A MESSAGE FROM 

Principal Santos

Moving into this next week of Black History, I am committed to being reflective about how we create lessons that build a sense of pride and inspiration for ALL of our students all year long. I think back on my own learning as a student and all of the missed opportunities for a meaningful incorporation of culture and understanding, not only in my history courses but also in the fundamental literacy instruction I was given at a very early age. 

When you learned about royalty in fairy tales or historical fiction, was it predominantly European or Western royalty (think King Henry, castles, dragons and knights)? When you were taught about folktales, do you think of Aesop?  If the answer is yes to either of these questions, you likely missed out on a great deal of rich culture that you now unknowingly think of as "less than traditional" versions of fairytalkes and folktales in literature.  This is where it starts and the truth is because of American popular culture, there are not as many resources that exist but we can work together to make a conscious effort to do better for our Trailblazers as we empower the leaders and content creators of the future.

Here are some great resources to get you started if you need some ideas:

FOLKTALES & FAIRY TALES

AFRICAN QUEENS

OTHER MULTI-CULTURAL FOLK & FAIRY TALES