District Students Attend LEAP Conference

Students from the Edmonds School District were among 600+ WA state students attending the 2008 LEAP Education Conference and Legislative Day in Tacoma. The annual event was sponsored by the Latino/a Educational Achievement Program (LEAP). Parents, educators and administrators from the district also attended, rounding out the team of representatives from our schools. Attendance was supported by the Articulation Council between Edmonds Community College and the ESD, which works to facilitate the transition between high school and college.

LEAP, founded in 1998, advocates for policies and legislation that contribute to improving academic opportunites and achievement for Latino/a students in WA state.

[LEAP] addresses the serious issues of the academic achievement gap, our alarming drop out rates, and the isolation many of our Hispanic students experience in school classrooms across the state.
~Yvonne Lopez Morton, Commission on Hispanic Affairs, March, 2007

Students attended workshops on academic success, student leadership, and the path to higher education. Students also had the opportunity to meet with state legislators, see first hand how our state's government operates, and learn about the importance of civic engagement in their communities.

Students also had the chance to learn more about the DREAM Act, which would provide a path for temporary legal residency to certain undocumented students, provided they work towards permanent legal residency by completing two years of college or military service.

Our students came back informed and inspired to address the educational opportunities and achievement of Latino/a students in their home schools, and to seek out student leadership roles. We're very proud of our student participants.

Unnatural Causes on PBS

Photo with permission: "UNNATURAL CAUSES: Is Inequality Making Us Sick?”
Produced by California Newsreel with Vital Pictures.
Presented by the National Minority Consortia.

http://www.unnaturalcauses.org/ --- http://www.newsreel.org/

Unnatural Causes, a four-part documentary series focusing on health equity in the US, begins airing nationally on PBS tonight at 7pm PST for HDTV viewers, and on April 2nd at 11pm PST for analog/cable viewers. Alternate times are listed below. The documentary will be available on DVD through California Newsreel, and is

... a four-part series for PBS broadcast and DVD release, will, for the first time on television, sound the alarm about our glaring socio-economic and racial disparities in health—and seek out root causes. But those causes are not what we might expect. While we pour more and more money into drugs, dietary supplements and new medical technologies, it turns out there is much more to our health than bad habits, health care or unlucky genes. The social conditions in which we are born, live and work profoundly affect our well-being and longevity.

The companion website to the series is interactive and comprehensive. Visit to find interactive activities, video clips, quizzes, an Action Toolkit, case studies, resources and access to a panel of experts who will answer questions submitted by the public.

Educators: the site's In the Classroom page offers educational resources including curricular materials, discussion guides, handouts, facilitation questions and more. Coming soon: links enabling educators to use case studies and interactivities in the classroom.

The opening 56-minute episode, In Sickness and In Wealth, presents the series’ overarching themes. Each supporting half-hour episode, set in a different ethnic/racial community, provides a deeper exploration of how social conditions affect population health and how some communities are extending their lives by improving them.

The school district is verifying the rights to this series, and plans to have it available on DVD! This is great news, and we appreciate their efforts to have this informative series available as a resource.

The Communities of Color Coalition (C3) will be hosting two-hour facilitated community forums at local hospitals to discuss disparities in health care. The first two events will be held in Everett and Monroe after the complete series has aired. Please check back at the C3 site for further information on the forums.

Episode descriptions can be found here.

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BROADCAST INFO:
This info is for Pacific Standard Time (PST).
For other time zones, check your local TV listings here at PBS.

• HDTV episodes will air on:
  -- 4 consecutive Thursdays @ 7pm, starting March 27th, or
  -- 4 consecutive Sundays @ 1pm, starting March 30th
  
• Analog/Cable episodes will air on:
  -- 4 consecutive Wednesdays @ 11pm, starting April 2nd, or
  -- 4 consecutive Saturdays @ 1pm, starting April 5th

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Don't miss this fascinating series!

Progress Report

Time for a progress report! As FASC continues our work with the school district, we'd like to share some news, events, and general updates.

Below are some of the FASC/ESD team events or accomplishments, as well as goals we're working toward. Items are listed either under the main group or the appropriate subcommittee.


FASC/ESD Team (Main Group)

• Seattle Race Conference (Nov-07)
  FASC members, students, and 2 ESD representatives attended.
• Youth Undoing Racism workshop (Dec-07)
  FASC members and students attended in Seattle.
• Undoing Racism workshop (Jan-08) ESD assistant superintendent and Cedar Valley school principal attended at Everett Community College.
• Met with principals and some counselors in district middle/high schools.

In The Works

• Clarify long term direction, goals and measurable outcomes
• Parter with various organizations to bring Freedom School to Snohomish County (target date, Jun-08)
• Create a newsletter (expected roll out, May-08)
• District-wide gathering for high school multicultural clubs

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Personnel workgroup:

• Hosted event to connect with teachers of color in the district (Feb-08)
• Created diversity resource list to be published on ESD web site (up and running!)
• Develop & refine ESD diversity web page/site
• Recruitment and retention of diverse staff, reflective of communities
• Create recruitment video
• Training and support for existing staff
• Implement exit interviews for staff to help district identify areas for improvement

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Expectations & Programs workgroup:

• FASC booth at annual District Information Fair (Jan-08)
• Established that students of color are underrepresented in honors programs, based on district data and statistics
• District students attended LEAP Conference in Tacoma (Latino/a Educational Achievement Project, Jan-08)
• Develop Mission & Vision statements
• More effective communication with families about honors programs
• Student focus groups - gather info, hear student voice
• High school students to visit middle schools, encourage participation in honors program
• Additional honors programs in all district high schools to address demand for IB
• How to apply "strength based" approach, focusing on what students can do

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Discipline workgroup:

• Reviewed data/statistics on disciplinary actions as applied to all ethnic groups (Fall-07)
• Established disparity in number & severity of disciplinary actions involving students of color (Fall-07)
• Met with School Resource Officer representatives
• SPIRIT program pilot took place at Alderwood Middle School
• Review & revise language on disciplinary documents sent home to families
• Translate disciplinary information into other languages
  

Connecting With Teachers

FASC recently participated in meeting with diverse teachers from around the district. The event was hosted by the Edmonds Education Association, thanks to the efforts of EEA President Dan Wilson, and was wonderfully facilitated by the district's Multicultural & Family Outreach Coordinator, Arlie Neskahi.

The meeting was attended by FASC; ESD superintendent Nick Brossoit; assistant superintendents Ellen Kahan and Debby Carter; Shirley Sutton, Executive Director of Diversity Affairs for Edmonds Community College; and Emily Yim, City of Lynnwood's Director of Neighborhoods & Community Affairs.

One of FASC's earliest requests was to meet with our diverse teachers, so we were very encouraged to be able to connect in a meaningful way. We see our partnership with this group of teachers, counselors and principals as a key element of this work, and strongly value their insight and experience.

The meeting was interactive, giving people a chance to connect and learn a bit about the various cultures represented in the room. Of course, the nice spread of food and snacks was appreciated by all.

The group brainstormed on these and other areas:

• prioritizing issues
• ways to connect and support each other
• creating & maintaining an inclusive, supportive district culture
• the importance of connected communities
• recruitment and retention of diverse staff reflective of our communities
• professional development and training for increased awareness district-wide
• how to keep momentum going

As one teacher expressed, schools, parents and communities coming together is like connecting separate puzzle pieces to build the whole. We appreciate the teachers giving of their time to meet and to share with us, and are very much looking forward to working with them.