethical Standards for School Counselors.

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The School Counselor and Cultural Diversity

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(Adopted 1988; revised 1993, 1999, 2004, 2009, 2015, 2021) School counselors have a professional and ethical responsibility to expand personal multicultural and social justice advocacy, awareness, knowledge and skills to be an effective, culturally competent school counselor. School counselors work toward cultural competence and cultural humility to provide culturally sustaining school counseling.

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Danley - ASCA Build Multiculturally Aware Students Video

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Danley - ASCA Build Multiculturally Aware Students Video

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Video on how school counselors can integrate multicultural education and reduce prejudice in schools.

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Given increases in racial and socioeconomic diversity in schools across the United States, school counselors are well-positioned to lead courageous conversations and interventions that reduce prejudice and educate students about multiculturalism. Hear con

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Immigrant and Refugee Mental Health - Daly

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Immigrant and Refugee Mental Health - Daly

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Vernā Myers: How to overcome our biases? Walk boldly toward them | TED Talk

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Our biases can be dangerous, even deadly — as we’ve seen in the cases of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, and Eric Garner, in Staten Island, New York. Diversity advocate Vernā Myers looks closely at some of the subconscious attitudes we hold toward out-groups. She makes a plea to all people: Acknowledge your biases. Then move toward, not away from, the groups that make you uncomfortable. In a funny, impassioned, important talk, she shows us how.

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Paul J- Asian American and Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander Heritage Lesson Plans.

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Paul J- Asian American and Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander Heritage Lesson Plans.

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Asian American and Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander Heritage Lesson Plans

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Use this collection of free K-12 lessons, videos and activities to celebrate Asian American and Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander heritage.

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Paul J - Center for Immigrant and Refugee Advancement

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Paul J - Center for Immigrant and Refugee Advancement

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An organization that offers legal representation, resettlement, and social work to help immigrants' resettlement process.

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In 2022, Immigrant Legal Center and Refugee Empowerment Center merged, and the combined nonprofit organization is now CIRA, the Center for Immigrant & Refugee Advancement. Our diverse team of experts provides exceptional, compassionate legal representation, refugee services, and social work services.

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LoVina Louie: Native Americans : We Shall Remain | TED Talk

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LoVina Louie explains the historical root causes for the challenges facing many Native Americans. Her abundant insight and passionate stories lead into a heart wrenching yet hopeful song that will captivate you as you listen to this talk.

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I realize this is for "reporters" but the information detailed on this document is critical for all folks in the AAPI communities.

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Cady - Asian American & Pacific Islanders

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Cady - Asian American & Pacific Islanders

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Centering AAPI Students in the Classroom: An Expert Interview

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Dr. Guofang Li and Dr. Nicholas D. Hartlep, leading scholars in the field of Asian-American Education, discuss obstacles to delivering quality education to Asian and Pacific Islander American (AAPI) students, the emergence and pervasiveness of the “model minority myth” (or “stereotype”), and how educators can actively center the needs and experiences of their AAPI students.

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Cady - Native Americans & Alaskan Natives

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Cady - Native Americans & Alaskan Natives

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Frederick- Shared Strategies to Support American Indian Students 

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Frederick- Shared Strategies to Support American Indian Students 

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https://opi.mt.gov/Portals/182/Page%20Files/Indian%20Education/Indian%20Student%20Achievement/Docs/Shared_Strategies_to_Support_AI_Students.pdf

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Frederick- Supporting Asian, Asian American, and Pacific Islander Students and Families: Tips for Educators in K-12 Settings

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Frederick- Supporting Asian, Asian American, and Pacific Islander Students and Families: Tips for Educators in K-12 Settings

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National Association of School Psychologists (NASP)

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As a result of the current rise in racism and violence targeting Asian, Asian American, and Pacific Islander (AAAPI) communities in the United States, many students and families are experiencing fear, confusion, stress, and trauma. Although schools should serve as welcoming and affirming places for all students, recent reports have noted that many AAAPI students are experiencing bullying and anti-Asian discrimination in their schools both in person and during virtual learning (Jeung et al., 2021). Even more concerning are reports that adults are not consistently intervening when incidents are observed in school settings (Stop AAPI Hate, 2020a, 2020b). We must work to create safe and supportive learning environments for all students and support AAAPI students and families. The following tips and related resources can help educators meet the unique needs of AAAPI students and their families in K-12 settings.

Engage in Ongoing Self-Reflection, Learning and Commitment to Action

When incorporating social justice initiatives and developing policies to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion in schools, educators should recognize that anti-AAAPI racism is deeply rooted in U.S. history. Everyday acts of racism and violence against people of Asian descent, especially Asian American immigrants, have been going on for more than a century.

School leadership and staff should check their own biases and stereotypes against Asian Americans, which could include the model minority myth, which assumes that all Asian American students are high achieving or well-adjusted (Sue et al., 2007; Sue et al., 2021) and thus may act as a barrier to providing individual students or families with necessary support.

Staff should be aware of the negative impact of racial discrimination and microaggressions against Asian American students and how the model minority myth also contributes to the fallacy of the Asian monolith, which masks the rich diversity, strengths, and challenges of the many Asian American communities. Educators should learn about the history and culture of AAPI families locally and regionally, including the unique experience of international adoptees. Read the Stop AAPI Hate Youth Report and discuss how the community might incorporate some of the suggested recommendations within their school settings.

Create a Safe and Supportive Learning Environment and Inclusive School Climate

Train all staff on culturally responsive practice. This should include teachers and other educators understanding how to provide culturally responsive instruction and classroom engagement and interactions, as well as school psychologists and other specialized instructional support personnel providing culturally responsive direct and indirect services.

Increase supervision (i.e., during lunch, during recess, and on the bus) and train all school staff (e.g., teachers, lunch/recess supervisors, bus drivers) on how to respond to bullying and discrimination specific to Asian American students. For example, train school staff to appropriately respond to discrimination heightened by the COVID-19 pandemic (e.g., classmates saying to an Asian American student, "You have the China virus") to ensure a safe and supportive environment for both students and families (e.g., Hollaback! training).

Advocate for ethnic studies to increase representation of Asian Americans and other historically marginalized groups within U.S. history and celebrate their achievements.

Imbed discussion focused on Asian American history, culture, and activism in all subject areas in the classroom (language arts, social studies, art, music). For example:

Language Arts class: Read Asian American books in the classroom. For example, teachers with elementary school students can read Young, Proud, and Sun Jee, and engage in a discussion about empathy, why blaming Asian American peers for COVID-19 is problematic, and how to be a positive bystander/upstander. Please see more books in the resource section.

