The Most Inspiring Medium: Filmfest DC Classroom Visits 2024

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.

Allison AcostaMay 13, 2024Filmfest, DC, DCPS, SY23, Elementary, High School, MCPS, Cesarina Pierre, Middle School, MD, Spanish

Students Define Economic Justice

DCAESJ working group member and Prince George's County Public Schools high school teacher Amber Bennett Foote shared what the lesson her students are engaged in for Black Lives Matter at School Week of Action.

Black Lives Matter at School, Teaching StoriesMykella PalmerFebruary 5, 2024SY23, MD, Unapologetically Black

Central American Students Inspired to Share Family Stories

Anna Lapera taught “Central America: An Introductory Lesson” in her middle school ESL and Spanish as a Heritage Language classes. The lesson prompted students to share their own family stories.

Teaching StoriesAllison AcostaNovember 22, 2023Central America, MCPS, MD, Middle School

"Liberty and Justice for Who?" D.C. Area Teach Truth Day of Action Rally 2023

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.

D.C. Area and Beyond Participate in BLM at School Week of Action 2023

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…

Students Hear From HBCU Alumni at Montgomery Blair HS

For the Black Lives Matter at School Week of Action, the staff of Montgomery Blair High School (MCPS) planned a range of activities including a panel discussion of ten Blair HS staff who are alumni of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs).

"We Are Here": High Schoolers Write and Review the LGBTQ+ Books They Want to Read

By Tiferet Ani

This Fall I taught an LGBTQ+ Studies elective for high school students. It was being piloted for the first time. Students and teachers collaborated to develop the course outline and unit projects.

Teaching StoriesMykella PalmerFebruary 8, 2022MD, Teacher Author, High School

Third Graders Learn about Restorative Justice and Loving Engagement Through the Civil Rights Movement

Third graders at Concord Hill School learned about the principles of Restorative Justice and Loving Engagement by studying the role of young people in the Civil Rights Movement.

Teaching the 13 Black Lives Matter Guiding Principles in Early Childhood Classrooms

On February 15, 2021, 36 preservice teachers from Gallaudet University, Kendall Demonstration Elementary School, and the Maryland School for the Deaf, gathered for a virtual workshop presentation titled Teaching about the Black Lives Matter 13 Guiding Principles in Early Childhood Classrooms.

Launch of Anti-Bias Early Childhood Working Group 2019-2020 Cohort

We are excited to announce the launch of the DC Area Educators for Social Justice network's second annual Anti-Bias Early Childhood Working Group, a collection of classroom educators, librarians, social-emotional specialists, non-profit directors, teachers trainers, and arts educators experienced and committed to anti-bias education.

A Day of Transformation and Growth: Indigenous Peoples' Day Curriculum Teach-In 2019

For attendees at the 2019 Indigenous People’s Curriculum Day and Teach-in, it was a day centered in learning and development to be able to better teach students about Indigenous People’s history and life today. Read more >>

Teaching How to Combat Hate: Drawing Lessons from Stories of Survivors

“The mainstream news media often covers the perpetrators of hate crimes, but seldom do we hear the voices of survivors,” Arjun Sethi explained to the close to 20 educators gathered for a workshop on his book, American Hate: Survivors Speak Out (The New Press, 2018). The workshop was held on the evening of May 9, 2019 at the historic Thurgood Marshall YMCA. Teachers arrived to a beautiful spread of humus, grape leaves, baklava, and more delicious food donated by the Virginia based Mediterranean Bakery and Café. Read more >>

Anti-BiasMykella PalmerMay 13, 2019SY19, Challenge Islamophobia, Author Events, DC, MD, VA

A Youth-Led Climate Justice Summit Brings Students Together to Hone Advocacy Skills

Jerome Foster II opened the Third Annual D.C. Area Climate Justice Summit with a moving speech that encouraged his peers to take a stand and speak up about the importance of climate justice. The summit, organized and run by Youth Climate Summit USA, is completely youth led. This year’s D.C. area event took place on April 24th at the Silver Spring Civic Center in Silver Spring, Maryland. Read more >>

Teaching StoriesMykella PalmerMay 1, 2019Cierra Kaler-Jones, SY19, Food Justice, DC, MD

Milo's Museum in Third Grade

Third grade art students read Milo’s Museum as they prepare to be “curators” of their own shadow box projects.

Black Lives Matter at SchoolAllison AcostaMarch 25, 2019SY19, Elementary, MD, Empathy

Poetry and Self-Determination

Georgian Forest Pre-K-5 staff development teacher Asashia Martin shares her experience of going to multiple classrooms to support and/or co-teach lessons during the Week of Action.

Black Lives Matter at School, Teaching StoriesMykella PalmerFebruary 26, 2019SY19, Elementary, MD, All 13 Principles

Ceramic Art with "Malala's Magic Pencil"

An afterschool ceramics class explores the Black Lives Matter guiding principle of globalism.

Writing Inspired by Gordon Parks and Richard Wright

Students from the Culture at Home homeschool community met at the National Gallery of Art for a tour of the exhibit Gordon Parks: The New Tide, Early Work 1940-1950, then engaged in group discussion, photo analysis, a poetry slam and a writing assignment inspired by the book 12 Million Black Voices by Richard Wright.

Black Lives Matter at School, Teaching StoriesMykella PalmerFebruary 5, 2019SY19, DC, DCPS, MD, VA