Inspired Teaching Demonstration PCS’ 4th grade teaching team led students through a unit on book banning this fall, which culminated in a letter to Scholastic expressing concern about the way that books are categorized at their book fairs.

In 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. 

On March 24, the entire school community at Bruce-Monroe ES @ Park View (DCPS) was invited to participate in the Black Lives Matter at School Celebration of Learning. The school was transformed into a Marketplace of Knowledge that was the culmination of a six-week project that involved all grade levels in deep explorations of Black Lives Matter.

As part of the Black Lives Matter at School Week of Action at Inspired Teaching Demonstration PCS, 4th graders studied the importance of representation in books and the book bans that have been escalating throughout the country since 2021.

Second graders in Katie Soffer and Kina Gee’s classroom at Inspired Teaching Demonstration PCS learned about activism as part of the Black Lives Matter at School Week of Action.

On Monday, February 3, Inspired Teaching Demonstration PCS 1st through 5th graders participated in a community meeting to kick off the Black Lives Matter at School Week of Action.

First graders in Melissa Somerville’s and Jessica Jones’ classrooms at Inspired Teaching Demonstration PCS read the book Milo’s Museum by Zetta Elliott in preparation for the Black Lives Matter Week of Action.

All students and staff at Inspired Teaching Demonstration PCS were invited to contribute to a Black Lives Matter mural as part of the Black Lives Matter at School Week of Action. Each grade level responded to a different prompt on colored post-its that were then placed on the banner.