It is clear that many staff members, parents and students want to learn and grow in their understanding and beliefs around social justice, racial equity and anti-racism ideas.  In order to spur and encourage personal learning and exploration, the district is committed to providing access to an increasing number and quality of resources on social justice ideas.  

With help from community partners, we have also put together a list of suggested resources for parents and our community related to social justice, anti-racism, and equity.  These resources include suggested books for adults and children, podcasts, films, TV series, and websites.  This resource list is not exhaustive and will be updated regularly.  

The work: 

• In the 2020-21, the district purchased more than 300 copies of books for personal staff learning from a list of 13 titles.  These books are part of each school building’s professional development library and are available for teachers and building staff to check out and utilize on their own. 
• The Department of Teaching and Learning has identified several hundred books for students to be reviewed for purchase so that students have access to more books and resources authored by people of color or associated with the theme of social justice and/or diverse experiences.  These books will be placed in libraries and classrooms.  Librarians have begun to review the list so that these are placed at an appropriate grade level and to prevent duplication. 
   

The work ahead: 

• Members of the Equity Advisory Team, teachers and parents will be reviewing the books proposed for purchase for libraries and classrooms.  Once these resources have been reviewed, the district will purchase for all schools within the appropriate grade band.

If you have questions or suggestions regarding the resources included, please contact Lainey Mathews, Executive Director of Secondary Education at lmathews@upsd83.org.