Our Classroom

In this episode of Our Classroom, Roberto is joined by Kamania Wynter-Hoyte, Eliza Braden, Michele Myers, and Natasha Thorton, the authors of the book Revolutionary Love, to discuss Creating Culturally Inclusive Literacy Classrooms. Revolutionary Love offers practices that affirm and celebrate students' identities, languages, and cultures to build a vibrant community of engaged, valued, and thoughtful learners.

Classroom Notes

Follow the Authors - @revolutionarylovebook

Purchase Revolutionary Love via Amazon.

Welcome to Our Classroom!

In this episode of Our Classroom, Zakiya Jackson, President of The Expectations Project shares her insight and experience regarding where the church and public schools can meet.

Key Moments:

Follow Zakiya - @expectationsproject

Welcome to Our Classroom!

Welcome to Season 2 of Our Classroom! In this episode, Roberto breaks down an article that he and Lorena originally published through Edutopia. The article examines the idea that school leaders should take an active role and set attainable goals to ensure that diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives are successful. 

#education #schools #schoolleaders #DEI #diversity #equity #inclusion #OurClassroom #MulticulturalClassroom

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Resources - Books & Curriculum / Blog / Merch

Welcome to Our Classroom! In this episode, Stacy Seward, Executive Director of The Dream Network in Lawrence Massachusetts, joins to discuss the school-to-prison pipeline and prison to community re-entry, including a healing-centered transformative model along with financial literacy and economic power.

Focal points:

Stacy Seward holds a Masters Degree in Rehabilitation Psychology and Counseling from UNC Chapel Hill School of Medicine.  She has earned a Certificate of Advanced Graduate Study (CAGS) in Counselor Education and is currently pursuing her Doctorate in Applied Social and Community Psychology.  Stacy is a mediator and certified diversity professional (CDP) whose practice centers around the social and psychological dimensions of justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion (JEDI).   Stacy has provided equity centered technical assistance for Department of Justice grantees in programs across the nation and provides reentry guidance to organizations across the Commonwealth.  Finally, Stacy is the Executive Director of The Dream Network in Lawrence Massachusetts.  Her role is to use asset-based ideologies to impact racial, social, economic, educational, and environmental justice for those impacted by the carceral system. 

Follow:

@thedreamnetwork_tdn

The Dream Network

For more education resources subscribe to Multicultural Classroom.

#education #schools #prison #financialliteracy #trauma #healing #transform #community #Lawrence #Massachusetts #OurClassroom #MulticulturalClassroom 

This week's guest was Terra Lynch, Director of Middle School at Headwaters School in Austin, Texas. 

We discussed the following:

Welcome to Our Classroom!

Terra Lynch spent a decade teaching Humanities at University Neighborhood High School in New York City, and a decade as a consultant for the New York University Metropolitan Center for Research on Equity and the Transformation of Schools as an instructional coach. She has also lived and worked in Cairo, Egypt, and Washington, DC. 

In Austin, Terra led parent groups around dyslexia advocacy. She served as the Learning Specialist at Headwaters School for five years, collaborating with the middle and high school guides to meet the needs of the students, while also teaching Middle School Spanish. She is the author of the book Protocols in the Classroom: Tools to Help Students Read, Write, Think, and Collaborate.

Follow @terrateacher (Twitter) and terralynch.com

For more education resources subscribe to Multicultural Classroom

#schoolleaders #schoolprincipals #middleschoolprincipals #schooladministrators #instateacher #teachersofig#teaching #consulting #multiculturalclassroom #ourclassroom 

Aiko Bethea stopped by Our Classroom to discuss her upcoming publication, the Magnolia Murder Series. We touched upon the following:

◦ Characters in the series
◦ Shifting POC stories from being steeped in suffering
◦ What it looks like when systemically marginalized communities define success on their own terms
◦ Favorite authors

The founder of RARE Coaching & Consulting, Aiko Bethea is an award-winning and highly sought after equity consultant, executive coach, and speaker.

Aiko’s newest ambition takes form in a cozy comfort series titled Magnolia Murder Mysteries, the first of which will be published in 2023. Her goal is to create work that features stories about people of color, without those stories always being steeped in trauma and despair.

