https://padlet.com/pirazzijl/92zg0gz2b6c4npua Add your experiences, comments, and or solutions for any issues that you have interest in en-us 2020-09-16 21:37:38 UTC 2020-09-18 00:54:58 UTC hello@padlet.com https://padlet.com/pirazzijl/92zg0gz2b6c4npua/wish/753617193 Last year we had discussed having an art show and decorating recycling bins to motivate people to utilize them more often ]]> 2020-09-17 00:49:27 UTC https://padlet.com/pirazzijl/92zg0gz2b6c4npua/wish/753617193 https://padlet.com/pirazzijl/92zg0gz2b6c4npua/wish/753722840 We focused on fostering mental health awareness and coping mechanisms early on. We aimed to implement an understandable mental health curriculum for elementary age students. We also emphasized the importance of familiarizing students with counseling staff and mental health resources in an effort to destigmatize mental health. Last year, we proposed a mental health class and additional support for students to access mental health resources (peer counseling, Sources of Strength, online sign-ups to access counselors for all schools, media/social media introductions of counselors to students, etc). This year, student mental health in relation COVID needs to be a bigger focus. Student mental health is at an all time low and it’s crucial that we direct our efforts to remedy this issue. - Kira Zizzo]]> 2020-09-17 01:36:08 UTC https://padlet.com/pirazzijl/92zg0gz2b6c4npua/wish/753722840 https://padlet.com/pirazzijl/92zg0gz2b6c4npua/wish/753761708 I was going to say exactly what Kira said. She summed it up perfectly!]]> 2020-09-17 01:53:27 UTC https://padlet.com/pirazzijl/92zg0gz2b6c4npua/wish/753761708 silverbernsdorf https://padlet.com/pirazzijl/92zg0gz2b6c4npua/wish/753777686 Two years ago I worked with many people in the district to get anti-bullying protections into the handbooks. While this had some effect, the language that was used was not inclusive enough, and used harmful definitions to define some of the few groups it did include. On top of this, the text they included wasn't added to half of the handbook. Also, I believe that we should encourage teachers, and students for that matter, to inquire and understand the value and importance of people's preferred pronouns and the use thereof. This is because many transgender and non-gender conforming students already do not receive the support they need from their families, and when they can't find support at school either, they face major mental health and suicide risks(problems of which can hopefully be brought to the attention of the mental health sub group as well). Being the president of my school's GSA(Gender and Sexuality Alliance) I hear about the awful things that are said and done to students in the LGBTQ+ community that are often over looked or treated unjustly my teachers and admins alike. One of the biggest of these issues is a massive amount of the student body believing that using gay as a term to describe something negative is not only okay, but also popular. It has baffled me that the district has cracked down so hard on the r-word, but has failed to even acknowledge the issue when it comes to the derogatory use of the word gay. I feel that neither teachers nor their students receive the education they should about the LGBTQ+ population. Especially since the percent of people who identify as not strictly heterosexual(straight) is 10% of the population, the numbers of which increase dramatically for our age group. I would also like to recognize that LGBTQ+ people are not the only ones who are struggling for equality, ethnic and racial minorities are also facing many of the same issues as us to the same degree, and they also need to be included in the talk for inclusion and equity. Sorry this is so incredible long, I'll save the rest for a later date.

-Silver Bernsdorf]]> 2020-09-17 02:00:42 UTC https://padlet.com/pirazzijl/92zg0gz2b6c4npua/wish/753777686 https://padlet.com/pirazzijl/92zg0gz2b6c4npua/wish/753834583 The lack of proper education on people of color is concerning. I feel like starting with elementary schools we should start educating children about the diversity not just specifically in the US but around the world. Children need to be able to understand that people are different but that doesn't make them any less human, it's important for them to start early and understand that not everything is always fair and for the people of color in class to feel included in the education.  For middle school and especially high school with having less POC in the district, it is essential for teachers to have diversity training of some kind and for students to learn more about the challenges and issues going on in today's world. As much as some history classes teach a brief amount of POC history(slavery and colonization), there should be overviews of real world issues, things that are happening now to help prevent the spread of misinformation.  The movements going on as of current and years passed are essential to teach to help bring change. This is a human rights issue that affects the people of color around the district, it's not fun when it is treated like a political stance, rather than the disproportionate effect that has been ongoing. As well as education not just for one month or less, ex : Black History Month., we should be far more inclusive with the books the district uses when teaching. The primary amount of English class books are written by white authors in older time periods, when there are POC who have written excellent books with similar concepts that never get explored in schools. 
-Onyinye Achebe]]> 2020-09-17 02:27:19 UTC https://padlet.com/pirazzijl/92zg0gz2b6c4npua/wish/753834583 https://padlet.com/pirazzijl/92zg0gz2b6c4npua/wish/753941730 I agree immensely with what Silver said, I just wanted to add as well as asking for pronouns, teachers should also ask for student's preferred name. To accommodate for the large community of students,  all teachers should hand out something like a student profile, that asks for those things on the first day. 
Including information like:
-What name would you prefer to use in front of your parents?(For people that could be closeted or don't have a supportive family)
-What are your pronouns?
-What is your preferred name?
Along with any additional information they might prefer. I think it would help the general population of LGBTQ+ students that attend school in the district. 
-Onyinye Achebe]]> 2020-09-17 03:25:04 UTC https://padlet.com/pirazzijl/92zg0gz2b6c4npua/wish/753941730