R15 Equity & Inclusion Newsletter

Did you know there are over 20 languages spoken by students, families, and staff in Region 15? Being multilingual offers benefits in so many areas, including cognitive, economic, increased intercultural understandings and competencies, in education settings, and more!

Each year, our ESOL department (English for speakers of other languages) department gathers for a celebration to be in community with one another! Students, families and staff enjoy one another's company, playing games, making crafts, and having ice cream. All Middlebury & Southbury ESOL families are invited to attend. Many thanks to Mrs. Freund, Mrs. Hughes, and Mr. Rapuano for hosting!

The United Nations' World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development is held every year on May 21. It has been in existence since the United Nations General Assembly first declared this day in 2002. This day celebrates not only the richness of the world’s cultures, but also the importance of intercultural dialogue and understanding for achieving peace and sustainable development across our world.

While we are committed to fostering an environment that is welcoming and inclusive each day, the World Day for Cultural Diversity offers us an opportunity to engage in schoolwide teachable moments. We can honor this day and facilitate a shared experience to more deeply know, understand, and affirm the many, diverse cultural backgrounds that make our school communities stronger and more beautiful.

See pictures below from Gainfield Elementary School families' visits to classrooms on this day to share their cultural richness and experiences with our students, so that we may celebrate and engage in dialogue with one another across our community.

On May 23, students across Asian Student Union, Black Student Union, LatinX Club, and Embrace Diversity student-led organizations hosted a shared potluck event to share food and stories to honor the cultural similarities and differences in the PHS community. Students brought dishes which are both culturally and personally significant to them. They enjoyed community, meals, and games with one another!

On May 22, each fourth grade class at PES visited different locations within a walkable distance to explore the aspects of our local economy and how it relates to their lives as a culminating experience of their learning in a Social Studies unit on Economic Choices. Local entrepreneurs, town officials, and employees from financial institutions were very generous with their time and expertise in hosting the classes!

The inquiry question students investigated throughout the unit was: “How can we make economic choices that have positive impacts?” Concepts that students experienced firsthand on this trip, which they learned about throughout the unit, included financial literacy, interdependence, economic relationships, and the role each of us plays in the economic system. Throughout the inquiry unit, students investigated their power to make economic choices that can have a positive impact on our communities today and in the future. The field trip afforded students the opportunity to deepen understanding of these concepts from the perspectives of local government officials, bank representatives, and entrepreneurs.

Since 2006, Caribbean-American Heritage Month has been designated as such by Presidential Proclamation. Use the resources below to celebrate and learn!

By Presidential Proclamation, June is also LGBTQIA+ Pride Month!

What do you already know about Juneteenth? What are some ways to deepen understanding?

Juneteenth is a significant day in American history! According to the National Museum of African American History & Culture, "The name is a play on the date of June 19th, 1865. On that day, the Union Army made its way into Galveston, TX under the leadership of General Gordon Granger, and he announced to the people of Texas that all enslaved African Americans were free." (This, even though the Emancipation Proclamation was issued almost two years earlier!).

Juneteenth became a federal holiday in 2021, and a CT state holiday in 2022.

Here are a few starting places:

• Interactive website from the National Museum of African American History & Culture (NMAAHC)
• How to Honor Juneteenth from the ADL
  
• Attend a celebration! See below for links to a few local celebrations - there are many more to look into!

*Note that Bahá’í, Islamic, & Jewish holidays begin at sundown the previous day and end at sundown on the date listed and are marked with an asterisk*

• Wednesday, 6/12/24 - 6/13/24, SHAVUOT*, (Jewish): The “Feast of Weeks” celebrates the covenant established at Sinai between God and Israel, and the revelation of the Ten Commandments.
• Thursday, 6/13/24, ASCENSION DAY, (Eastern Orthodox Christian): Also known as Holy Ascension, celebrated 40 days after Pascha, it commemorates the ascension of Jesus Christ into Heaven.
• Sunday, 6/16/24, EID AL-ADHA*, (Islamic): Commemoration of Ibrahim's willingness to sacrifice his son in obedience of a command from God. Marks the end of the annual Hajj (pilgrimage to Mecca).
• Sunday, 6/23/24, PENTECOST (Eastern Orthodox Christian): The seventh Sunday after Pascha commemorates the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles and women followers of Jesus Christ.
• Sunday, 6/30/24, ALL SAINTS’ DAY, (Eastern Orthodox Christian): In Orthodox churches observed on the first Sunday after Pentecost, it commemorates all known and unknown Christian saints
  

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Background photo: Main entrance at Gainfield school

The importance of listening to your lived experiences, insights, ideas, and perspectives cannot be overstated. Please feel free to reach out! We'd love to connect.

*Note: Quotation (c) 2019 CLC Collective and Dottir Press

Email: equity_inclusion@region15.org
Website: https://www.region15.org/community/equity-and-inclusion
Twitter: @r15equity