Aiko is leaning into research from Berkeley University that establishes that fiction enhances our social abilities, including our ability to empathize with others.

Follow Aiko Betha @rare_coach

For more education resources subscribe to multiculturalclassroom.com.

#education #literacy #BlackAuthors #CozyComfortSeries #representationmatters 

In this episode of Our Classroom, Dr. Sonja Cherry-Paul invites Lorena Germán to join her in one of the RedClayEd Community Conversations. As we transition from summer fun and flexibility, Sonja challenges the audience to consider the following themes:

Reflection Questions

Key Takeaways 

About Our Guests

Dr. Sonja Cherry-Paul is the adapter of the #1 New York Times Best Seller, Stamped (For Kids). She is an educator, author, founder of Red Clay Educators, and co-founder of the Institute for Racial Equity in Literacy. She is the host of The Black Creators Series, an education-focused platform that highlights the work of Black authors and illustrators. Sonja provides professional development for schools and organizations on advancing the work of antiracism and equity. Follow Sonja @redclayed

Lorena Germán is a two time nationally awarded Dominican American educator focused on anti racist and anti bias education. She has taught English Language Arts from 6th through 12th grades in both public and private schools. Her work has been featured in The New York Times, NCTE’s journals, ASCD, and more. She’s a co-founder of #DisruptTexts through which she encourages teachers to work toward an inclusive ELA curriculum. As Co-Founder and Academic Director at Multicultural Classroom she leads professional development for teachers and creates teaching materials with and for leading literacy organizations. Lorena is also the Chair of NCTE’s Committee Against Racism and Bias in the Teaching of English. She lives in Tampa, Florida.

For more education resources subscribe to multiculturalclassroom.com.

#teacherssupportteachers  #teacherauthor #teachergoals  #education #school #educators #teaching #teacher #multiculturalclassroom #ourclassroom #ABAR 

In the third and final part of our poetry series with author Ummi Modeste, she shares and analyzes the poem Hyphenated from her book Because I Knew. This is one of her favorite poems as it speaks to the struggle of tracing her roots. 

R. Ummi Modeste is a native of Brooklyn, NY where she attended and graduated from the New York City Public School System. She retired from that same school system in 2021, after nearly 30 years of service as a teacher and college and career advisor at City-As-School High School, a unique public school in Manhattan. Ummi holds one bachelor's degree from Ithaca College in Speech, Language and Hearing Services, another from the State University of NY Empire State College in Human Relations; American Sign Language, and a Master's degree in Special Education from Hunter College of the City of New York. 

Ummi is an active member of the Breadloaf Teacher Network, an international group of teachers who strive to provide innovative and engaging ways for their students to become stronger readers and writers. Every summer, she is one of the facilitators of the Andover Bread Loaf Writing Workshop (ABL), a two-week professional development workshop held in Andover, MA that focuses on social justice work through literacy. ABL provides professional development for teachers and others who work with youth, as well as workshops for students in cities all over the US. ABL has also held international conferences for teachers and students in Karachi, Pakistan; Nairobi, Kenya and Port-Au-Prince, Haiti. (For more information about ABL, click here). 

You may connect with Ummi for speaking engagements, poetry readings and to facilitate workshops at: [email protected]. or [email protected].

To purchase Because I Know, go to the bookstore at thebookpatch.com and search "Because I Knew". 

The Ant Racist Teacher Video Course is available now and includes a copy of The Anti Racist Teacher: Reading Instruction Workbook (E-book).

In this course, you'll find:

For more education resources subscribe to multiculturalclassroom.com.

#poetry #immigration #culturallyresponsiveteaching  #teacherssupportteachers  #teacherauthor #teachergoals  #education #school #educators #teaching #teacher #multiculturalclassroom #ourclassroom #ABAR #socialjusticeeducation

Part Two of our poetry series with author Ummi Modeste explores immigration from a number of different angles. In this episode, Ummi reads the poem Dreaming A Decolonized World from her book Because I Knew. This is a passionate conversation that we invite you to join. Click the image above to listen to the episode now!

