Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

November 2024

Celebrating DEI Initiatives

Celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month at Miller Elementary

During the 2024-2025 school year, Miller Elementary will feature a rotating monthly bulletin board that highlights different cultures and heritages throughout the year. This month, the bulletin board is celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month by displaying famous Hispanic Americans and providing students with information about each person. A special thank you to Ms. Rushlow and Ms. Kronk who are leading the Bulletin Board Committee!

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.

November is Native American Heritage Month

November is Native American Heritage Month! Native American Heritage Month is celebrated to honor American Indian and Alaskan Natives who have contributed to improve the character of the nation. In 1990, President George H.W. Bush and Congress passed a joint resolution designating November as the first Native American Heritage Month. Michigan is home to 12 federally recognized Native American tribes and is one of 10 states with the largest population of Native Americans.

Artwork for this month's newsletter is Orchestrating a Blooming Desert, by Steven Yazzie. Yazzie is a member of the Navajo Nation and is of Laguna Pueblo descent. Yazzie is a multidisciplinary artist whose work explores the complexities of an Indigenous experience as it relates to personal identity, community relationships, and connection to the land as the source of life, stories, conflict, and healing. Yazzie lives and works in Denver, Colorado.

Please see the resources below for additional information on Native American Heritage Month.

Teaching After an Election

The 2024 election season is upon us and will be among the most closely followed in American history. As we navigate the days and weeks that follow the election, it is vital to continue to create rigorous, responsive, and engaged learning communities. When we decide whether and how to talk about the election, it can be helpful to keep your own goals for teaching and learning in mind. Major events like elections can be distracting and can make it difficult to teach and learn. If discussions about the election take place, it is important to have a clear sense of the connection to course content, themes, or skills.

Even if you do not plan to discuss the election in class, it is important to be prepared for the possibility that a student will raise the topic. If the topic of the election comes up, acknowledge the student and note that not everyone may view the topic in the same way. Determine whether a whole-class discussion will take place. Keep in mind your own comfort level as well as the comfort levels of the students in your class.

Prior to any discussion that may involve heightened emotions, it is important to revisit classroom discussion agreements to ensure a safe and respectful environment. For additional resources regarding holding discussions in the classroom, reminders for teachers, and respecting differences, please see the resources below.

Cultivating Humility

Humility allows people to see and accept our own strengths and limitations without defensiveness or judgment. Research shows that humble people are less hypersensitive to situations or ideas that challenge their thoughts about who they are. Humble people also have the ability to see themselves and others more clearly. People who are humble remain open to new information, continue learning about themselves and the world, and focus on others more than themselves. Humility allows people to show greater appreciation and awareness in their day-to-day lives.

Researchers have identified particular forms of humility, including cultural humility and intellectual humility.

Intellectual humility allows people to recognize the limits of their knowledge and express appreciation for others' input, or "the degree to which people recognize that their beliefs might be wrong."

Cultural humility is a process of reflection and inquiry that involves a person examining their own biases and demonstrating respect for and valuing other people's backgrounds and experiences.

Humility helps people learn new things about themselves, about others, and about new challenges and topics. Humility helps people investigate information when confronted with opposing views, false information, or information that doesn't match their experiences. How can we cultivate more humility for ourselves?

First, we can embrace our humanness - we can understand that if we set expectations for ourselves, someone else, or a task, and then don't meet those expectations, that just means we are human.

Second, we can practice mindfulness and self-compassion. Mindfulness grows our self-awareness and helps us notice thoughts and emotions without judgment. Once we can accept that something about us may need to change, we can gently replace negative thoughts or actions with positive ones.

Finally, we can express gratitude. Expressing thanks allows us to recognize the gifts that enter our lives and acknowledge the value of others. Studies show that gratitude and humility are mutually reinforcing. For more information about humility in the classroom, see the resources below.

Save the Date - Plymouth-Canton PFLAG Event

Holidays and Observances

Reporting Hate & Bias

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.

Policy Corner

Transgender and Gender Nonconforming Students

At P-CCS, we are committed to creating and fostering an educational environment for all students that is safe, welcoming, and free from stigma and discrimination, regardless of a student's sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, or gender expression. Additionally, we will work to ensure that we are in compliance with local, state, and federal laws concerning bullying, harassment, privacy, and discrimination while ensuring that all students have the opportunity to express themselves and live authentically.

What should I know about students' rights related to privacy and confidentiality as it relates to gender identity?

Transgender and gender nonconforming students have the right to discuss and express their gender identity and expression openly and to decide when, with whom, and what private information to share. School staff shall not disclose any information that may reveal a student's transgender or gender nonconforming status to others, including parents, guardians, or other school staff, unless the student has authorized such disclosure, or it is otherwise legally required. The fact that a student may choose to use a different name, to transition at school, or to disclose their transgender or gender nonconforming status to staff or other students does not authorize staff to disclose such information. When contacting parents/guardians of a transgender or gender nonconforming student, school staff should use the student's legal name and pronouns corresponding to the student's gender assigned at birth, unless the student, parent, or guardian has specified otherwise.

Please click here to read the entire Transgender and Gender Nonconforming Students Policy (Policy 5517.03) for Plymouth-Canton Community Schools.