Art class: Discuss art projects (e.g., a poster contest) related to Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month.

Music class: Listen to songs created by Asian American adolescents about COVID (e.g., Original Song "We are proud to be Asian" Inspired by #StopAsianHate Vigil and Rally - YouTube), or other songs that promote and celebrate diversity and friendship.

Social Studies class: Discuss the ongoing contribution of AAAPIs in S. history and today, especially during COVID-19, and recognize how Asian Americans are an integral part of the United States. For example, by using lessons plans developed by PBS Learning Media (https://www.pbslearningmedia.org/collection/asian-americans-pbs/).

Morning meetings: Teachers can invite all students to share their experience of discrimination and bullying, and discuss how to be an upstander to keep school a safe and fun place to be and learn.

During Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage month (May), teachers can encourage all students to bring a cultural object to share in class and discuss diversity within the classroom/school.

It is important for teachers and school staff to balance invitations to contribute and opportunities for AAPI students and families to share experiences and perspectives without relying on any individual students or faculty as spokespersons for all AAPI individuals, considering the diversity within the AAPI community.

Implement Culturally Responsive Accountability Systems and Mental Health Supports

Schools should ensure that there are systems and structures in place for families and students to report racial/ethnic bullying or discrimination, and that there are clear consequences for engaging in racial/ethnic bullying and discrimination (in addition to other forms of bullying) at school.

Many Asian American families may include immigrants and may not be familiar with the school procedures, or they may worry about repercussions for reporting bullying/discrimination. Schools need to reach out to families to reduce barriers related to the reporting (e.g., developing a culturally and linguistically responsive reporting system).

School-based mental health providers should reach out to AAAPI families to provide support groups for AAAPI students who have witnessed violence towards Asian Americans.

Schools should take proactive steps and send clear statements to all families about their community values, behavioral expectations, and codes of conduct (e.g., respectful, responsible, safe), and reiterate that xenophobia and racial discrimination (e.g., blaming Asian American peers for COVID) is against the school values.

Schools should teach students about behavior expectations at school (such as being respectful, responsible, safe) and emphasize specific expectations related to peer interaction (e.g., "I celebrate and appreciate differences").

Ensure that all students have developmentally appropriate avenues for understanding what constitutes bias-based behaviors, what systems and structures exist for reporting such incidents, and the appropriate consequences (e.g., restorative practices that focus on building community and strengthening relationships).

Support AAAPI School Personnel

Educators must recognize that this is a difficult time for individuals who identify as AAAPI and work to provide a safe and supportive work environment, such as: checking in to see if your AAAPI colleagues are doing well and intervening or "calling in" anti-AAAPI microaggressive statements and behaviors from other colleagues, families, and students.

Provide antiracism training for school personnel and consider ways to integrate within existing social-emotional learning initiatives (Stop AAPI Hate, 2020b).

Be mindful of putting AAAPI colleagues in a position where they are expected to educate others about anti-AAAPI racism and rhetoric. Instead, spend time learning about these issues on your own and acknowledge that cultural humility is a lifelong practice.

Dispel Myths and Misinformation About COVID-19

Schools should provide scientifically validated information on COVID-19 spread and correct misinformation among students and staff, including the misconception that Asian Americans are carriers of, and should be blamed for, COVID-19. Schools should remind students that the World Health Organization (2015) suggested to not include geographic locations in the "naming of new human infectious diseases."

Asian American Books for Youth

PBS Documentaries on Asian Americans

Lesson Plans to Discuss Asian American History

Mental Health Resources

Supporting Youth and Families Facing Discrimination:

Jeung, R., Yellow Horse, A. J., & Cayanan, C. (2021). Stop AAPI Hate National Report. https://stopaapihate.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Stop-AAPI-Hate-Report-National-210506.pdf

Stop AAPI Hate. (2020a). They blamed me because I am Asian. https://stopaapihate.org/youth- campaign-report/

Stop AAPI Hate. (2020b). Youth incidents report. https://stopaapihate.org/youth-incidents-report/

Sue, D. W., Bucceri, J., Lin, A. I., Nadal, K. L., & Torino, G. C. (2007). Racial microaggressions and the Asian American experience. Cultural Diversity & Ethnic Minority Psychology, 13(1), 72-81. https://doi.org/10.1037/1099-9809.13.1.72

Sue, D. W., Calle, C. Z., Mendez, N., Alsaidi, S., & Glaeser, E. (2021). Microintervention Strategies: What you can do to disarm and dismantle individual and systemic racism and bias. Wiley

World Health Organization. (2015). WHO issues best practices for naming new human infectious diseases. WHO issues best practices for naming new human infectious diseases
Contributors: Cixin Wang, Chieh Li, Dieu Truong, Jennifer Cooper, Tracey Scherr
Please cite this document as:

National Association of School Psychologists. (2021). Supporting Asian, Asian American, and Pacific Islander Students and Families: Tips for Educators in K-12 Settings [handout]. Author.

© 2021, National Association of School Psychologists, 4340 East West Highway, Suite 402, Bethesda, MD 20814, 301-657-0270, www.nasponline.org

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Supporting Asian, Asian American, and Pacific Islander Students and Families: Tips for Educators in K-12 Settings

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As a result of the current rise in racism and violence targeting Asian, Asian American, and Pacific Islander (AAAPI) communities in the United States, many students and families are experiencing fear, confusion, stress, and trauma.

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An article that addresses how to teach LGBTQ topics in elementary school settings.

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People are sometimes shocked by the notion that teachers should address lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) topics in elementary schools. Maybe they think children those ages are too young, that those conversations are better had at home, or that the whole topic is simply inappropriate. Such concerns often arise because people assume talking about people who identify as LGBTQ means talking about sex. That is not what we believe at all.

Instead, when we advocate for elementary school teachers to address LGBTQ topics, we simply want them to talk about the diversity of families and relationships and communities in ways that include LGBTQ people. After all, public schools are for everyone, yet many elementary schools are too frequently unwelcoming and unaccommodating of all children, especially children of LGBTQ parents or those who are or may be LGBTQ themselves. LGBTQ people exist in children's lives in myriad ways. If children themselves don't have LGBTQ parents, perhaps they have a peer with two moms at daycare or a relative who comes out as gay, or maybe they've heard a story about transgender rights on the news. Elementary school students are surrounded by these experiences, but their teachers are often underprepared when it comes to realizing why LGBTQ topics might matter to their work as elementary school teachers and how they might make their classrooms more inclusive.

