Inspired Teaching Demonstration School (ITDS) had a successful inaugural Banned Books Week (September 23rd - 27th). From classroom read-alouds early in the week-long celebration, to guest parent speakers, and culminating in a Banned Book Character Parade, read on to learn more about the variety of ways ITDS championed the freedom to read.

In April 2024, Teaching for Change partnered with Filmfest DC: The Washington, DC, International Film Festival for a thirteenth year to bring filmmakers into D.C. classrooms to share some of their films. 

By Marcy Campos
On Friday, May 3rd, Salvadoran author Mario Bencastro visited Houston Elementary School to share his 2021 bilingual book, Un tren llamado Esperanza, or A Train Called Hope, illustrated by Robert Casilla.

On April 9, 2024, 17 students and their teachers took a field trip to the beautiful early 20th-century building on 16th Street in Washington, D.C. The visit was part of a partnership with the school through the DCPS Embassy Adoption Program. Tubman teachers Susannah Schantz and Suzannah Danforth, along with their students, have collaborated throughout the year with embassy staff to bring lessons on Cuban culture and geography to the fifth-grade class. 

Bruce-Monroe @ Park View Elementary School (DCPS) devotes six weeks to in-depth study of Black Lives Matter principles.

Award-winning author and poet Roxana Mendez read her new book at DCPS Tubman Elementary School.

By 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.

In recognition of BLM at School, students and I read two books, Hey Black Child and M is for Melanin, both of which focus on who you are as a Black child and how you can affirm and celebrate yourself.

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.

By NaVonda Marshall
My kindergarten class went on an inspiring field trip to the Anacostia Community Museum in Southeast D.C. to experience their exhibit, “To Live and Breathe: Women and Environmental Justice in Washington, D.C.,” which was open from May 19th, 2023 - January 7th, 2024.

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.

By Makai Kellogg and Sara Beshawred
On Saturday, November 18th, the Anti-Bias Early Childhood Working Group met at the Teaching for Change office. The group focused on addressing holidays in the classroom with an anti-bias lens.

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.

DCAESJ 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.

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.

The 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.”

Gearing 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…

Athena 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.