Culturally Responsive Collaborative Group Strategies at P-CEP
Multi-lingual language (MLL) teacher Fatima Salemassi and physics teacher Sarah Tyler have collaborated to provide students with a culturally responsive collaborative groups strategy. This strategy encourages MLL and other students to work together, which fosters a sense of belonging and inclusivity among learners from diverse backgrounds. In these groups, students who are MLLs have the opportunity to bring their unique linguistic and cultural perspectives to the learning process, which enriches discussions and promotes a deeper understanding of different cultures. Students have the opportunity to interact to develop empathy and understanding of other points of view and diverse American experiences. This helps to challenge stereotypes and biases. These groups also provide MLL students the opportunity to continue to develop their English language proficiency.
Students have provided positive reflection about this collaboration saying "It was a lot of fun working with my group. We all knew the key vocabulary in English and what we needed to do." Another student said "It was interesting how we switched between Spanish, Arabic, and English vocabulary to first plan and then build our system. I learned how to say 'thank you' in Spanish."
One example of the culturally responsive cooperative groups was on display during an egg drop project in Ms. Tyler's physics class. Ms. Salemassi and Ms. Tyler plan to continue to use this strategy to create more diverse experiences and help break down biases for all of their students. Thank you to Ms. Salemassi for this information!
Celebrating DEI Initiatives
Is your school or department doing something to celebrate or highlight diversity, equity, inclusion, or belonging? We would love to hear about it and share with colleagues! If there is something you would like highlighted in our newsletter, please send information to Katie Ilijic at katie.ilijic@pccsk12.com.
June 2024 marks the 55th anniversary of the Stonewall uprising, which occurred on June 28, 1969, and is often credited as starting the movement for LGBTQ rights in the United States. The Stonewall uprising, or Stonewall riots, started after the Stonewall Inn, a bar popular with the LGBTQ community, was raided by police officers. The uprising involved hundreds of people and led to six days of protests and violent clashes with law enforcement outside of Stonewall Inn. The Stonewall uprising is viewed by many as the beginning of the LGBTQ rights movement and inspired the establishment of several LGBTQ rights organizations.
On the first anniversary of the riots, the first gay pride parades in U.S. history took place in Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and near the Stonewall Inn in New York City. In 2000, President Bill Clinton officially declared June Gay and Lesbian Pride Month. In 2011, President Barack Obama expanded the observance to Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Pride Month.
The background for this month’s newsletter is artwork by Julie Mehretu entitled Stadia II. Mehretu is an Ethiopian American visual artist known for multi-layered paintings of abstracted landscapes on a large scale. Mehretu’s family moved to East Lansing, Michigan in 1977 to escape political turmoil.
This year’s Motor City Pride Festival, Michigan’s largest pride celebration, will take place on June 8 & 9 at Hart Plaza.
This year's Old Village Pride Festival will take place on June 23 in the Old Village in Plymouth on Liberty Street. The festival will include vendors, food trucks, resources groups, music, and drag performances.
This year's Pride OUTside will take place on July 13 at Heritage Park in Canton. The event is free for all ages and includes guest speakers, performers, community resources, local vendors, and food.
Below, please find a list of resources that may be helpful as we observe this month.
While the Emancipation Proclamation, issued on January 1, 1863, is thought to be the end of enslavement for Black people in the United States, it was General Order #3 on June 19, 1865 coupled with the ratification of the 13th Amendment on December 6, 1865, that marked the end of enslavement throughout the United States.
Issued by Major General Gordon Granger, General Order #3 stated “The people of Texas are informed that in accordance with a Proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free. This involves an absolute equality of rights and rights of property between former masters and slaves, and the connection hereto existing between them becomes that between employer and hired laborer.” Despite the proclamation and the general order, some enslavers did not adhere to the orders and waited for government enforcement of the orders on plantations.
After full emancipation, there was still tremendous pain, fear, uncertainty, confusion, and struggle for people who had been enslaved and the Black community. As a way to honor the strength, resilience, and determination of those who had been enslaved, a celebration was held one year after General Order #3, on June 19, 1866. Today, Juneteenth continues to honor and recognize those who never gave up, despite their circumstances.
In 1979, Texas became the first state to make Juneteenth an official holiday. In June 2021, Congress passed a resolution establishing Juneteenth as a federal holiday; President Biden signed it into law on June 17, 2021.
Canton Township's Juneteenth celebration will take place during Liberty Fest on June 15, 2024 from 3-10pm. This celebration will feature guest speakers, awards, black-owned businesses, entertainment, activities, and more. For more information about Juneteenth celebrations around Metro Detroit, click here.
See the following resources for more information:
Shavuot, or "The Feast of Weeks," is celebrated seven weeks after Passover. This two-day Jewish holiday commemorated when the Torah was given to the Jewish people at Mount Sinai. Shavuot is celebrated by taking off work, candlelit dinners, studying the Torah, going to the synagogue, and enjoying dairy foods, among other festivities.
Shavuot begins at sundown following the 5th of Sivan, according to the Hebrew calendar, and lasts until nightfall on the 7th of Sivan. This year, Shavuot is being celebrated on June 11-13.
See the following resources for more information:
Eid al-Adha, or the “Feast of Sacrifice,” signifies the willingness of the Prophet Ibrahim to sacrifice his son, Ismail as ordered by Allah. This year, it is being celebrated the evening of June 16 through the evening of June 20. Eid al-Adha usually lasts three to four days and begins on the 10th day of the Muslim calendar lunar month of Dhul-Hijja. Eid al-Adha is considered the holiest of the two Eids, the other being Eid al-Fitr that commemorates the end of Ramadan.
Eid al-Adha is a time of prayer, great communal and family gatherings, feasting, and giving. It is common for Muslims to donate to charity during these times and to give gifts, particularly to children.
See the following resources for more information:
Happy Summer! We all know teaching is a very rewarding and very demanding career. As you prepare to say goodbye to your students and close up your classrooms for the summer, please ensure that you spend time this summer resting and recharging. Summer can be a great time to practice self-care. Here are some self-care ideas to focus on your well-being.
For additional resources, please see the links below.
P-CCS Hate and Bias Reporting Form
This is a safe online reporting platform for P-CCS students/families to document incidents of hate and bias in our schools or at school-related events.
What are Racial Equity and Racial Trauma?
P-CCS is committed to the success of every student in each of our schools and achieving our mission of developing capable, involved citizens who recognize that they are citizens of a global community, who use critical thinking skills, and are lifelong learners.
To effectuate this, the P-CCS dynamic plan strives to ensure that all students and staff feel physically, psychologically, and emotionally safe and represented at school. In order to achieve this, we must understand and acknowledge racial trauma and the need for racial equity. The P-CCS Educational and Racial Equity Policy (Policy 2260.03) defines those terms as follows:
Racial Equity: ensuring a person’s race or ethnicity are no longer predictors of advantage or disadvantage due to implicit or explicit bias and socially-constructed racial hierarchies. Examining and ending unintended (and intended) consequences and actions that have negative or disparate effects on communities of color.
Racial Trauma: also known as race-based traumatic stress, refers to the mental and emotional impact and pain of one’s experience with racism and discrimination caused by encounters with racial bias and ethnic discrimination, racism, and hate crimes.
Please click here to read the entire Educational and Racial Equity Policy (Policy 2260.03) for Plymouth-Canton Community Schools.
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
Katie Ilijic (She/Her/Hers)
Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
Email: katie.ilijic@pccsk12.com
Website: https://www.pccsk12.com/about-p-ccs/departments/diversity-equity-and-inclusion
Location: 454 South Harvey Street, Plymouth, MI, USA