Partnership Educators,
As you are well aware it is Black History Month and, believe it or not, it hasn't been around very long. It was officially recognized by President Johnson in the 1970s but truthfully some communities have been celebrating this since the early 1900s. In 1925 Carter G. Woodson, an educator sent out a press release announcing the first Negro History Week. He chose February because the month contained the birthdays of both Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass. These two prominent men had historic achievements that were already celebrated by African Americans. Thank you partnership educators for reinforcing to our students that black history is really just American History that is relevant to who we are as Americans today. Though we still have a long way to go to achieve equality, much progress has been made. The greatness of the United States is that we continue to grow and make advancements towards our ideals.
I recently watched a video that gave me some perspective on understanding diversity. Having this type of understanding helps our students to gain empathy and relevance toward themselves and those around them. The analogy within this video is aimed towards cultural differences but it can also be applied to differences in abilities. A student with Autism or Down Syndrome can also fit within this description of Mirrors, Windows, and Sliding Doors. When are there times during our instructional day when students can see themselves reflected in our curriculum like a mirror? Do our students of color see themselves reflected or our students with disabilities see themselves reflected? When are those same students seeing through the window in order to learn about how other groups are? Lastly, when do our students have the opportunities to move through the glass door to enter another group's world? I invite you to take a look at the video
linked here. I recently received a message from a parent who was so impressed with how her son was excited about thinking about himself and future planning practices. She couldn't say enough about Trisha Frescas and the Vision Board Workbook. Thank you Trisha for making hope an action and helping students practice the Portrait skills. This is one example of the many examples of these types of ideas that are proliferating within our schools. It makes me proud how our educators are constantly making adjustments and looking for ways to engage and excite our students.
Vaccine Update: the same message from yesterday in case you missed it.
- Due to the number of educators who were able to get the vaccine last Saturday, Vibra's appointment-based clinic this weekend will include ALL those who identified an underlying health condition (ages 18+) as well as those aged 60 and over without an underlying health condition. This will be an appointment-based clinic with proof of appointment required by printed email or viewing of email on phone.
- Dignity Health is now coordinating with Shasta County Public Health and using their notification system to invite individuals to an appointment-based vaccine clinic that will be held on Friday, February 12th. This allocation was granted late this afternoon. For this clinic, educators will receive an email if they are in the currently open age span for educators. Because of the short turnaround time, Public Health is using a system for people to sign up for a time slot outside of their work hours, in the time span between 2:30-4:15. Time slots are in 15-minute increments. Alex will be including a sentence in the email letting people know to only select a time slot that is outside their work hours.
- There will be at least one, and maybe two, vaccine clinics on Saturday, February 20th. These clinics will be by email invitation only to educators and they need to respond to the email with a confirmation. Please encourage your staff to check their email on Tuesday or Wednesday of next week if they are in town and potentially able to be vaccinated.
Have a great Presidents Week, See you when we return.
Rob