In 2026, the United States turns 250 years old, and as the world’s largest museum, education, and research complex, the Smithsonian is ideally positioned to contextualize our nation’s complex history with all its challenges and opportunities. It is in this spirit that the Smithsonian proudly launches Democracy in Dialogue, a unique cultural storytelling project bringing together teachers and students from diverse communities to engage in discovery, dialogue, and reflection.

To this end, centering local stories within a broader national narrative illuminates the indispensability of the human voice, in all its variety, in ensuring a robust democracy. A core component of Democracy in Dialogue is the virtual exchange. Never has the need been greater, perhaps, in giving teachers and their students opportunities to form authentic partnerships around the stories emanating from their respective communities, stories that feature needs and solutions, that capture perseverance and resilience, and that celebrate transformation. Indeed, we know that students benefit from the opportunity to interact with their peers from different settings. Their curiosity is piqued and their awareness expanded. We also know that teachers grow their practices in powerful ways when they collaboratively design and try out interactive instructional methods, grounded in inquiry. These important processes, all emerging from this exchange model, help to build essential civic dispositions, where communication, collaboration, and perspective-taking are held at the center.

https://www.smartbrief.com/original/how-the-smithsonian-connects-classrooms-bridging-distances-across-america

Ms. Berry and I are super excited to have our first synchronous meet up on Thursday, February 20 from 1 pm to 1:30 pm. Students at Deal will be given a pass to come to Ms. Trenkle's room (W104) during advisory for our meet up! On the schedule for our first meet up--introductions in person and unpacking our boxes! Woooohoooo!

Students are encouraged to bring a snack to eat at the beginning of our session--we usually spend until 4:15 or so at school, with our check in, and completing an activity to share with our Arkansas friends. Please bring a snack and have a water bottle (both for the snack and our outing!!!). Snacks make everyone happy!

I believe that "tastes on the town" are an important part of culture and learning about a community. I try to find us a place to stop for a snack and to experience the part of the city we are in. With that said, it is just a taste....a small snack. For our students who ate lunch at 10:30 a.m. it won't be enough to keep them satiated until dinner time. For our hustling 7th graders and tall 8th graders, it is just a taste--not enough to curb the ever-present appetite. Due to our group size and that the taste is just part of our experience, I ask that students eat a snack before leaving our classroom. We don't usually have time for students to order additional food (even if they are purchasing on their own) or for all to go through a cashier line again. :)

Thank you for all of the support from home!

We are working our way down the Red Line!

We started with our Blob check in--everyone was feeling pretty tired--it was our first five day week of school in weeks! And the flu is going around. :(

We shared a bit about ourselves by making heads that represent us---they include five symbols and five words.

Afterwards, we headed out! We got off at the Dupont Circle South exit and stopped for our snack--Krispy Kreme! While the "HOT!" sign wasn't lit at the moment, we did enjoy a tasty snack.

We walked to Dupont Circle and discovered the Throne Toilet. Ms. Trenkle used her phone to access it and we all enjoyed checking it out. Most didn't even know about them. They are free public toilets that were surprising clean!!!

We then walked over to the Dupont Fountain and discussed why it's a fountain and not a statue like so many other circles in DC!

From there we headed Northwest down Massachusetts Ave and visited the Ghandi statue (across from the Indian Embassy), tried to go into the Society of the Cincinnati (but it was closed--we just missed it by a minute--literally!), and back by the Phillip's Collection (there was a swanky ticketed event going on!). We walked through the houses and came back out on Connecticut Ave by Sette Osteria and walked past the many shops. We couldn't resist a good bookstore so we went in and compared Kramer and Afterwards to Politics and Prose (near our school).....it was unanimous that P &P was much preferred but the cafe at Kramer and Afterwards looked better. It was then time to head back to school--we entered the subway at the other end of the station--Dupont Circle North.

A fast paced day! We started with creating bumper stickers about our city.

We then hit the Metro! We got off at Cleveland Park, investigated Sam's Park and Shop (the first strip mall in the country!), the Uptown Theater (now closed), and walked on the former side road in front of the shops in Cleveland Park that is now a pedestrian walkway. Of course, we couldn't walk past Vace! We enjoyed cheese pizza from the delicious local eatery before walking on.

We continued walking south on Connecticut Ave., over Klingle Valley, met Franklin the very tiny Chihuahua, and then came to the Zoo. We were excited to possibly see the newly arrived pandas (or at least get closer to the new pandas) but were sad to find out the zoo closes at 4 pm in the winter. We took pics in the Zoo sign with the Panda banners, and then continued down the hill.

We then passed Ms. Trenkle's first apt. in DC and found out that some of the students' parents also once upon a time lived in the building! Small world!