As queer-identified women and former elementary school teachers who now work in universities as teacher educators, we've spent the past decade developing a range of approaches to help elementary school teachers integrate LGBTQ-inclusive practices into their teaching: expanding representations of LGBTQ people, questioning categories with regard to gender and sexuality, and questioning representations within LGBTQ-inclusive texts. We know that no two states, districts, schools, nor teachers are exactly alike; we know that what works one place might be impossible or ineffective in another. But we also believe that every teacher can do something to help make her or his classroom safer and more inclusive to better serve LGBTQ children and families.* These approaches provide options to help everyone find something that works no matter the context.

Below we explain why LGBTQ-inclusive elementary school instruction matters, outline the approaches we have developed and have used in real-life classrooms, and suggest resources for teachers as they do this work. This article draws from our book, Reading the Rainbow: LGBTQ-Inclusive Literacy Instruction in the Elementary Classroom, where we also provide examples from our work as coteachers and researchers with second-, fourth-, and fifth-grade teachers in Michigan and Ohio to illustrate what each of these methods can look like in practice.

Why LGBTQ-Inclusive Curriculum Matters in Elementary Schools

Research shows that including LGBTQ topics in elementary schools makes a positive difference to the learning environment of a wide variety of students. For example, 75.2 percent of LGBTQ students in schools with an inclusive curriculum said their peers were accepting of LGBTQ people, compared with 39.6 percent of those without an inclusive curriculum. ¹ This acceptance is particularly important for the estimated 6 million people with one or more LGBTQ parents. ²

However, only half of elementary school teachers (49 percent) say a student with a lesbian, gay, or bisexual parent would feel comfortable at the school where they teach, and only 42 percent think that would be true for a student with a transgender parent. ³ Even though most elementary school teachers address family diversity generally, only 2 in 10 elementary students (18 percent) actually learn about families with two moms or two dads. ⁴ This silence sends a message to children with LGBTQ parents that their families are not "real" families and that their families are not accepted in schools.

Including LGBTQ topics in elementary school classrooms is also important for children who themselves identify as LGBTQ, whether they come out while they are young or, more commonly, later in life. After all, every LGBTQ adult was once a school-age child. Unfortunately, many of those children never see LGBTQ people included in the curriculum. And, too often, they see their teachers fail to intervene when other students use the term "gay" in hateful ways; sometimes they even hear such slurs from teachers themselves. ⁵

These behaviors also affect children who are bullied for being perceived as LGBTQ. Because LGBTQ people have historically been feared, hated, and discriminated against, words to describe LGBTQ people are often used by children to shame people of all identities whose behaviors fall outside the norm. What teachers do and say in response can have implications for children for years to come.

Elementary schools are also affected by the increased awareness about the lives and needs of transgender children. Transgender children are those who, having been assigned a gender at birth, consistently and persistently insist they are actually a different gender. ⁶ Sometimes children identify as a different gender as young as age 3. ⁷ Pediatricians and psychologists suggest, and recent research findings confirm, that supporting the gender identity a child asserts is an important part of healthy development. 8 This means elementary schools should be ready to affirm transgender children and their families in order to support children's mental health and development.

Lastly, including LGBTQ topics in elementary school classrooms is important to do for all children because we all live in a world with LGBTQ people. Children-even if they have a mom and a dad, identify as straight, and fit gender norms-will encounter LGBTQ people in their families, schools, workplaces, and communities. When teachers implement a curriculum that ignores these realities, students are left on their own to process what they hear about LGBTQ people in popular culture and to learn respectful language for talking about LGBTQ topics. Just as white people must be invested in ending racism and men must stand up for women's rights, non-LGBTQ people have an important role to play in making the world safer for and more inclusive of LGBTQ people. Schools teach children about the world and equip students to live in it; that world includes people who identify as LGBTQ, and therefore schools should include LGBTQ topics. The following approaches will help educators understand how to do that.

1. Expanding Representations with LGBTQ-Inclusive Texts

One of the best and most direct ways to make your classroom safer for and more inclusive of LGBTQ people and families is to have books that feature LGBTQ characters. As author Rudine Sims Bishop ⁹ first argued decades ago, books serve as "windows and mirrors." "Mirror books" validate for readers that they are not alone, that their identity or life experience is not strange, and that there is a community of people just like them out there. When readers receive mirrors for parts of themselves, they get the message that their experiences are worth writing about and are worth being read. "Window books," on the other hand, give readers insight into another person's experience. Rather than show readers more of themselves, these books show the way into other worlds that readers haven't seen firsthand but can learn from nevertheless. They remind students that not everyone is exactly like them, and they help prepare students for the complexity and diversity of the larger world. ¹⁰

As teachers, we need to remember that all readers deserve a balance of windows and mirrors. It is this balance that helps us feel affirmed while also moving beyond our own experiences. It helps children recognize they are not alone while at the same time reminding them that they live in a world with other people who are different from them. Both sides of this equation are important. Therefore, when we bring books with LGBTQ people and families into our classrooms-much like when we ensure we have books in our classrooms representing different races, ethnicities, and life experiences-we expand the number of mirrors available for LGBTQ students or children of LGBTQ families, while also expanding the number of windows available for everyone else.

So how does a teacher include a book with LGBTQ characters in her teaching? The short answer is just like you'd include any other book! You could put it on your shelf for a child to find on his or her own. You could recommend it to a child who you think would enjoy it or offer it as an option for literature circles, book clubs, or paired reading groups. Or you could read it aloud, maybe even highlighting it in your teaching. Reading a book can be a wonderful way to open up conversations about topics we don't often discuss in schools because the book can do so much of the work. You'll likely find that your adult worries about reading LGBTQ-inclusive books in the classroom are rarely shared by your students. After all, in addition to sending important messages about who belongs and who is worthy of being represented, many LGBTQ-inclusive books are also compelling and interesting reads that students and teachers alike truly enjoy. When Jill cotaught with a fourth- and fifth-grade teacher who read Alex Gino's George aloud, every time the teachers closed the book at the end of the day's reading, students would groan loudly and beg for "just one more chapter!" In a classroom Caitlin visited regularly, Patricia Polacco's In Our Mothers' House, Cheryl Kilodavis' My Princess Boy, and James Howe's Totally Joe were popular choices during silent reading time.

