Excited to be leading tonight's #MEMSPAchat - STARTING NOW!
Check in everyone and intro yourself.
Mike Domagalski here: MS Principal, @MEMSPA Board, #MEMSPAchat Founder/MODERATOR.
Welcome everyone on #MEMSPAchat
We follow the Q1/A1 format. Look to @MrDomagalski for tonight's question on #MEMSPAchat with a challenge question at the end (Q8).
Question will start at 8:07pm (2 minutes)
A1: @PHSchools is celebrating MLK day by having guest speakers and student presentations in our elementary schools. Our secondary schools have programs for celebrations as well. #MEMSPAchat
A1: Currently starting work with student groups interested in equity work beyonds touching on subject of MLK in advisory/classes. Need to do more. Looking forward to hearing what others are doing. #MEMSPAchat
A1: Celebrating ALL students is a daily routine, not a stand alone event. Peer-to-peer, Reading buddies, recess partners... every day is is an opportunity to celebrate and learn with each other! #MEMSPAchat
A1: I think recently we have really tried to make sure our classroom libraries better represent our students' cultures and backgrounds. #weneeddiversebooks has been a great resource for this. #MEMSPAchat
A1) I don’t think we celebrate culture and diversity as much as we need to in my district. I try to incorporate it through a variety of literary works. #MEMSPAchat
A1) We celebrate it daily because we live it every day. I see culture and diversity celebrated in art, music, Spanish, classroom projects, curriculum, and literature. I got to celebrate this diverse group of Citizens of the Month this afternoon. #MEMSPAchat
A1: Every student has a STORY (Strengths, Tendencies, Opportunities, Resources, Yearnings) learn it, help Ss learn ea others STORY then celebrate what makes us ea special #MEMSPAchat
A1) When I was at the building level, MLK day was a day for PD, one of the TL's in the building wanted to make it a day to celebrate MLK with our Ss & families...became a tradition and launched family activities throughout the year. #memspachat
A2: Equity and equality are hot topics in our district as we look to install systems of support based on need. This picture is worth a thousand words. #MEMSPAchat
A2: Not the same. Everybody needs what THEY need to be successful. I think we often find ourselves trapped in our thinking that if I do this for this one I have to do it for all. Nope. #memspachat
We echo this! Celebrating ALL students and helping students recognize we are all different and that's ok... that is what makes us great! Learning from each others differences only helps us grow! #memspachat
A1: Celebrating ALL students is a daily routine, not a stand alone event. Peer-to-peer, Reading buddies, recess partners... every day is is an opportunity to celebrate and learn with each other! #MEMSPAchat
A3: I think Genius Hour has been a huge one in our school. It gives students an opportunity to learn about topics that are interesting to them, but also teaches the other students when they share. I learned all about Japanese manga comics from a student last week. #MEMSPAchat
#memspachat . Sorry I cannot join tonight, crew. I have a GHO MUCAL Board meeting tonight. Hopefully everyone is doing well and not too buried in snow. See ya soon.
Grib
A3: This is an area we continue to look to improve. I see the use of a lot of literature to address cultural relevance, but again, looking to do more! #MEMSPAchat
A3) . Teachers choosing read alouds with characters with various ethnicities and cultural backgrounds. It is all about windows, mirrors and sliding glass doors. #MEMSPAchat
A3: Having true and real conversations in class regarding differences among students and their family life. No specific strategies, but being open and honest everyone’s differences. #MEMSPAchat
A2: Equality is everyone getting what they need. While most adults worry about this, Ss are pretty good at understanding that each child needs something different. #MEMSPAchat
A3: As a new administrator I have had limited experiences with walk-throughs but I have been impressed with how well our teachers know their students and what their students' needs are. #MEMSPAchat
A3: Ditto! We're using @CraigMcCalla24's resources from #MEMSPA18 to restock our classroom libraries with culturally relevant and diverse literature. #MEMSPAchat
A3: This is an area we continue to look to improve. I see the use of a lot of literature to address cultural relevance, but again, looking to do more! #MEMSPAchat
Shouldn't we give our students an outlet to connect with them, give them an outlet, and build a relationship with them above all? We are all in this together! #Masterychat#MEMSPAchat@MrDomagalski
#Memspachat A1: We have been lucky enough to have a group of 7th graders participate in religious diversity field trips throughout the past 2 years. We have also had grade level trips to the Holocaust Museum.
Today @HERprincipal read “Always Anjali” by @sheetalsheth for today’s #classroombookaday Such a great book for inspiring discussion about not being ashamed of your differences and celebrating who you are!
Our district does a remarkable job with translation of all documents to welcome families of different backgrounds. In addition, as a school, we work to connect families with organizations in the city that support them. #MEMSPAchat
A4) Our EL teachers do an amazing job communicating and connecting with families and some staff members make home visits to build relationships with families. #MEMSPAchat
A4: Our HS has a very active LGBTQ group. We are beginning a DEI committee to be inclusive of staff, students and the community. We want to learn and grow together to be better! #MEMSPAchat
A2: Equity is everyone getting what they need. While most adults worry about this, Ss are pretty good at understanding that each child needs something different. Just ask them! #MEMSPAchat
A3: Hey #MEMSPAchat! Just caught on to your chat while browsing. I’ve seen lots of opportunities for students to develop oral language skills in class by turn and talk with their peers and working with permanent partners meant to establish strong and trusting relationships.
