Embedded Files
Learning Leadership Team Advance & PLC Leads' Summit
Learning Leadership Team Advance & PLC Leads' Summit
August 8th (LLT) & 21st (PLC)
Racial Equity Work with Dr. Stephanie Spencer
Article used for discussion: A Black Principal, Four White Teens and the ‘Senior Prank’ that Became a Hate Crime by Jessica Contrera from The Washington Post
Staff Welcome Back
Staff Welcome Back
August 27th, 10:45 - 11:30 am
Facilities (custodial & grounds), kitchen staff, district office staff/Non-Reps and some classified staff with Dr. Slade McSheehy
Group reading and discussion of A Black Principal, Four White Teens and the ‘Senior Prank’ that Became a Hate Crime by Jessica Contrera from The Washington Post. During the group discussion, members of the grounds team talk about how frequently hateful graffiti shows up around school. There was a discussion about how quickly graffiti should be removed and what sort follow up should occur with the student body. Traditionally, our facilities crew immediately removes graffiti and in so doing, "hides the problem" from our community. No solution came from the discussion, it is something we need to consider.
paraeducator fundamental course of study
paraeducator fundamental course of study
August 28th, 8:30 am to 12:30 pm
Introduction to Cultural Identity online course facilitated by Kathryn Coleman
Diversity and Inclusion led by Dr. Stephanie Spencer
Where I'm From: Community Quilt
"One Up" & "One Down" Groups chart pulled from What if I Say the Wrong Thing?
What is White Privilege Really? by Cory Collins
Building level racial equity teams
Building level racial equity teams
September through June
Vashon Island High School
Vashon Island High School
Planned and led several staff professional development sessions throughout the year.
Worked with the student group, Racial Equity Pact (REP), to plan and deliver the schoolwide Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. assembly.
The team began a senior scholarship program for students of color. They raised and awarded 3-$1000 scholarships to graduating seniors. They also acquired $1500 seed money to continue the scholarship program for the next school year.
Meeting dates: 10/1, 10/8, 10/29, 11/12, 12/3, 12/10, 1/7, 1/14, 1/28, 2/25, 5/15, 6/3
Team members: Andrew Guss, Jason Butler, Nicky Wilks, Christine Browning, Moana Trammell, Kristen Adams, Karah Weber
McMurray Middle School
McMurray Middle School
Meeting dates:
Team members: Greg Allison, Becky Blankenship, Larry Dubois, Carrie Power, Gay Roselle, Carrie Hatfield, Jenny Granum, Barb Jensen, Yvette Butler, Kailey Ketter
Chautauqua Elementary School
Chautauqua Elementary School
Chautauqua’s Racial Equity team focused on reviewing educational best practices aligned with Culturally Responsive Teaching including forming teacher inquiry groups called Equity Buddies within the team, reading and reflecting on articles about being anti-racist, and organizing a school-wide plan to learn about the civil rights movement surrounding Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. The team examined school practices that build culture in our community and read articles such as “There is no Neutral on Racism and Hate,” by Kathleen Osta and the National Equity Project and had a book study with Culturally Responsive Teaching and the Brain.
The team met once a month as well as led activities at the staff meetings throughout the year.
Meeting dates: 9/*, 10/*, 11/*, 12/12, 1/28, 4/*, 5/20
Team members: Dr. Jen Lindsay, Rebecca Goertzel, Jon Hodgson, Kristina Miller, Holly Boyajian
history & heritage months, school bulletins
history & heritage months, school bulletins
Continued sending monthly calendars to highlight heritage and history months along with diverse notable dates sent to all teachers and expanded to all classified staff and district level directors. Added daily bulletin items for all 3 schools beginning in November per the suggestion of teacher, Leslie Serebryakova. These items were based on the following themes: biography brief, thought for the day, quote of the day and this day in history. Special thank you to Char Phillips, Barb Jensen and Gillian Callison who updated their respective school bulletins each day.
November December January February March April-June (school closure)
Sep 15 - Oct 15 Hispanic Heritage Month
October: Disability Awareness & National Bullying Prevention Month
November: Native American Heritage Month
February: Black History Month
March: Women's History Month & Irish-American Heritage Month
April: National Poetry Month
May: Asian Pacific American Heritage Month
June: Pride Month
first land acknowledgement at school board meeting
first land acknowledgement at school board meeting
September 12th
Dr. McSheehy offered a land acknowledgement for the Puyallup Tribe of Indians at the beginning of the superintendent's report for the first time in a board meeting.
"To open my superintendent report I humbly make a land acknowledgment. I would like to recognize and acknowledge the indigenous people of this land, the Puyallup Tribe of Indians . In the old days, their name meant generous and welcoming behavior to all peoples, friends and strangers who entered their lands. Their people lived here for thousands of years existing by the bountiful gifts provided by the Creator and today we pay respect to the Puyallup tribe of Indians and to their elders past, present and emerging."
school board updates
school board updates
September 26th, December 12th & May 20th
September: Superintendent's report on building planning for 2019-20 and summary of the 2019 CEE Survey data pertaining to social emotional learning.
December: Superintendent's report and discipline policy revisions (first read, second read occurred on Jan. 9th), board minutes
May: Superintendent's report, board minutes
District & Community Racial Equity Leaders' Meetings
District & Community Racial Equity Leaders' Meetings
September 27th, November 8th, January 31st & virtual on May 22nd
Participants: Stephanie Spencer, Danny Rock, Greg Allison, Kathryn Coleman, Mariela Franco, Spring Hecht, Slade McSheehy, Vince Hardy, Rebecca Goertzel, Thomas Elliott, Zabette Macomber, Carol Goertzel, Janie Starr, Chelsie Irish, Amy Sassara, Kayla G, Shelley Means, Andrew Guss, Jon Hodgson, Sally Adam, Kevin Dickerson
student voice: teaching & Learning newsletters
student voice: teaching & Learning newsletters
September through June
Monthly newsletters from T & L highlighting student voice, racial equity work along with other items of interest. Picture on the right, Student Voice "Quilt" from 2019-20, a review of student quotes, race/ethnicity and language that appeared in the June newsletter.
teaching & Learning report to the board
teaching & Learning report to the board
October 10th
Teaching & Learning presentation: instructional materials, bilingual program, strategic plan metrics including assessment gap analysis
Cries Out for Conversation & The Hate U Give
Cries Out for Conversation & The Hate U Give
October 17th
Community Event
Spoken Word poetry performance and film screening at the Vashon Island High School Theater hosted by Backbone, Showing Up for Racial Justice (SURJ) and Vashon Island School District.
one world posters
one world posters
October through June
Teaching Tolerance One World posters introduced to the board meeting room and all school buildings (Chautauqua, McMurray, FamilyLink, StudentLink & the high school) in October and then rotated monthly.
Racial Equity Pact (REP)
Racial Equity Pact (REP)
November through June
The high school student group, Racial Equity Pact (REP), began recruiting students in November. The group was led by Karah Weber, science teacher, with support from Moana Trammel, student support specialist. They participated in several school wide efforts and partnered with the VHS Racial Equity team to plan the MLK Jr. assembly when the guest speaker fell through.
¡La Chispa! regional leadership workshop
¡La Chispa! regional leadership workshop
November
dawnland screening & discussion
dawnland screening & discussion
November 22nd
Lana Jack (Celilio-Wyam), Guest Speaker
Aaron Marsh, social studies teacher, arranged for the screening of Dawnland for our high school social studies classes. He also invited Lana Jack (Celilio-Wyam), an American Indian rights activist, to speak with our students.
Later, a student was asked, "What has been your most valuable learning experience so far this year?" Her response: “Probably when to step back, so that you are not making the situation worse. We watched the film [Dawnland] and the white people’s privilege got in the way of working with the Native Americans. They needed more awareness, so they could better understand and help the Native people’s experiences.”
HeARTWork collective, Equity in the classroom
HeARTWork collective, Equity in the classroom
January 9th & 30th
Sponsored by Vashon Center for the Arts, Artists in the Schools
How do social position, bias and systemic oppression (e.g. racism, classism, adultism, sexism, etc.) play out in our institutions? What levers do each of us have to create equitable and inclusive environments for all? Using foundational concepts of social identity and oppression, participants will self-reflect and unpack challenging dynamics using simple theatre activities and develop a deeper understanding of their power to build equity. HeARTWork will share our framework for analyzing oppressive dynamics and attendees will practice naming and framing real life situations. Take away best practices and tools that are rooted in social justice pedagogy.
The high school staff and the elementary staff participated in this training on January 9th and 10th.
honoring the work of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
honoring the work of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Student Marches and Assemblies
Student Marches and Assemblies
January 15th & 17th
January 17th, Chautauqua students participated in a schoolwide assembly.
Januray 15th, McMurray celebrated Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. through a powerful dramatic performance by Tacoma Arts Live called “Get on the Bus” and then through the “March for Peace” and January 17th. Students finished with discussion and reflection in their respective homerooms.