Reading LGBTQ-inclusive books doesn't have to be done on a special day or otherwise separated from your curriculum. When writing a book report on In Our Mothers' House, for example, a fifth-grade student we know read it independently, summarized the text, identified themes, evaluated the author's writing, and made both text-to-self and text-to-world connections. Because his teacher had included LGBTQ content in classroom discussions prior to his writing of this report, he was able to critically think about that content in sophisticated ways.

When teaching the expected content standards for your grade level, there are many opportunities for this kind of integration. LGBTQ-inclusive stories like Asha's Mums or Donovan's Big Day can be incorporated into language arts units on literary elements like understanding characters, comparing and contrasting, sequencing, understanding descriptive language, or finding the theme of a text. You could add King & King to genre studies of fairy tales and explore Lumberjanes or The Popularity Papers in investigations of graphic novels and/or series books. You could incorporate books such as And Tango Makes Three or Daddy, Papa, and Me or The Family Book into an exploration of family structures in social studies. In all these cases, you can teach required content while still providing important representations to your students.

2. Questioning Categories with Books You Already Use

If it's difficult for you, given your school or district, to read books with LGBTQ characters in them, you can make your classroom safer and more inclusive of LGBTQ people and families by discussing gender and relationships generally in broader ways, even when reading books you already teach. After all, gender is relevant for children of all ages. While gender and sexuality are not the same things, an idea called the heterosexual matrix ¹¹ shows how they become interrelated in our culture. We expect that women will have female bodies, will act feminine, and will want to date and partner with men. We expect that men will have male bodies, will act masculine, and will want to date and partner with women. Of course, in reality, all these categories are much more complicated, but we continually revert to these basic ideas. Ask almost any young child to draw a picture of a girl, and she will have long hair. We might know plenty of girls and women with short hair and boys with long hair too, but culturally, we teach that a way to distinguish boys from girls is, among other characteristics, to look at hair.

By expanding our ideas about any one piece of this puzzle-how boys or girls should look and act, for example-we make space in the whole system, creating more room for people who live any part of it differently than our stereotypes suggest. If we help students see there aren't strict rules about what girls and boys can do or how girls and boys should be, then we help to blur those divisions between categories. This blurring can help students learn to respect people who live those categories differently. When people disrupt any of the matrix categories through their gender identity, through their gender expression, or with whom and how they might fall in love, they are queering-disrupting and expanding-the heterosexual matrix to make more kinds of lives and loves visible.

Teaching in this way, a method that we call "questioning categories," means helping your students investigate how both people in the real world and characters in books disrupt the heterosexual matrix and to what effect. We believe such questioning helps students become aware of and more sensitive to the multiple ways of "doing gender" or being in relationships.

Why, for example, does Kate DiCamillo's Despereaux make his mother so disappointed that he isn't big and strong? Why does he get in so much trouble for being a mouse who doesn't act like other mice and who falls in love with someone he's not supposed to? Why is it a big deal for Charlotte Zolotow's William to have a doll? Why does his dad care so much and get so angry about it? Why is Jacqueline Kelly's Calpurnia Tate so worried about having no interest in "female" jobs such as cooking and sewing as would be expected of her, recognizing instead that her "nature" was leading her to be a scientist?

Books like these, as well as others, including Michael Hall's Red: A Crayon's Story and Tomie DePaola's Oliver Button Is a Sissy, provide indirect yet important opportunities to reflect on what we think about and how we treat people who don't behave in ways society expects. Such conversations can easily be connected to students' lives and real-world experiences in ways that can broaden their understanding of LGBTQ people and families, even without reading terms like "gay" and "lesbian."

Other considerations might also be useful when questioning categories and expanding the heterosexual matrix. For example, when reading nonfiction, students and teachers can consider how there are different expectations and assumptions made about a person based on gender, and how those expectations inform how we understand gender as a culture. Likewise, teachers can ask students to think about the kinds of relationships between people in the texts they are reading. Are they based in assumptions about who is "allowed" to be connected to each other? What knowledge does the author assume the reader has about how men and women or boys and girls act and relate to each other? Is a story shaped by the character's refusal to conform to social norms? How so? Does the way the character looks to others match the way he understands himself? What happens to people who don't fit in? Whose relationships do people make fun of and why? Questioning categories in these ways provides an important lens through which your students can engage with the characters in books, as well as develop critical reading and thinking skills.

3. Questioning Representations in LGBTQ Books

In her now-famous TED talk, Nigerian author Chimamanda Adichie ¹² discussed what she calls the danger of the single story: the stereotype or surface-level picture of a person, place, or event. The problem with relying on such stereotypes, Adichie says, isn't that they're incorrect necessarily, but that they're incomplete. By treating a single representation of the story as the full story about a particular identity category, people create limited, ultimately inaccurate portrayals. Therefore, even though expanding representations by including even one book with an LGBTQ character provides new "windows and mirrors" for readers, the danger of the single story reminds us that it is only one specific portrayal and not a representation of an entire community.

One way to address this is to try to layer different representations in order to provide students the most nuanced, complex, thorough picture of a community. Therefore, the third approach, questioning representations, brings together the first two; it helps you include representations of LGBTQ people while still questioning norms and silences involved in those representations. In other words, this approach helps us move away from asking simply if LGBTQ people are represented and instead turn our attention more specifically to how they are represented and what the overall message is of those representations. This questioning of categories even within LGBTQ-inclusive texts can help students see more possibilities for other people and for themselves.

This work is especially important because many of the LGBTQ representations in children's books are of white, cisgender, partnered, middle-class adults. Helping students notice the (relative) absence of other, more diverse LGBTQ experiences within the books they read expands students' worldviews about who LGBTQ people are. In addition to books, you can layer representations with text sets, videos, newspaper articles of current events, and guest speakers. Such work also supports standards related to research skills, reading from multiple perspectives, the use of textual evidence, and comparing and contrasting to build understanding.

It's particularly helpful to identify books that show characters of different races, classes, religions, and gender expressions. An example we love and have read with students is Jacqueline Woodson's After Tupac and D Foster. When reading that text, we help students explore how the queerness of a black character like Tash informs that character's life in different ways than does the queerness of a white character such as James Howe's Joe in The Misfits and Totally Joe. Both Tash and Joe, like all of us, have intersecting identities ¹³: they are not just gay or just male, but are gay and male and belong to a specific race and class all at the same time in one body.