R. Ummi Modeste is a native of Brooklyn, NY where she attended and graduated from the New York City Public School System. She retired from that same school system in 2021, after nearly 30 years of service as a teacher and college and career advisor at City-As-School High School, a unique public school in Manhattan. Ummi holds one bachelor's degree from Ithaca College in Speech, Language and Hearing Services, another from the State University of NY Empire State College in Human Relations; American Sign Language, and a Master's degree in Special Education from Hunter College of the City of New York. 

Ummi is an active member of the Breadloaf Teacher Network, an international group of teachers who strive to provide innovative and engaging ways for their students to become stronger readers and writers. Every summer, she is one of the facilitators of the Andover Bread Loaf Writing Workshop (ABL), a two-week professional development workshop held in Andover, MA that focuses on social justice work through literacy. ABL provides professional development for teachers and others who work with youth, as well as workshops for students in cities all over the US. ABL has also held international conferences for teachers and students in Karachi, Pakistan; Nairobi, Kenya and Port-Au-Prince, Haiti. (For more information about ABL, click here). 

You may connect with Ummi for speaking engagements, poetry readings and to facilitate workshops at: [email protected]. or [email protected].

To purchase Because I Know, go to the bookstore at thebookpatch.com and search "Because I Knew". 

The Ant Racist Teacher Video Course is available now and includes a copy of The Anti Racist Teacher: Reading Instruction Workbook (E-book).

In this course, you'll find:

For more education resources subscribe to multiculturalclassroom.com.

#poetry #immigration #culturallyresponsiveteaching  #teacherssupportteachers  #teacherauthor #teachergoals  #education #school #educators #teaching #teacher #multiculturalclassroom #ourclassroom #ABAR #socialjusticeeducation

If you dig poetry then you are in for a treat! This is part one of a 3-part poetry series w/ author Ummi Modeste. In this episode, Ummi reads the poem Quien Soy Yo from her book Because I Knew. We then had the opportunity to analyze the poem and discuss ways to apply it in the classroom.

R. Ummi Modeste is a native of Brooklyn, NY where she attended and graduated from the New York City Public School System. She retired from that same school system in 2021, after nearly 30 years of service as a teacher and college and career advisor at City-As-School High School, a unique public school in Manhattan. Ummi holds one bachelor’s degree from Ithaca College in Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences, another from the State University of NY Empire State College in Human Relations: American Sign Language, and a Master’s degree in Special Education from Hunter College of the City of New York. Ummi is the mother of Adunni and second mom to Tarence, mom-in-law to Jean-Marie, and Grammie to Nasir and Skyler. No matter how old she gets, she’ll always be “Baby Sis” to her brothers, Leon and Keith.

Ummi is an active member of the Breadloaf Teacher Network, an international group of teachers who strive to provide innovative and engaging ways for their students to become stronger readers and writers. Every summer, she is one of the facilitators of the Andover Bread Loaf Writing Workshop (ABL), a two-week professional development workshop held in Andover, MA that focuses on social justice work through literacy. ABL provides professional development for teachers and others who work with youth, as well as workshops for students in cities all over the US. ABL has also held international conferences for teachers and students in Karachi, Pakistan; Nairobi, Kenya and Port-Au-Prince, Haiti (For more information about ABL, here).

A founding member of the former East Brooklyn Poets, Ummi seeks to create opportunities for herself and her friends to grow in their own creativity and share it with others. EBP performed in Brooklyn, Harlem, Lawrence and Andover, MA, and its members continue to facilitate workshops, coach other performers and work with young writers. She gives honor to the memory of fellow founding members and dear friends, Tray Jackson and Keith “Just Sayin” Richards.

Upon retiring, Ummi fulfilled a long-held dream of owning a home in a quieter place, and she now happily resides in Laurel, MD, where she reads and writes every day, with the sun streaming through her kitchen window.

You may connect with Ummi for speaking engagements, poetry readings and to facilitate workshops at: [email protected] or [email protected].

To purchase Because I Knew, go to the online bookstore at thebookpatch.com and search “Because I Knew”.

For more education resources subscribe to multiculturalclassroom.com

#poetry #culturallyresponsiveteaching #CSP #teacherssupportteachers #culturallysustainingpedagogy #teacherauthor #teachergoals #edupreneur #education #school #educators #teaching #consulting #writing #teacher #multiculturalclassroom #ourclassroom #ABAR #socialjusticeeducation