Ms. Ariel Alford, has been a high school social studies teacher at Hayfield Secondary School (FCPS) for four years. For three of these, DCAESJ has born witness to the transformative racial justice education work she’s fostered with her African American history students, the wider school community, and, as you’ll come to know, far beyond the school’s walls.
Read MoreBy Vanessa Williams
DCAESJ and EmpowerEd DC’s third annual Unapologetically Black Educator Story Lounge was just as powerful, moving, and joyous as the previously held events.
By Vanessa Williams
Within three minutes of entering Georgetown Day School, I noticed prospective students and their families were visiting the campus for the day. Then I ran into local historian and scholar Pat Scallen — who’s an advisor for Teach Central America and has penned lessons and stories for it — and I was warmly welcomed by Julia Tomasko, current teacher and alum of the school. While she might not have literally uttered “Come and join us” when we made our way up to her classroom, the spirit of that phrase was palpable and at the center of this school visit that day.
By Vanessa Williams
There were no fresh baked, chocolate chip cookies in sight. No peppermints being discreetly offered and passed from big to little hands. All of the sweaters appeared to be store-bought, not hand knit. Yet everyone at Smothers Elementary School (DCPS) the morning of their Intergenerational Read Aloud were wrapped in the love, wisdom, and laughter only grandmas can give.
We were invited back to the strong-knit community at Bruce-Monroe at Parkview for their annual teach-in-style celebration of Central American history and culture.
Read MoreDCAESJ partnered with the African American Civil War Museum for a third year to host the #TeachTruth Day of Action rally at the memorial. The D.C. site was one of more than 60 sites across the country – plus more online events – each with a unique approach to uplifting educators in their commitment to teaching the truth.
Read MoreGirls' Global Academy students were busy going out into the community and welcoming visitors to their school, all in recognition of their intergenerational service-learning day.
Read MoreIn April 2023, Teaching for Change partnered with Filmfest DC: The Washington, DC, International Film Festival for a twelfth year to bring filmmakers into D.C. classrooms to share some of their films.
Read MoreThe annual Youth Justice Summit at Capital City PCS in Washington, D.C. included six sessions of youth-led workshops on a variety of social justice topics including book banning, the impacts of gentrification, gun violence, disability and policing, and climate justice.
Read MoreThe D.C. Teaching for Black Lives study group, made up of 14 educators from Brent Elementary (ECE–5), meets once a month. According to Jon Berg, the study group’s coordinator, they started the group “to help educators reflect on their practice and to identify resources that center our Black students in our classrooms — with an emphasis on what is taught and how classrooms are set up to help students engage in civic life.”
Read MoreGearing up for the Black Lives Matter at School Week of Action is no small feat. While educators in the D.C. area likely have already been uplifting BLM at School work with participation in the Year of Purpose, the Week of Action is often taken as an opportunity to engage in more and perhaps larger scale efforts to uplift the guiding principles and national demands…
Read MoreAthena Kopsidas welcomed Teach the Beat back to Seaton ES in February for a series of visits that were part of the way Seaton was participating in the Black Lives Matter Week of Action this year. Matt “Swamp Guinee” Miller facilitated the two visits with students in the school cafeteria, leading students through interactive lessons on different percussive instruments used in go-go.
Read MoreChildren learned about the history and fundamentals of go-go and each child got a chance to play an improvised tune on Sweet Cherie’s bedazzled keyboard. They danced when they heard their name called by the talker, just like at a go-go.
Read MoreMimi Eisen, co-author of Erasing the Black Freedom Struggle: How State Standards Fail to Teach the Truth About Reconstruction, was in conversation with Michelle Coles, author of Black Was the Ink, to discuss the parallels between the Reconstruction Era and today.
Read MoreD.C. Area educators for Social Justice co-hosted our second annual story lounge with EmpowerEd DC. Educators shared their stories as teachers and how their experiences as students drove them to education, and DCAESJ program manager Vanessa Williams shared a composite poem with golden lines and messages from storytellers that night.
Read MoreStudents were introduced to Black writers, poets, and photographers who have recorded the power of community among Black people, then created unique visual presentations and taught middle school students at Hayfield what they learned.
Read MoreUsing the Pan-African colors as their palette, students transformed blank canvases into stunning recreations of the Sankofa bird, Black power fist, or their own original creations
Read MoreThis story’s title gave it away, but Sacred Heart students, and the wider community, are beaming with pride because their book, Historias y Dibujos: Students of Sacred Heart School, Washington, D.C., 2022, is now available to purchase online,and eight copies are a part of D.C. public library’s permanent collection!
Read MoreDuring a middle school assembly, there wasn’t an empty seat in Washington International School’s theater — unless the students and teachers were up dancing to Sweet Cherie’s music! Cherie dove deep into the history of go-go, speaking to students about the different sub-genres and their many bands.
Read MoreOfosu Jones-Quartey, author of Love Your Amazing Self: Joyful Verses for Young Voices, interspersed a read aloud of select verses from his book with mindfulness exercises at Rocketship PCS - Legacy Prep in support of the Black Lives Matter at School Week of Action.
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