Because these books give readers the opportunity to enter the lives of very different people, students more easily see how multiple identities intersect. Just as important, the single story of being gay, too often understood in terms of how white wealthy people experience it, is interrupted. The richness of these texts deeply engages students and stimulates a desire to understand the worlds that the characters live in, while simultaneously supporting connections to their own lives.

Getting Started

Because including LGBTQ topics in elementary schools is still somewhat rare, we know you might have concerns about how it will work in your classroom. For that reason, it can be good to think through what concerns you have so you can brainstorm ways to meet those challenges. Sometimes teachers are worried about saying the wrong thing, or what will happen if they don't know the answer to a child's question. Trust us that everyone feels this way sometimes. Knowing all of the right words is not the goal. The willingness to try, to be open to continually learning, to revise the ways that we speak or label or present an idea, is what all good teaching is about, including LGBTQ-inclusive teaching. It's always OK to tell a child that you don't know something or that you aren't sure but that you can look up the answer together. It's also OK to say something like, "That's a better question for you to ask your families at home."

Another concern that we hear from teachers is that they fear resistance from parents of their students and/or from their school administrators. Each situation is different, of course, but at schools we've worked with, resistance has come from a very small number of parents; the vast majority have not minded and have even supported this work. ¹⁴ But the fear of parental resistance is real. Therefore, it is useful to have thought through and to be able to articulate to others why you are doing this work. We suggest relying on research, including the findings cited in this article and other statistics from GLSEN, about the power of inclusive classrooms. You may decide to send home a statement at the beginning of the year about how you are committed to ensuring that all students have a safe space to learn or about how your class will read and discuss a variety of identities and communities over the year. Responding to resistance may also involve understanding and communicating the ways the LGBTQ-inclusive teaching that you do connects to your mandated standards or is in keeping with district policies, particularly antibullying or nondiscrimination policies.

It's important to recognize that states have different laws with regard to LGBTQ inclusion in schools. You can learn more about your state's laws by visiting the Human Rights Campaign's website. There, you might note what protections are available in states that have LGBTQ-inclusive antibullying and nondiscrimination laws as well as any legal restrictions that apply to your state. If you teach in one of the seven states (Alabama, Arizona, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma, South Carolina, and Texas) that currently have some kind of "No Promo Homo" law that doesn't allow teachers to say the words "gay" or "lesbian," it might make more sense for you to use questioning categories (approach No. 2) to LGBTQ inclusion rather than expanding representations (approach No. 1). To ensure that you are up to date on your specific context, consult directly with organizations like GLSEN, the Human Rights Campaign, the American Civil Liberties Union, or a state-level LGBTQ advocacy group.

No matter where you teach, it will be helpful to build your knowledge and locate sources of support. Finding parents and other teachers who are interested in LGBTQ-inclusive teaching can be a way to build networks and generate new ideas. In addition to research, GLSEN offers lesson plans, professional development opportunities, and other resources for educators. The Human Rights Campaign's " Welcoming Schools" project is elementary-school focused and offers book lists, training opportunities, and lesson plans.
Many professional organizations also have statements that speak to the importance of LGBTQ inclusion and resources for teachers doing such work. The National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE), for example, has an Intellectual Freedom Center to help teachers should any book they use be challenged or censored. NCTE's website contains policy statements, a rationale for reading banned books, and activities to use when teaching books that are frequently challenged. And, of course, the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) is another important source of support as you begin doing the work of LGBTQ inclusion in your classrooms. The AFT's website offers many such resources.

Elementary schools are a microcosm of our larger world, full of diverse identities, ideologies, and approaches to teaching and learning. Of course, this can cause messiness, false starts, redos, and unintentional errors, just like it does in the world outside of schools.

But when that diversity is recognized, incorporated, and celebrated in elementary schools, it can create learning spaces that teach all students how to treat one another and that are welcoming to all students and families, including those in the LGBTQ community. These are the elementary schools that students and families deserve. Let's work together to make them a reality.

Jill M. Hermann-Wilmarth is a professor of social foundations at Western Michigan University. Caitlin L. Ryan is an associate professor in the College of Education at East Carolina University. Parts of this article are excerpted from Caitlin L. Ryan and Jill M. Hermann-Wilmarth, Reading the Rainbow: LGBTQ-Inclusive Literacy Instruction in the Elementary Classroom (New York: Teachers College Press). Reprinted by permission of the publisher. Copyright © 2018 by Teachers College, Columbia University. All rights reserved.

*To learn how schools can help LGBTQ students thrive, see " More Than a Safe Space" in the Winter 2016-2017 issue of American Educator. ( back to article)

Endnotes

1. J. G. Kosciw et al., The 2015 National School Climate Survey: The Experiences of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Youth in Our Nation's Schools (New York: GLSEN, 2016).

2. G. J. Gates, "LGB Families and Relationships: Analyses of the 2013 National Health Interview Survey," Williams Institute, UCLA School of Law, October 2014.

3. GLSEN and Harris Interactive, Playgrounds and Prejudice: Elementary School Climate in the United States; a Survey of Students and Teachers (New York: GLSEN, 2012).

4. GLSEN and Harris Interactive, Playgrounds and Prejudice.

5. GLSEN and Harris Interactive, Playgrounds and Prejudice; and Kosciw et al., 2015 National School Climate Survey.

6. J. Rafferty, "Gender-Diverse and Transgender Children," American Academy of Pediatrics (2018), www.healthychildren.org/English/ages-stages/gradeschool/Pages/Gender-No...; and C. Meier and J. Harris, "Fact Sheet: Gender Diversity and Transgender Identity in Children," Society for the Psychology of Sexual Orientation and Gender Diversity, American Psychological Association Division 44, https://www.healthychildren.org/English/ages-stages/gradeschool/Pages/Gender-Diverse-Transgender-Children.aspx

7. S. A. Brill and R. Pepper, The Transgender Child: A Handbook for Families and Professionals (Berkeley, CA: Cleis Press, 2008); and S. F. Leibowitz and N. P. Spack, "The Development of a Gender Identity Psychosocial Clinic: Treatment Issues, Logistical Considerations, Interdisciplinary Cooperation, and Future Initiatives," Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Clinics of North America 20 (2011): 701-724.

8. Rafferty, "Gender-Diverse and Transgender Children"; Meier and Harris, "Fact Sheet"; K. R. Olson et al., "Mental Health of Transgender Children Who Are Supported in Their Identities," Pediatrics 137, no. 3 (2016): 1-8; and Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, A Practitioner's Resource Guide: Helping Families to Support Their LGBT Children (Rockville, MD: SAMHSA, 2014).

