SPOTLIGHT ON DEI

Happy Earth Month to the CCUSD Community, and a special outreach of celebration, acknowledgment, and good wishes to everyone commemorating a time of significance to them this month of April. I find it to be appropriate that there is so much richness in culture and diversity to celebrate in this month of April, Earth Month. We live on a planet not only rich with biodiversity but unique in beliefs, mindsets, and abilities of the living people here on Earth. On a micro level, our CCUSD community is an urban landscape home to students, staff, and families of various backgrounds.

In Issue #5 of Spotlight on DEI, let us continue to cultivate tolerance for one another and deepen our knowledge and awareness of the issues impacting our community and the world around us.

Enjoy! ~ Antoinette Stewart-Eneh (Executive Assistant, Office of DEI)

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Jane Goodall Picture by EcoWatch

🌿 April 2nd: World Autism Awareness Day

"Tolerance is respect, acceptance, and appreciation of the rich diversity of our world's cultures, our forms of expression and ways of being human. It is fostered by knowledge, openness, communication and freedom of thought, conscience and belief. Tolerance is harmony in difference."

(United Nations Declaration of the Principles on Tolerance, 1995)

The USDA defines a food desert as a low-income area with little to no access to healthy produce. For urban areas specifically, this means that most of the population lives more than a mile from the nearest supermarket or grocery store.

Climate change refers to long-term shifts in temperatures and weather patterns. Such shifts can be natural, due to changes in the sun’s activity or large volcanic eruptions. But since the 1800s, human activities have been the main driver of climate change, primarily due to the burning of fossil fuels like coal, oil and gas.

• Humans are responsible for global warming
• People are experiencing climate change in diverse ways
• Every increase in global warming matters
• We face a huge challenge but already know many solutions
• We can pay the bill now, or pay dearly in the future

Later in this newsletter, we will discuss the movement of Environmental Justice, as a social response to climate change & the laws of development and implementation of environment regulations.

is defined as “The fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people regardless of race, color, national origin, or income, with respect to the development, implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and policies”

You can learn more about the concept Here...

"'Climate justice' is a term, and more than that a movement, that acknowledges climate change can have disproportionately harmful social, economic, and public health impacts on disinvested populations. Advocates for climate justice are striving to have these inequities addressed head-on through long-term mitigation and adaptation strategies." - Read more HERE, Yale Climate Connections

Read more about how advocates at the University of California, Center for Climate Justice, identify the areas of concern and work toward solutions for Climate Justice.

Click on the image to read more about the cause.

#GetDirtywithUs: Los Angeles Community Garden Council (Los Angeles)

Our mission is to strengthen communities by building and supporting community gardens where every person in Los Angeles County can grow healthy food in their neighborhood.

A Place Called Home - Nutrition and Gardening (South LA)

As part of promoting healthy eating habits among our members, our on-site organic garden offers twice-weekly classes that introduce our youth to the many benefits of growing one’s own food and using fresh produce. The APCH kitchen serves 4,000-5,000 freshly cooked meals every month. We also teach youth and parents to prepare meals that are economical, nutritious, and flavorful. A change in eating habits leads directly to reducing risks for diabetes, obesity and other short-term and chronic health problems in our community. Free meals and snacks at APCH respond to unmet nutritional needs at home, and our weekly grocery distributions reduce families’ food costs.

For more information, please call us at (323) 232-7653.

F2P - FARM2PEOPLE

California is the nation’s largest food producing state, yet many reports show that 1 in 4 LA County households remain food insecure. The problem doesn’t make sense, and Farm2People is working to bridge the gap. Farm2People works to locate surplus produce grown regeneratively by California famers within 400 miles of central LA, and we direct that incredibly nutritious food into the free food marketplace. We’re sharing the abundance from Farm2People!

Excerpt from Eugene Therapy, 4 Tips for Building Tolerance for Others

1. Take Ownership of Your Feelings
2. Develop Curiosity
3. Change Your Perspective
4. Practice Respect

Read more by clicking here.

Takeaways from an article via Scholastic PARENTS

• Help your student establish a sense of security
• "Both tolerance and respect emerge in children who feel safe. There are two aspects of this sense of safety. The first is a belief that one is special, valued, and accepted. This develops when the most important adults in a child's life repeatedly tell and show her how loved she is. When your child feels this unqualified acceptance, it will be much easier for her to accept others."
  
• Build the relationship that your student has with themselves, help them to Respect themselves
• " When made to feel special and valued, a child grows to respect herself, and a solid, positive sense of one's self allows the maturing child to respect others.
  The process of building self-esteem — and the related capacity for respect — is complicated by our tendency to pay more attention to negative stimuli than to positive ones. One negative comment can become magnified in ways that positive comments cannot easily overcome."
• Look for the signs that your student may need support, (e.g self deprecation, bullying, excessive bragging to belittle others).
• "An intolerant child will be judgmental of those who appear different than she is and is likelier to lash out, tease, or bully others. Children who struggle with tolerance help create an atmosphere of exclusion and intimidation for those people and groups they fear. This intolerance can be the first step in bullying. The intolerant child is, essentially, insecure — insecure about her status, skills, beliefs, and values."
  

Read more by clicking here.

Year in review: Climate change and flooding hit home in California

The state takes more action on climate change in rules and legislation as drought is replaced by flooding.

6 Ways Climate Change Harms Health in California

Our health and climate are inextricably linked. From polluted air quality to shrinking food and waters supplies, communities across California—and around the world—are already experiencing climate change’s harmful health impacts. The looming effects upon California’s communities, particularly those that are disproportionately vulnerable, are becoming increasingly urgent and severe.

Unequal climate impacts to the State of California: Developing a Climate Vulnerability Metric

Evidence continues to mount that California’s climate is rapidly changing. Greenhouse gas emissions are increasing temperatures, changing precipitation patterns, and contributing to rising sea levels, creating physical hazards throughout the state. Advances in data and economic research over the last decade have dramatically expanded knowledge of the links between these physical hazards and their impacts on human welfare.

💚 Related Activity for Grades 4-12

From TeachStarter

Write Letters to Your Local Congressperson

Give your students a chance to see government in action this Earth Day! Direct older students to write persuasive letters to your local Congressperson asking them to make investing in our planet an anchor of their Congressional activities. Students can choose from some of the topics they’ve learned about in science class, be it renewable resources or the effects of greenhouse gases on our ozone layer.

Collect the letters and mail them in one envelope to your local politician, and see if they respond. Many will, opening up discussions about the impact individual citizens can have — even kids — by being proactive and talking to their politicians.

If you have any professional development or learning opportunities that you would like to share with the CCUSD community, please click the submission button below: