Monthly Give and Take

June is when we celebrate our pride in the diverse ways people connect to one another. You may be seeing a lot of rainbow flags and images wherever you look. The rainbow has been a symbol for quite some time now for those who are part of the LGBTQIA2+ community and is often referred to as the Rainbow Community. And those who are showing a rainbow symbol are letting others know that they either identify as LGBTQIA+ or they are an ally, a support, and a safe person to be with for those who belong to this community.  However, it is a lot of letters and many people are not even sure what the letters stand for, let alone what it means to be an ally or a safe person to be around. This is a great opportunity for us all to learn how knowing just a little bit can have a significant impact on others.  First, what are the letters?  L = Lesbian G = Gay B = Bisexual T = Transgender Q = Queer or Questioning I = Intersex A = Asexual 2 = Two-spirit + = To represent other variations Each ...

 February is African American History Month   Click to Listen to the Podcast I don't even think about it. The color of my skin is the same as 73.3% of the students who attend GP schools and 81% of the staff who work in our schools. So, I don't even think about the color of my skin, and I often have a hard time conceptualizing what it must be like to live each day being reminded that my skin is different from most everyone else. I also don't know much about what it is like to be stereotyped just for looking different. Sure, as a white male, I know I walk into a room with various elements of privilege and people make assumptions about me without ever really knowing me. No one would ever know that I grew up a child of poverty which has created an interesting lens through which I view life. And, if most everyone is of the same race around me, why do we even need to talk about how skin color impacts us differently? Is it such a big deal? Well, it is if you are a person of color-...

Welcome to week two of our Diversity Celebration Month. If you have not read the January Blog, here is the link (this post will make much more sense after having read or listened to it first). And just to note, i f you are already incorporating these kinds of strategies--you are amazing and creating an inclusive and safe place for others. It also significantly increases a student's ability to comprehend the important content in our classes. Keep at it and be encouraged that this work helps our students to be the success that we know they can be--no matter what life throws at them. You are a difference-maker.    No Child Eats Alone Challenge Take a moment today and see how the students are doing. Are there any students eating or playing alone? Find ways to help all students participate in school and feel like they belong. Encourage other students to go make a new friend with one of the students who seem to always be on the edge of the playground, campus, or cafeteria. ...

January is D7 Diversity Month‒ No Child Eats Alone Click for Podcast version January is the official start to our equity work each year as a district and we are claiming January as our Diversity Celebration Month. Each week, there will be diversity ideas to share. Our first focus is what we are calling, “no child eats alone.” I think we can all relate to eating together and how that can bring us closer together. So, this is more than just eating lunch together, this is about our relationships with each other. This is to make sure that every student in our district feels like they belong.  Belonging vs. Fitting In For so many of our students, they are working hard each day to fit in. We know from the research and quite frankly, from our own experiences, how much harder it is to fit in than if you just belonged. For me, I think about when I was a freshman in high school. I can remember how I really struggled to be calm since each day seemed to bring with it so many unknowns–will I ...

November - American Indian Heritage Month  ( To listen to this blog, click here ) National American Indian Heritage Month celebrates and recognizes the accomplishments of the peoples who were the original inhabitants, explorers, and settlers of the United States. For what is estimated to be about 10,000 years, the Takelma Indian Nation has lived in and around the Rogue River area, and in particular, right here in Grants Pass. 10,000 years! I am having a hard time comprehending that amount of time. Europeans settled the Rogue Valley in about the mid-1800s and it was not without bloodshed. Eventually, the predominantly white settlers took over the land and it is now what it is today. There is much to be sad about, but there is also much to admire and celebrate. As we focus on our original settlers to our region this month, I have a couple reflections and some, "did you know?" trivia that I thought was just remarkable. Many years ago, I received a most thoughtful gift from a...

Click here to listen to this as a podcast . Rachel was diagnosed early on in life with a cognitive memory disability. Essentially, she did not have short-term memory and could not remember what was happening in the moment. Her family and everyone around her knew and tried to support her as best as they could. When she came to my high school English class, one of the projects was to recite a monologue from Romeo and Juliet . Everyone let me know that to accommodate Rachel, I needed to let her simply read a monologue. While my head knew that was probably what needed to happen, I just wondered if Rachel wouldn't rather try to memorize the text? So, I did a very strange thing: I asked her.  "Rachel, this next assignment requires that you recite something from memory. Do you want to try and do that?" Rachel looked deeply at me and I could tell she was really pondering what I was asking her to consider. Then, with a look of defiance, she replied, "I want to be able to do t...

Each month, we will share out ideas and resources for that month's equity focus which is aligned with the national monthly designations. September 15 through October 15 is Hispanic Heritage Month. I will include a few items that you may be able to use in your classroom, but there are so many great ideas and lessons that you all are doing. So, I have set this up as a "Give & Take" forum. I will get the conversation started, but if you have an activity or lesson that fits with the month's theme, please feel free to add it to this blog.  In each monthly celebration resource, I will include the background of the monthly national designation and some ideas for elementary, middle, and high school levels. Please feel free to use any of it, be inspired to create something better, and then share an idea for your colleagues to think about--even just sharing a link to a site that has some great ideas is really helpful. If we all do a little bit to teach our students about th...