9. R. Bishop, "Mirrors, Windows and Sliding Glass," Perspectives: Choosing and Using Books for the Classroom 6, no. 3 (Summer 1990): ix-xi.10. C. M. Tschida, C. L. Ryan, and A. S. Ticknor, "Building on Windows and Mirrors: Encouraging the Disruption of 'Single Stories' through Children's Literature," Journal of Children's Literature 40, no. 1 (2014): 28-39.

10. C. M. Tschida, C. L. Ryan, and A. S. Ticknor, "Building on Windows and Mirrors: Encouraging the Disruption of 'Single Stories' through Children's Literature," Journal of Children's Literature 40, no. 1(2014): 28-39.

11. J. Butler, Gender Trouble, 2nd ed. (New York: Routledge, 1999).

12. C. N. Adichie, "The Danger of a Single Story," TED, July 2009.

13. K. Crenshaw, "Mapping the Margins: Intersectionality, Identity Politics, and Violence against Women of Color," in Critical Race Theory: The Key Writings That Formed the Movement, ed. by K. Crenshaw et al. (New York: The New Press, 1991): 357-383.14. C. L. Ryan and J. M. Hermann-Wilmarth, Reading the Rainbow: LGBTQ-Inclusive Literacy Instruction in the Elementary Classroom (New York: Teachers College Press, 2018).

14. C.L. Ryan and J. M. Hermann-Wilmarth, Reading the Rainbow: LGBTQ Inclusive Instruction in the Elementary Classroom (New York: Teachers College Press, 2018).

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People are sometimes shocked by the notion that teachers should address lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) topics in elementary schools. Maybe they think children those ages are too young, that those conversations are better had at home, or that the whole topic is simply inappropriate.

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This is a list of books for kids about the LGBTQ+

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These fiction and nonfiction picture books for young readers explore families, experiences, and the social history of the LGBTQ community. These stories and histories are for all readers, not just for children and families with a close connection to LGBTQ issues. At the heart of all these books is a message of unconditional love and acceptance.

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R. Anderson- Website of Children and Family Resources 

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R. Anderson- Website of Children and Family Resources 

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Resources Specific to American Indian/Alaskan Native (AI/AN) Communities

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This HHS Resource Guide to Trauma-Informed Human Services provides human services leaders at the local, State, Tribal, and Territorial levels with information and resources on recent advances in our understanding of trauma, toxic stress, and executive functioning.

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The Language of Social Justice | Alexandra Campion | TEDxUWGreenBay

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R. Anderson- Fostering an inclusive, understanding, and enriching environment for our youngest learners

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R. Anderson- Fostering an inclusive, understanding, and enriching environment for our youngest learners

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Celebrating Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Heritage Month

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Hear from AANHPI early childhood leaders and learn how diversity-informed practice furthers the early childhood field.

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An organization that helps families integrate into the community especially here in Lincoln, NE.

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Catholic Social Services of Southern Nebraska

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Let’s work together to build and grow #HopeInTheGoodLife in southern Nebraska.

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About our Programs : Programs : What We Do : Asian Community and Cultural Center

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The Asian Community and Cultural Center provides a wide variety of programs to ensure we are able to provide wholistic services to our clients and address critical needs in the community. We serve clients from over 30 nationalities, including Afghan, Chinese, Karen, Sudanese, Ukrainian, Vietnamese, and Yazidi populations. All Asian Center community advocates are first generation immigrants from the communities they are serving, bilingual and qualified cultural brokers to their clients.

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C. Galati - Teaching Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Heritage

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C. Galati - Teaching Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Heritage

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Resources for K-5
Lesson Plans
The Japanese American Internment
How Young People Saw It
Students in grades K-12 use primary and secondary sources to learn of the experiences of children and teens in World War II internment camps.

Creating Hawaii
Students in grades K-12 learn about Hawaii's history and culture by exploring the Smithsonian exhibition, Creating Hawai'i.

Hawaiian Archipelago and Star Compass
Students use the online exhibitionA Voyage to Health and other online materials in learning about the Hawaiian Islands' geography, geology, and traditional navigation, including the "Hawaiian Star Compass,"developed by C. Nainoa Thompson, the master navigator who is a part of reviving the traditional Polynesian long-distance voyaging.

Advocating for Curriculum Inclusion
OCA - Asian Pacific American Advocates recently launched their K-12 AANHPI Curriculum Project to help promote the inclusion of AANHPI history and culture into school curricula. The site includes strategies for advocating for inclusion and will eventually house a database of lessons and resources for educators.
Activities
Asian Art Museum: Education
Search regions for K-12 lessons & activities, artwork, video or background information.

Bullroarer
In this short video, students in grades 3-5 learn how to make a simple bullroarer with a tongue depressor, marker, and string.

Koinobori: Japanese Carp Windsocks or Kites
Use this lesson plan to help students create their own Japanese kites and discuss the cultural importance of Children's Day in Japan.
Teaching Guides
Asian-Pacific American Heritage Month: For Teachers
Primary sources, lesson plans, student activities, collection guides and research aids for grades K-12 - culled from materials at The Library of Congress, National Archives, National Gallery of Art, and other institutions.

Toi Maori: The Eternal Thread
This teachers guide provides background on Maori weaving, traditions, materials and techniques.
Five Sites for Lesson Plans and Teaching Materials on China Reading and Exploration
NEA's Read Across America Recommended Book List of Asian American and Pacific Islander Titles
Share these stories that celebrate major figures and read telling titles about the lives of everyday men, women, and children.

Secrets of Easter Island
This companion site to the PBS television series NOVA tells the story of how hundreds of giant stone statues that dominate the island's coast were moved and erected.

The Fate of Easter Island
Examines the impact a growing human population had the environment of Rapa Nui (Easter Island).

The Secrets of the Wave Pilots
Examines how the Marshall Islanders were able to navigate great distances over open water without instruments.
Data and Statistics
Asian Pacific Americans by the Numbers (Infoplease)
Art
Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History
Provides separate timelines for Oceania, regions of Asia.

The Art of South and Southeast Asia
This book, available in PDF format, introduces works of art from South and Southeast Asian collections of The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

The Arts of Korea: A Resource for Educators
This book, available in PDF format, introduces Korea's artistic achievement and places it in the context of its history and religions.