Students march for civil rights, Vashon-Maury Beachcomber, January 23, 2020
2020 MLK Assembly.mp4Video by Lance Morgan
January 17th, The high school students attended an assembly, "What would MLK Say Today?" The assembly was created by the students from REP (Racial Equity Pact) and the staff members from the high school racial equity team. (Note: Original plans for a guest speaker on the 13th didn't work out: From Andrew Guss, assistant principal, to the staff, "Good Morning VHS, Due to snow our speaker for today's event is unable to attend. We are cancelling today's MLK Assembly and will readjust our bells back to typical SMART schedule. The Racial Equity team will reach out by mid week with our contingency plan. Thank you for understanding.")
call to action: A Celebration of the Work and Vision of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
call to action: A Celebration of the Work and Vision of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
January 20th
Community event hosted by the Vashon Center for the Arts
"Join us for the second annual celebration of the work of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr at VCA!
The afternoon will include presentations from Trish Dziko, co-founder and Executive Director of Technology Access Foundation and Karen Dhaliwal, Director of Development at the Freedom Project; and performances by Just Speak, a student group using spoken word as a vehicle to examine identity and social justice; local singer Alexandrea Davis; and Wes Brenner, musician and VHS graduate.
Our afternoon will be emcee’d by poet, performer and teaching artist, Daemond Arrindell.
Student art from Chautauqua Elementary School and The Harbor School inspired by Dr. King’s work will be featured in the lobby following the presentation along with food, conversation, and community."
Sensitive Location Planning Meeting
Sensitive Location Planning Meeting
January 29th
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement
FAQs Schools have on Sensitive Location
Dr. McSheehy & Sally Adam met to discuss concerns expressed within the Latinx community about the Sensitive Location designation.
March 6th
Bridging the Divide around Racism: The work starts with you and me presented by Jessica Lisovsky & Karen Nelson
Drawing from embodied awareness, conversation, and discussion stimulated by a Robin DiAngelo (White Fragility) video, we will witness our shared struggles with racism. We will also explore the RACE (Reflect, Ask, Connect, Expand) method from White Ally Tool Kit by David Campt, and engage in brave conversations, actions and intentions.
Instructional Practice Alignment: Marzano 1.3, 1.4, 3.2
Practice How You Play: Building confidence in responding to racism presented by Christine (Browning) Fostering & Karah Weber
Through activities and discussion, teachers will build confidence in acknowledging, recognizing, and responding to racism in their school setting.
Instructional Practice Alignment: Marzano 1.3, 1.4, 3.2
coronavirus impacts
coronavirus impacts
March 13th through June 19th
The circumstances surrounding the coronavirus pandemic forced Washington schools to shutdown in-person learning. VISD's last in-person day was Thursday, March 12th. The immediate concerns at the time of our shut down included getting resources to students and family such as food, technology and learning materials with suggested activities. After the first few weeks of being in a remote environment, the focus shifted to providing learning packets and instructional activities via Google classroom. Although the hope and the plan had been to return to in-person learning prior to the end of the year, it did not happen. The state provided guidance on grading that adopted a "do know harm" doctrine. Specifically, students could not earn a lower grade than what they had when they left. In the case where a student showed decline during the closure, they were to be awarded an Incomplete with the opportunity to make that up at a later date. Grades at the middle school were changed to a Pass/No Pass scale, grades at the high school moved to a A, B, C, D, Incomplete scale while the elementary maintained their standards-based grades focused on a reduced set of priority standards.
Continuous learning guidance from OSPI, April 4th
"Equity Statement: Each student, family, and community possess strengths and cultural knowledge that benefits their peers, educators, and schools. Ensuring educational equity: Goes beyond equality; it requires education leaders to examine the ways current policies and practices result in disparate outcomes for our students of color, students living in poverty, students receiving special education and English Learner services, students who identify as LGBTQ+, and highly mobile student populations. Requires education leaders to develop an understanding of historical contexts; engage students, families, and community representatives as partners in decision making; and actively dismantle systemic barriers, replacing them with policies and practices that ensure all students have access to the instruction and support they need to succeed in our schools."
Student Learning & Grading Guidance, April 21st
"Do no harm. Student grades will not be negatively impacted as a result of the March 17 [this is the date that Governor Inslee cancelled in-person learning] building closures or of continuous learning through the end of the 2019–20 school year."
Reopening Schools guidance from OSPI, June 11th
"The impacts of fear, hatred, and systemic and structural racism within institutions cannot be ignored, and they yield tragic outcomes. Washington’s public education system must engage in anti-racist capacity building, leadership, and resource allocation. Dismantling systemically racist structures will make progress on inclusivity and will better serve students of color, students with disabilities, students who are English learners, students who are migratory, students experiencing homelessness, students in foster care, students experiencing intergenerational poverty, and students who identify as LGBTQ+.
