This February, The Equity Department launched a new pilot program to provide grants to staff members who have equity-based project ideas to implement in the classroom. The Equity Department has selected several recipients to receive $500 grants to advance equity work in effective and sustainable ways.
Grant #1: “Let Me Be Perfectly Queer” Student Group
Submitted by Abby Elder, Special Education Teacher; Addie Forgrave, Speech-Language Pathologist; Caiti Knudson, MTSS Coordinator and School Psychologist; Hannah Storm, Assistant Principal
Currently, Brooklyn Center Elementary School does not have any spaces or groups that create community for LGBTQ+ students. Let Me Be Perfectly Queer is a student centered group that aims to provide students with a safe space for learning and community opportunities. Those involved may be within the LGBTQ+ community as well as allies. Topics will range from gender to sexuality to differing family structures.
“We want kids to feel seen. We want them to know that they aren’t alone and that they are loved and accepted for who they are here at school, even if they aren’t at home. We want to create a space for the community. We want to highlight the varying intersectionalities of the human experience because we know that equity includes many facets.” - submitted by Elder, Forgrave, Knudson, Strom
Grant #2: Calming Kits
Submitted by Raven Behringer, 1st grade teacher; Sarah Lynn Dorn, 1st grade teacher
Both Behringer and Dorn have found great benefit in having calming space in their classrooms and believe students deserve a similar space of their own. They have seen a disconnect in the way that students do not have the space or resources to find their true selves and express their emotions in a productive way as they do when using the classroom calming space. To bridge this gap from school to home, Calming Kits will be used as a portable resource for our students to use when they find themselves drifting from their true self.
The Calming Kits were directly inspired by the Peace Place, which was created by BCE administration and teachers. In first grade classes, they have seen a tremendous benefit from having the space available to scholars when they need it.
“It is our hope that having a calming space in and outside the classroom, students will be able to use the coping strategies learned at school and apply them to their present environment and throughout their life. We also hope these Calming Kits will lead to a more empathetic and emotionally aware world starting with our scholars at BCE.” - submitted by Behringer and Dorn
Grant #3: Summer Program for Asian Students with Hmong Focus
Submitted by Jackie Hayden, College and Career Coordinator; Choua Lee, College and Career Specialist; Ashly Xiong, 10th Grade Student
Last summer, 2018 Alumna Nou-Chee Chang facilitated an 8-week summer program through the Phillips Scholarship called “Talk the Wok, Walk the Wok” at Brooklyn Center Middle and High School STEAM. Through her program, Asian students, with a specific focus on the Hmong community, worked on unpacking the trauma that they have experienced throughout the past few years of the pandemic. Together they traveled to meaningful Hmong locations throughout the Twin Cities including the Eastside Freedom Library and Hmong Village. They had meaningful conversations, talked with speakers, learned how to make steam buns, played games, and laughed. In a year of intense hardship and fear, our students celebrated their identity and felt joy.
As staff members who witnessed the work of this amazing alumni walk alongside our students, Hayden and Lee realized how impactful this program was on the community. This program will be planned and facilitated by a current BC student with the mentorship of Choua Lee. Together, they will continue celebrating the Hmong community at BC and work on deconstructing what it means to be Hmong.
“We feel that our BC students are asking to be seen, asking to be understood, and are asking for community so we have two main goals with this project. One is continuing the work of creating a space of community for our Asian students. The other is offering training so students feel confident interrupting racism that they face, specifically within school walls.” - submitted by Hayden, Lee, and Xiong
Grant #4: Student-Planned Community Engagement Event
Submitted by Amina Smaller, YPAR Coordinator; Angel Smaller, OST Lead; Longkee Vang, Community Schools Site Coordinator; Renee Starr, Community Schools Manager
Since returning to in-person learning from distance learning over the past two years, students have often expressed that their school community no longer felt like a community. This project will enable youth to lead important engagement work in the district. It will culminate in an opportunity for youth and adults to share joy and build relationships. It will also help those staff that lead engagement work to understand what conditions need to be present for authentic engagement between BCCS staff and students or community to occur.
Through this project, five students will have the opportunity to meet their own needs by designing and hosting a celebratory event. This project will give our community an opportunity to learn from young people’s leadership and model our practices based on their vision for the community. A critical component of this project is the wages youth planners will earn: Financial compensation from this grant money will give students the space and freedom to provide leadership for the district with a deeper investment.
“Our hope is that information gleaned and experiences gained from this project will impact every department and contribute to the collective understanding that all BCCS staff are responsible for engaging with the community in authentic and meaningful ways.” - submitted by Smaller, Smaller, Vang, and Starr.
Grant #5: Student Empowerment Opportunities
Submitted by Vallerie Shephard, Lead Facilitator
Pending approval, this project is to highlight students’ creative ability and truth by engaging in activities, group discussions and art projects that will empower, influence and support everyone’s uniqueness and contributions to this community. The project aims to address the voices of students at the Early College Academy creatively and authentically.
Students will be using their own creative abilities and truth to create inspirational art that will continue to motivate and empower their dreams, goals, aspirations and well-being. Participants will become vulnerable in their true creativity to proclaim their presence and voice in our society.
“Our students at the ECA deserve to be heard, respected and valued. Their voices, individuality and creativity are meaningful. To see students share their stories, present their creativity, and establish their presence is more than an accomplishment but rather a reward which fuels my purpose.” - submitted by Shephard.
Congratulations to all recipients of the Equity Micro Grants! A digital showcase is planned for the end of the school year to recognize and celebrate these projects.
Original source can be found here.
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