EXHIBITS & COLLECTIONS
Quizzes
GEOGRAPHY

HISTORY, POLITICS & CULTURE
Printables Pacific Coral Reef Coloring Book K-3 Videos

Go on a whirlwind overview of Asia in this Nat Geo Kids video, which covers some of the geography, climate, animals, and interesting facts of the continent.

Kids can learn about the rise and fall of the Mongol Empire in this five-minute video explainer from TED-Ed.

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Teaching Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Heritage | NEA

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May Is Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) Heritage Month.

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C. Galati - How to Integrate Native American Perspectives in Social Studies and Science Lessons

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C. Galati - How to Integrate Native American Perspectives in Social Studies and Science Lessons

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Culturally Responsive Teaching

To counteract the imbalance in information about Indigenous people, teachers can respectfully share resources that highlight important and deeply rooted knowledge.

Lakota Elder and educator Dorothy LeBeau said, "When we approach teaching with one worldview... we create systems of failure." Educators seeking to create more equitable and inclusive classrooms where all learners feel represented would agree with this. Absent diverse perspectives, classrooms can become places that breed misinformation. Sadly, this is often the case when it comes to the lives and cultures of Indigenous people.

A 2018 survey conducted by the Great Falls Tribune revealed that 40 percent of respondents were convinced that Native Americans were in fact extinct. This is a shocking revelation that shows just how underrepresented Indigenous people are, not just in school curricula, but in mainstream society as a whole. In 2020, CNN referred to the Native American voting demographic as " something else," further contributing to Native American underrepresentation and erasure.

Misconceptions like this are essential for teachers to correct, and they don't require adding one more thing on your already full calendar. In fact, including Native American perspectives in an informed way alongside what you already teach will improve the quality of your social studies and science lessons. There is a growing body of resources and authorship by Native Americans to aid in sharing these perspectives with integrity and respect.

Include Native American Perspectives in Social Studies

Native Americans and their history are more represented than ever in social studies curricula, but their history or culture often plays a supporting role to that of Europeans and focuses only on "the bones and bloody bits." They are presented either in archaeological terms (crossing the Bering land bridge, the abandoned cliff dwellings, etc.) or in contexts that highlight conflict and conquest. This is something that schools and public educational institutions are correcting, and in doing so, improving how history is taught.

As LeBeau hinted, history isn't a single narrative or story. Historical events always contain multiple perspectives, and those of Native Americans can be presented alongside those in texts. Resources from the National Museum of the American Indian and the book Keepunumukenhance thestory of the First Thanksgiving to provide a wider, more inclusive take on the stock story centered on the Pilgrims.

Another example is the story of Hernando de Soto's discovery of the Mississippi River and his conquest of the American South. Many of the tribes that de Soto encountered, such as the Chickasaw, are still present, and they have their own take on their supposed "conquest." Visitors to the De Soto National Memorial in Florida learn from the park's rangers the Chickasaw perspective: They weren't conquered; they drove de Soto and his men off their land, and, unlike the Spanish, they remain.

The inclusion of wider perspectives doesn't dilute history-these viewpoints provide more information and a retelling that is more accurate.

History casts a long shadow. Historical events have a profound effect on people today. One opportunity to illustrate this in history education comes in the form of treaties, which are often portrayed as nonbinding agreements about land. Few people realize that these agreements are still legally binding, and as the This Land podcast explores, they remain in effect to this day. The Treaty of Fort Laramie of 1868 between the United States and the Oglala Sioux has come up over and over in the Supreme Court. In 1980, the Court cited the treaty when it awarded what today amounts to $1 billion in reparations to the Lakota. The Lakota's refusal to collect the sum has fueled the modern land back movement.

Include Native American Perspectives in Science

While there's no best solution to climate change, there are knowledge systems and practices besides Western science that contain valuable insights for this conundrum. Most (if not all) Native American communities hold a foundational belief that it's the responsibility of each generation to ensure that the world is a healthy, sustainable place for the next seven generations. This belief, combined with Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) practices, can offer viable approaches to address many of the global climate issues. Access to TEK on Native Americans' terms can equip the coming generation with practices that will help them heal the suffering planet.

Here are some additional examples of TEK:

Not only have these TEK practices contributed to the survival and thriving of Indigenous peoples around the world, but also they have undergone thousands of years of refinement.

How to Appropriately Incorporate TEK in the Classroom

A common concern of many non-Native American educators is the appropriateness of teaching TEK to students, who may or may not be Indigenous themselves. Try these tips:

Go outside! TEK was developed from people being outside nearly all the time and collaborating with the natural world. Encourage students to use their five senses to observe the natural world as they engage in a TEK mindset and awareness.

Continuously express gratitude and honor their time. Do this through gift giving (cards, letters, art, or food made by your class) or volunteering your own time.

Ensure that you have explicit permission to share with others from that person or organization, and if you don't, keep what you've learned to yourself.

If you've been given permission to share knowledge gifted to you, always credit the source by verbally sharing the name(s) of those knowledge keepers.

Create space for diverse perspectives. If a student says something that doesn't fit into the Western science paradigm, such as, "I think that people come from the stars," find a way to validate that statement.

Collaborate with Native American knowledge keepers. If you know a Native American person or organization that is offering to share any of their TEK with you, follow these commonly practiced protocols (a compilation of information gleaned from Alison's work with tribal elders and knowledge keepers):

Use the resources available. Organizations such as GRuB (the Native Plants and Food Institute) in Washington state connect non-Native American learners to Native American knowledge keepers who are willing to share their TEK with anyone who wants to respectfully learn. Try finding a similar organization in your area. Otherwise, you can always share with your students public resources and curriculum that provide TEK information. We've also created a resource list to help you get started.

Including Native American perspectives and knowledge can enhance your classroom lessons and reach your students in a new way, but it's essential that this be done respectfully. It's important to differentiate between the open and accessible knowledge that Native Americans have invited all of us to share in, such as the resources shared here, and religious or spiritual knowledge that isn't appropriate to share.

Be wary and critical of resources created by a non-Native American person. All resources should be thoroughly researched and vetted and prioritize information from the multitude of Native American-authored resources that are currently available.

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How to Integrate Native American Perspectives in Social Studies and Science Lessons

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To counteract the imbalance in information about Indigenous people, teachers can respectfully share resources that highlight important and deeply rooted knowledge.

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Teaching Young Children is NAEYC's magazine for anyone who works with preschoolers

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By: Danielle Shulkin

As schools across the country begin to reopen for the new school year, many teachers may be meeting their students in person for the first time. Some teachers may discover that some of their new students come from refugee families and/or have recently been re-settled into their district. While all students deserve a quality education rooted in equity and compassion, students who have been displaced from their homes may require specific support. Here are some tips on supporting refugee students in the classroom.

1. Get to know your students and their families. You can't help a child if you don't know what they are facing. Many teachers start off the year by doing some sort of student survey to learn about their students' learning styles and interests. Consider adding questions such as "What is something you'd like your teacher to know about you or your family?" in order to allow students space to share in a low-pressure way. You may not learn everything, but this question opens the door for all students to share information about who they are and where they come from.On that note, be sure to develop a relationship early on with families and sponsors (if applicable) as well. Reach out to your administration or your network if translation services are needed, and let caretakers know who you are and that you will be communicating with them about their child throughout the year. It's important that families know that you both play important roles in their child's development, so it's up to the teacher to find out how best to communicate with the child's at-home support system.

2. Create predictability and routines (but still make time for fun!)Many students who've faced trauma benefit from having predictability and routines in the school day. If a student has lived through a dangerous time, fear of the unknown may provoke anxiety which can manifest itself in a variety of behaviors. Minimize this fear by creating routines for daily or weekly occurrences, such as the beginning and end of the school day, partner or group work, and transitions between subjects. Unstructured times, like lunch or recess, are important times for socialization and movement breaks; however, students who are new or still learning English may struggle with how to engage during these times. Consider pairing them up with a friendly student who can be their buddy and include them in their fun activities.

3. Utilize nonverbal communicationStudents who are still learning English may not pick up on cues as quickly as native English speakers. Be sure to use plenty of hand gestures and other nonverbal cues to allow them to follow along with directions and other information. These gestures also aid in their language acquisition. Teachers can set up specific nonverbal cues with the child for common directions. Remember that body language can vary between cultures, so be sure to respect these differences and explain clearly what you mean. Some children may not be used to common expectations in the U.S., such as making eye contact, raising hands, staying in one's seat, or asking to use the bathroom. Be sure to go over these expectations early on and show compassion if and when there are misunderstandings.

4. Aim for integration, not assimilationThe Grantmakers Concerned with Immigrants and Refugees (GCIR) defines integration as "a dynamic, two-way process in which newcomers and the receiving society work together to build secure, vibrant, and cohesive communities." Teachers can do this by incorporating various perspectives in the classroom and celebrating cultural and linguistic diversity. Assimilation, on the other hand, focuses on making the newcomer take on the traits of the new environment without reciprocity. This process can lead to students feeling as if their own culture or language is less-than, which can lead to self-esteem and identity issues. Studies have shown that a strong relationship to the previous culture and language correlates positively with improved social and academic success. Educators can include books and artifacts from different countries, provide opportunities for all students to share about their families or cultures, and model how to show respect for people and perspectives that may be new or different (without tokenizing the unfamiliar). Furthermore, it is important for teachers to be intentional about creating a positive classroom culture that all students contribute to and can share in together.This list is by no means exhaustive, and teachers and schools are encouraged to do their own research as well as reach out to organizations within their own communities that can help them support refugee students and families. Check out these articles for more tips:

Contact Us

Want to help develop new programs and partnerships to support refugees?
Contact Peace Corps Community for Refugees at:

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Tips for Teachers: Supporting Refugees in the Classroom - Peace Corps Community for Refugees

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By: Danielle Shulkin As schools across the country begin to reopen for the new school year, many teachers may be meeting their students in person for the first time. Some teachers may discover that some of their new students come from refugee families and/or have recently been re-settled into their district.

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Log in using your Doane University username (firstname.lastname) and password. If your Doane username and password does not work, try putting the domain name "crete" in front of your username, followed with a backslash, like this: crete\joe.student Your password is case-sensitive! Your password, even if you have forgotten it, can be reset by going to www.doane.edu/myaccount. If you have problems, please contact the HelpDesk at 402 826-8411, or e-mail helpdesk@doane.edu.

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Log in using your Doane University username (firstname.lastname) and password. If your Doane username and password does not work, try putting the domain name "crete" in front of your username, followed with a backslash, like this: crete\joe.student Your password is case-sensitive! Your password, even if you have forgotten it, can be reset by going to www.doane.edu/myaccount.

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Mass Media and Governmental Framing of Riots: The Case of Tulsa, 1921 on JSTOR

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Chris M. Messer, Patricia A. Bell, Mass Media and Governmental Framing of Riots: The Case of Tulsa, 1921, Journal of Black Studies, Vol. 40, No. 5 (MAY 2010), pp. 851-870

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Yaabari added: American Indians/Alaskan Natives

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Yaabari added: American Indians/Alaskan Natives

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Homelessness, Alcoholism, and Ethnic Discrimination among Alaska Natives on JSTOR

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Robert Travis, Homelessness, Alcoholism, and Ethnic Discrimination among Alaska Natives, Arctic, Vol. 44, No. 3 (Sep., 1991), pp. 247-253

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Yaabari: THE USE OF THE ALASKAN NATIVE CLAIMS SETTLEMENT ACT TO JUSTIFY DISPARATE TREATMENT OF ALASKA'S TRIBES

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Yaabari: THE USE OF THE ALASKAN NATIVE CLAIMS SETTLEMENT ACT TO JUSTIFY DISPARATE TREATMENT OF ALASKA'S TRIBES

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THE USE OF THE ALASKAN NATIVE CLAIMS SETTLEMENT ACT TO JUSTIFY DISPARATE TREATMENT OF ALASKA’S TRIBES on JSTOR

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Natalie Landreth, Erin Dougherty, THE USE OF THE ALASKAN NATIVE CLAIMS SETTLEMENT ACT TO JUSTIFY DISPARATE TREATMENT OF ALASKA’S TRIBES, American Indian Law Review, Vol. 36, No. 2 (2011-2012), pp. 321-346

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Yaabari - Racial Violence against Asian Americans

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Yaabari - Racial Violence against Asian Americans

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Racial Violence against Asian Americans on JSTOR

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Racial Violence against Asian Americans, Harvard Law Review, Vol. 106, No. 8 (Jun., 1993), pp. 1926-1943

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Yaabari - "At Least You're Not Black": Asian Americans in U.S. Race Relations

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Yaabari - "At Least You're Not Black": Asian Americans in U.S. Race Relations

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Yaabari - "At Least You're Not Black": Asian Americans in U.S. Race Relations

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Yaabari - "At Least You're Not Black": Asian Americans in U.S. Race Relations