The work of Washington public schools is to prepare students for postsecondary pathways, careers, and civic engagement. Washington must create the conditions for each student to be educated in racially literate, culturally sustaining, positive, and predictable environments that intentionally prioritize the instruction and development of social-emotional skills, and mental health in addition to our primary focus on academic content."
planning for school re-opening in the fall
planning for school re-opening in the fall
May through June
Objectives:
Calibrating and preparing for mobilizing once we have guidance from OSPI and DOH
Begin to develop priorities for how we allocate resources
Begin to think through certain directions/directives and how they may impact our school district given our context
District Mission/Vision = Values:
“Equipping every student to engage, thrive, and contribute in an ever-changing world.”
Voice: Student/Family/Staff Surveys
What have we learned about our closure?
What worked well and what didn’t work well?
What would have helped or made our experience closer to a 10 out of 10?
Racial Equity: What questions should we be asking?
What are the bright spots you are seeing (in our district) for re-opening planning that centers racially just and humanizing school systems? How could this team most effectively sustain and scale these bright spots across our district? (i.e., through changing policies, practices, and mindsets).
What are the most urgent racial equity challenges facing our district as we begin planning for reopening? How could the team best support addressing those challenges? What would a successful transformational reopening look like to you? Are there additional or alternative outcomes that you would prioritize here?
Being transformative entails a fundamental shift in beliefs, mindsets, and practices for the long haul. What ‘new’ or ‘shifting’ activities, supports, and resources could support the progression towards ‘transformed’ racially just and humanizing schools?
Data collected from staff, students and families using the online surveys. Additionally, Comunidad Latina de Vashon gathered feedback from parents and secondary students about their experiences.
Stakeholder team met on 5/29, 6/5 & 6/18. Slade reconvened the team in August.
June survey responses to the question: What are the most urgent racial equity challenges facing our district as we begin planning for reopening?
Vashon schools Foundation
Vashon schools Foundation
VSF receives a private donation of $50 to be split over two years to continue financial support for the school district's racial equity work for the 2020-21 and 2021-22.
Holly and Matt, participants in Inclusive Instruction: UDL
additional training with an equity focus
additional training with an equity focus
Fall 2019, Teaching Strategies to Support English language learners in the classroom
October 11, 2019, Professional Development Day
Standards-based grading: priority standards, scales and rubrics
March 6, 2020, Teaching & Learning Forum
Inclusive Instruction: Universal Design for Learning
Strategies to Create a Positive Classroom Community
The Development of Coping Strategies: an interdisciplinary perspective
Standards-based Grading: Systems for Student Ownership of Learning
Standards -based Grading: General Support
May 19-20, 2020, Equity in the Classroom
Spring 2020, Cultural and Linguistic Contexts for Instructing ELL
School libraries
School libraries
Diversifying collections & supporting culturally inclusive learning
Diversifying collections & supporting culturally inclusive learning
Chautauqua Elementary Library, Kathleen Lawrence, PIE Grants
"The CES Library is committed to providing teachers and students with beautiful books sharing exquisite representation of all cultures. The author of this list, educator Lindsey Passenger Wieck Ph.D. shares:
By taking a decolonizing approach to teaching about Thanksgiving, teachers and families reject the myths of Thanksgiving and harmful stereotypes. Instead, teachers and families can de-romanticize this holiday, by engaging Native perspectives which recognize the diversity of Indigenous peoples and their contemporary presence in 21st-century America."
"Debbie LeeKeenan is an active early childhood consultant and lecturer, currently residing in Seattle, Washington. She was director of the Eliot-Pearson Children’s School at Tufts University from 1996 to 2013. She consults widely, locally, nationally and internationally. Debbie visited Vashon Island last year and shared her list of 'Children’s Books Supporting Anti-Bias Education.'"
Picture Books about Gender, Non Conformity and LGBTQ Families & Picture Books focusing on Individuality and Self-Acceptance
"Transgender and gender nonconforming people have significant visibility in our schools and community. The CES Library is committed to showing positive examples of all gendered people in literature. Increasing availability to books which teach love, acceptance, equality, empathy and the beauty of diversity is a part of our mission."
instructional program
instructional program
Instructional Practices
Marzano Instructional Framework focus for the year: 3.2 Planning and preparing for the needs of all learners
Instructional Materials
purchased novel sets: Purple Hibiscus by Chimamando Ngozi Adichie (10th grade English), The Best We Could Do by Thi Bui (11th grade English)
purchased site license for vocabulary.com for high school English classes
adopted new materials for the following programs/classes: Government in America (used for both Government and AP US Government); 11th grade US History--History Alive! Pursuing America's Ideals & Since Time Immemorial; 6th grade humanities--History Alive! The Ancient World; 7th grade humanities--History Alive! The Medieval World and Beyond & Since Time Immemorial
Learning Support Programs
reviewed proportionality data for all support programs
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