A4) the majority of our students are African American. We have a small Caucasian and Hispanic population. We have a nice mixture of African American & Caucasian staff. We also have a Hispanic and Arabic teacher. #MEMSPAchat
This is Craig McCalla from Dexter. I am sorry I am not there for the chat!! We have a big student event tonight! Keep supporting all our students! #MEMSPAChat
A4: Economic status and single parent or grandparents raising kids is our most significant groups. Knowing the challenges our families face and helping to remove barriers helps to bring everyone together. #MEMSPAchat
A5: Had ESL coordinator make contact inviting to the open house, access to translators at open house/orientation, translation of docs. Need to do more #MEMSPAchat
A4) When I worked in the UP, the Sault Tribe was a wonderful resource and partner with our local district - even going as far as offering cultural PD to staff! #MEMSPAchat
A5: We welcome new families by having a student give a tour of the school. Kids tell it like it is and are often WAY more authentic. Students lead the way! #MEMSPAchat
A5: No minorities in a true family. Taking time to recognize what each brings to the table by honoring and celebrating uniqueness has to be part of every day events. #MEMSPAchat
Don't forget, #MEMSPAchat is TOMORROW at 8pm EST.
Cultural Awareness in Education discussion with @MEMSPA leader @MrDomagalski
Spread the word for this trending, can't miss chat! #miched
Q6: When assembling your teaching staff, do you make a conscience effort to ensure that the makeup of your staff reflects that of your student body? #MEMSPAchat
Just talking and listening. Spending time learning about their culture. We have a large population from India in our school and they love cricket. I learned a little about the game and asked if I could join them sometime when they play #memspachat
A6: That is the focus of our admin team learning cycle meeting in March... how do we do a better job of recruiting a more diverse work force! #MEMSPAchat
Q6: When assembling your teaching staff, do you make a conscience effort to ensure that the makeup of your staff reflects that of your student body? #MEMSPAchat
Q6: When assembling your teaching staff, do you make a conscience effort to ensure that the makeup of your staff reflects that of your student body? #MEMSPAchat
Q6: When assembling your teaching staff, do you make a conscience effort to ensure that the makeup of your staff reflects that of your student body? #MEMSPAchat
A6: Difficult to do in a smaller school, but I will say that the learning styles and artistic craft of my Teachers are as Diverse as our students. Embrace them ALL! #MEMSPAchat
Q6: When assembling your teaching staff, do you make a conscience effort to ensure that the makeup of your staff reflects that of your student body? #MEMSPAchat
A6: A diverse staff is always the goal unfortunately when looking at college grads the % graduating doesn’t reflect % needed in our classrooms to mirror population. #MEMSPAchat
A6: Wishing I could recruit more diverse talent to do this. Mid-Michigan job fairs and our applicants have been rather homogenous! #MEMSPAchat#RecruitingIssues
A6) This is quite a challenge. We need to get better at recruiting and hiring staff of color. We also need more male staff members. Out of 110 staff members, 15 are men (and that includes our three custodians). #MEMSPAchat
Q6: When assembling your teaching staff, do you make a conscience effort to ensure that the makeup of your staff reflects that of your student body? #MEMSPAchat
A2. Equity and Equality are separate and for good reason. Equality would be giving every child the same intervention, tools, or assuming the playing field is level. Equality is assuming all kids come to school with a full backpack. Equity is specific to the student. #MEMSPAchat
CHALLENGE QUESTION (Q8) on #MEMSPAchat this year challenges you to go out and put something to ACTION! Go out and "do"
Question 8, the CHALLENGE" is up next on #MEMSPAchat
A3. Ss need an opp. to share their cultures, traditions, and uniqueness so they can share part of themselves to help build diversity. It gives Ss ownership. The book, Teach Us Your Name, by Huda Essa @culturelinksllc does this by setting the stage to share culture. #MEMSPAChat
At @DCESeniorHigh we used this experience to craft our digital signage. If we want more diverse students in our CTE offerings, those diverse students need to see themselves in those classes. #MEMSPAchat
A8: We have a tradition of showing the movie, Our Friend, Martin in fifth grade. I use to show it when I taught fifth grade. It's such a powerful movie and the kids love it. #memspachat
A8: Challenge accepted! Walk into school everyday with Dr. king's words: "Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that." No matter what kind of a day it is, LOVE ALL STUDENTS. #MEMSPAchat
A:7 So I’m late everyone- time zones and the MSU game held me up. Will to Lead/ Skill to Teach is a great resource to begin looking at CRTL. #memspachat
Thank you to everyone once again for joining #MEMSPAchat tonight.
Don't forget to check out all the wonderful PD @MEMSPA has to offer for teachers, teacher leaders, and Principals: https://t.co/OSUA84h5j3
Thank you to everyone on #MEMSPAchat tonight!
Once again, a great night TOGETHER!
"Join the Collaboration of Leading & Learning" each and every Thursday at 8pm EST
A8) Our amazing Equity Team has an entire month of activities and events planned for celebrating African-American History Month in February. #MEMSPAchat
Awesome discussions and GREAT ideas shared tonight! Thanks @MrDomagalski for pushing our thinking and I hope you all join me next week on #MEMSPAchat for a Focus on Feedback!
Thanks again @MrDomagalski for leading the way!!! Great night, Great conversations and great resources...Amazon Cart Full!!!
#MEMSPAchat Have a great weekend everyone!