When we arrived in Woodley Park, Ms. T shared about the Woodley Park Hotel and Langston Hughes being a busboy there and leaving his poetry. Most know the local chain Busboys and Poets but didn't know the connection to this hotel. Next, we found some great art in the Stanford satellite campus building. As we were peering in the window, the security guard asked if we'd like to go in, sharing that they have an event but we could come in for a few minutes. How great! The exhibit was all about Go Go in DC!!!! We went in to check it out.

We continued down to Connecticut to Calver, crossed the street, and headed back to the Metro.

Our box is on its way to Arkansas! Mailed on January 27!

We first did our blob person check in and then we shared our objects that we brought to mail off to our Arkansas friends! Super exciting the diversity of artifacts everyone chose! We're excited to send them!

The outing today was driven largely by our very own Magdalena! Ms. Trenkle received this email prior to our meet up---

Dear Ms.Trenkle,

I know that DIDVE is going to Van Ness today, and I have some possible
ideas because I live there. First, there is a fantastic cheeserie that
has been there for 40+ years. I am acquainted with one of the staff
there, who works at the cheese and meat deli, and I talked to him
about it. He would be happy to explain some of the store's history.
Secondly, there is a bakery I'm sure you know called Bread Furst. The
owner, Mark Furstenburg, is occasionally present there. He is very
nice, and might give us free cookies. Finally, I also wanted to show
off a painting that hangs in a store window that I designed and
painted for a contest.

See you this afternoon,

Magdalena Glenn
they/he/xe

So what did we do? Exactly what was suggested! We checked out the vibe of Van Ness, enjoyed a treat a Bread Furst (bread, cheese, cookies, and pickles!), took our weekly group photo at the Metro marker, took photos at the Cherry Blossom art, visited the UDC Student Union and learned a little history from their terrific panels, sampled some gruyere and swiss cheese at the Cheeserie thanks to Geoff who has been working there since 1978!!!, and ended our time in Van Ness by congratulating Magdalena on their art contest win that was displayed in a storefront right there in Van Ness! What an awesome outing! And way to go Magdalena for the amazing recommendations! Thank you!

We did a bit of exploring the world that is so familiar to us! We headed out down the path, crossed Chesapeake, in front of Jackson Reed, in front of Whole Foods and Wawa, stopping at the corner of Wisconsin and Abermarle to take notes. Alex B. made narrated videos of our experiences for us while Jake R. and Gus EM took notes! After making sure we documented the community we saw, we headed over to Maman Joon's for a light snack (food is definitely part of culture and community, right?!). We were greeted with such hospitality and enjoyed chicken and beef kabobs, as well as kibbeh, hummus with fresh pita, grape leaves, grilled tomatoes, and lots and lots of rice!

We will start in the classroom, but then head out "to do" our interviews, observations, photography, and note taking. Meet in W104 at 3:30--we will have a meeting in my room before departing and then head to our site.

What do you need to bring?

1. Your permission slip (if you haven't already turned it in)

2. Your Consent form signed (if you haven't already turned it in)

3. Complete the pre-survey (link below)

4. Share this newsletter with a friend who may not have signed up for this newsletter yet and sign up (see link below).

Kids Ride Free Cards are not needed yet since we will not get on the Metro tomorrow, but rather investigate and document Tenleytown! We will return to my classroom to archive our material in one spot and make sure we have access to our explorations.

The Club will end at 6:00 pm. Students should plan on being picked up by 6:00 or heading home at that time.

Come learn about DiDVE Spring edition! We will be exploring our DC Community via the subway! Each week we will explore a different stop on the red line and learn about the community and how it builds a sense of belonging. Our partner school in Arkansas will also be Going All Around Town to show us about their community!

Action Items:

• Complete the consent form (below) and permission slip (below) and bring it to our next meeting (1/16/25);

• Sign up for this newsletter at https://tinyurl.com/DiDVE25

• Share this information with your parent/guardian and have them complete the newsletter link as well.

• ·See you in W104 onThursday! 

Be sure to complete the pre-survey at https://tinyurl.com/DiDVE25pre

Our guiding question: How has our community played a role in 250 years of the American experiment?

Here we are introducing our "Where I'm From" line to each other and simultaneously building a group poem!

Our introduction postcards to our new friends in Arkansas!

Congratulations to Cohort 1!!! Way to go! Below are our final products. Students created a 3-5 minute video of a site from their mental map. Students then shared the history of the site (then and now), and how it shares a sense of belonging for them and/or the community.

Andrew

Elina

Eva

Duy Anh and Louay

Olivia

Audrey

Tara

Check out this article in SmartBrief about the DiDVE program! Be sure to see if you can find our Alice Deal students featured in the article! https://www.smartbrief.com/original/how-the-smithsonian-connects-classrooms-bridging-distances-across-america