Creating spaces for resistance, reflection, and collective care

Written By Aileen Tapia

A look back at the 2024 – 2025 school year with the DCAESJ

In the wake of an emboldened authoritarian regime, educators across the country — including in the D.C. area — have faced many challenges to truth-telling and public education itself. This is why, D.C. Area Educators for Social Justice shows up and creates spaces for resistance, reflection, and collective care. From amplifying student voices through Teach the Beat and the annual FilmFest, to building community with our Black Lives Matter at School Curriculum Fair and deepening historical understanding at the Indigenous Teach-In, this year has been a testament to the power of educator solidarity in the face of repression. Together, we honored the past, confronted the present, and envisioned a future for education rooted in liberation.

Below is a snapshot of the year’s highlights — including annual anchor events, ongoing programs, and collaborative spaces that support and sustain our work throughout the school year.

🧠Working Groups

Throughout the year, our three curriculum working groups – Anti-Bias Early Childhood, Elementary, and Middle and High School People’s History Curriculum – met regularly to deepen collective learning. In October, they explored how trauma-informed practices and visual art can support healing in the classroom.  

In April, educators gathered to share strategies for responding to rising threats against public education. Educators talked about confronting censorship, supporting immigrant students, and offered space for reflection and resource-sharing.

🧑🏽‍🏫Social Justice Curriculum Fair

In August, we hosted the third annual Social Justice Curriculum Fair. Educators from the D.C. metro area gathered to connect with local organizations, participate in workshops across subjects and grade levels, and learn about DCAESJ in preparation for the new school year.

There were workshops on activist art, go-go, family, Palestine, Central America, immigration, morning meetings, and more. In between the workshops, teachers visited tables from dozens of local organizations. Every participant left with a social justice book of their choice. Read more.

📚Teaching Central America

In October, classrooms throughout the D.C. area took part in Teach Central America Week.

Maximo Alfaro, a D.C. middle school teacher at D.C. International PCS, engaged students with a unit on Central American geography, history, and culture. He went on to organize a Central American Cultural Day, inviting other classrooms to participate in a celebration of the region’s rich heritage. His lesson was one of hundreds taught nationwide to deepen understanding of the region during Latinx Heritage Month.  

At Bruce Monroe Elementary School @ Park View, students created art, zines, and performances that highlighted Central American history, activism, and ecology. The school also held a vibrant Central America Day celebration, part of a multi-week, schoolwide study during Teach Central America Week. Hallways were transformed into living museums, with student work proudly on display. Each class contributed a project, from Pre-K protest songs to 5th-grade research on Mayan astronomy and monument equity. Families and community members were invited to tour the exhibit. Read more.

In addition to celebrating in the classroom, Teaching for Change organized an author talk, hosted at Busboys & Poets, with four contemporary Central American authors: Anna Lapera, Bessie Flores Zaldívar, John Manual Arias, and Diana Rojas. Watch their talk here. This was one of six events we hosted at Busboys and Poets this year for D.C. area educators and allies.

✊🏿✊🏾Black Lives Matter at School 

In January, D.C. Area Educators for Social Justice hosted a virtual curriculum fair to prepare for the Black Lives Matter at School Week of Action. This year’s focus on the Intergenerational principle highlighted the importance of shared leadership and learning across all ages. Educators heard from keynote speaker Jesse Hagopian who reiterated, “Anti-racist teaching is guided by love.” They also took part in workshops, such as “Do Black Lives Matter in the Spanish Speaking World?” and “What Color is Your Clock? An Afrofuturist Perspective on Spacetime, Power, & Identity.” The curriculum fair also introduced the Year of Purpose, a national call for educators to reflect on their own work in relation to antiracist pedagogy and center Black lives in their classrooms. Missed this year’s BLM at School curriculum fair? You can still read more and watch the keynote speech and the workshops here.

🥁Teach The Beat

At Browne Education Campus, students learned about the genre’s roots, practiced polyrhythms, and explored percussion with The Uncle Devin Show. Through the Teach the Beat initiative, Teaching for Change partnered with D.C. schools and local go-go artists to bring the rich history and rhythms of D.C’s go-go music into classrooms. A few weeks after his visit, Ms. Collins, middle school music teacher at Browne, shared, “I will tell you that the students STILL ask about Uncle Devin and wish he would come back to Browne.” Read more about Uncle Devin’s classroom visit.

📖Teaching Stories

This year we documented and made visible the work of social justice educators in 13 classrooms across the D.C. metro area, such as the two below:

Pre-K educator at School for Friends and working group facilitator, Makai Kellogg,  used the picture book Hair Love by Matthew A. Cherry to spark conversations about identity, care, and family. Through read-alouds and interactive activities, students celebrated the beauty of Black hair and affirmed their own experiences. She noted that students continue to “share about themselves, ask questions of each other, and notice similarities and differences.” This was one of many powerful early childhood teaching moments rooted in the Black Lives Matter at School principles.

Lisa Brosnan, pre-K educator at Tubman Elementary School, used storytelling and play to help students explore race, joy, and justice in age-appropriate ways. Read their teaching stories: Hair Love and Justice and Community Through Storytelling

🎬FilmFest

In April, film producer Chapin Wilson discussed his documentary, The Last Republican, with students in Stephanie Beer’s classroom at Roosevelt High School. The film follows former Republican congressman Adam Kinzinger as he confronts the political and moral fallout of his decision to speak out against Donald Tr*mp after the January 6th insurrection. The students reflected on similar issues in their own communities and asked the filmmakers questions, making for a transformative learning experience. 

This classroom visit was part of our 14th year partnering with Filmfest DC to bring documentaries and directors into D.C. schools. Other themes explored through FilmFest included Black liberation and intergenerational activism. Read more.

📣Teach Truth Day of Action

In June, more than 50 educators, students, and community members gathered in D.C. at the Mall for the national Teach Truth Day of Action, joining a national movement to resist book bans and censorship. Organized by DCAESJ and in partnership with the National Education Association (NEA), CARE D.C., and Empower ED, the event included a march to five Smithsonian museums and calls to defend truthful education in the face of political repression. 

NEA president Becky Pringle , a featured speaker at the Teach Truth March, emphasized, “We have to fight forward . . . . We want to make sure we create learning environments where students can have mirrors so they can see themselves and windows so that they can see others. So that our students are prepared to be the leaders of a just society. That is the vision of what we want to create. But here we are.” 

We also co-hosted and/or promoted D.C. area events, such as a rally led by Read Strong America at the Martin Luther King Library; a screening of The Librarians at the DC DOX Filmfest; and a teacher-led Teach Truth event in Rockville, Maryland.

JOIN US!

As we look ahead to the next school year, we invite you to join us:

Aileen Tapia
Next

2025 Social Justice Curriculum Fair