Conversations and professional development regarding equity in our schools has been happening for many years across our District. A few examples of how we have been able to improve the culture of the schools are through...

• Responsive Classroom and Nurtured Heart strategies which foster a sense of belonging, significance and fun. These strategies are culturally responsive allowing all members of our classroom community to be heard, for conflict to be solved as a community, and diversity of the classroom composition celebrated.
• All staff members have been trained in trauma informed care with additional, extensive studies happening through staff meetings, book clubs and inservice training.
• Reading and Writing Curriculum
  • One of the most important values we hold is that raising the level of literacy for all children is an act of social justice.
  • Our reading and writing curriculum is designed to give voice and choice to students and "for students to become powerful readers and writers who read and write for real reasons - to advocate for themselves and others, to deepen their own and others' knowledge, to illuminate the lives they live and the world they are part of."
  • Teachers' College Reading and Writing Project reviews their curriculum annually to make sure it meets the high demands of The Metropolitan Center for Research on Equity and the Transformation of Schools equity scorecard. https://readingandwritingproject.org/resources/culturally-responsive-curriculum
  • Each year we continue to curate our classroom and school libraries to make sure our collections are diverse and represent all people of the world. Each year the elementary principal gifts read aloud books to our classrooms with an emphasis on authors and stories that have traditionally been silenced.
  • Spring 2020 we purchased a large number of new titles for our kindergarten and first grade classrooms to ensure that we have progressive titles authored by a variety of voices.
• Staff Professional Development including book clubs with titles such as 
  • Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City by Matthew Desmond
  • Our Kids: The American Dream in Crisis by Robert Putnam
  • The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
• Workshops such as
  • ICS Equity (Integrated Comprehensive Systems for Equity) with Elise Frattura, Professor at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee School of Education and Colleen A. Capper, Professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison
  • National Equity Project with CESA 2 (recommended viewing of Netflix documentary 13th)
  • Culturally and Linguistically Responsive Teaching and Learning with Sharroky Hollie

These are some of the overt activities we have participated in. This is not an exhaustive list of all of our activities as we continue to learn and grow together to find solutions to these important issues.

Community conversations with members of our community, Lake Mills Police Department, and LMASD administration are taking place this month to determine actionable ways we can continue to make our community and schools welcoming and inclusive for ALL.

Continued professional development such as:

• Despite the Best Intentions: How Racial Inequity Thrives in Good Schools by Amanda Lewis and John Diamond
• This Book Is Anti-Racist: 20 Lessons on How to Wake Up, Take Action, and Do the Work by Tiffany Jewell
• Staff discussion in August regarding their ongoing professional development on equity in education
• A comprehensive professional development plan for all three buildings to continue to ensure we are meeting the needs of ALL members of our school community

Using Media to Talk With Children about Race

Talking to Your Child About Black Lives Matter and Social Justice

Epic! Celebrate Black Culture (all LMES students have a login for Epic!)

Epic! Start A Conversation About Race

The Conscious Kid

Blog: Spark by Epic! A Safe Place to Explore All Voices

Scaffolded Anti-Racist Resources This is a working document for scaffolding anti-racism resources. The goal is to facilitate growth for white folks to become allies, and eventually accomplices for anti-racist work.

'We Just Want to Live.' Photographers Share What They Experienced While Covering Protests Across America Read in TIME: https://time.com/5847392/george-floyd-protests-photographers/ "Being in the midst of the action and seeing so much passion for the cause to eradicate racism is addictive." In the aftermath of George Floyd's death, protests against racism and injustice spread, most peacefully, across America.

TED Talk: The Danger of a Single Story

Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black Man Part 1

Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black Man Part 2