S1 Ep #11: Diversity, Equity, Inclusion in Schools

Host Z and Host Jess speak with Superintendent Dr. Ben Drati, Dr. Freda Rossi, and Dr. Satinder Hawkins from the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District about the programs and initiatives they are leading with regards to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:01):
You're listening to awakened in America, two minds
on a journey to create dialogueabout diversity inclusion and
optimism.

Speaker 2 (00:19):
Hello listeners.
Today we are talking aboutanti-racism diversity and
inclusion as it relates toeducation, which is a
multi-faceted topic in itself.
Previously we've discussed theeducation gap in this country,
meaning the relationship betweenschool funding and the quality
of education.
Things like redlining effectingproperty value, which in turn

(00:40):
plays a crucial role in thequality of education.
And whether a public schoolreceives adequate funding from
the state.
We've also discussed theimportance of giving our
children and accurate depictionof our country's history.
As we believe what is currentlyapproved in school curriculum
for American history is severelylacking.
We've also discussed in previousepisodes that there is a

(01:00):
disconnect for many parents whowant their children to have a
quote diverse school experience.
And the challenge is how canthings be truly inclusive
outside of school?
Everyone needs to be on the samepage, working together to break
down racial barriers.
They're progressive andinspiring work that is being
done within the Santa MonicaMalibu unified school district

(01:20):
is what we'll be focusing ontoday.
And we are really thrilled tohave three guests with us, Dr.
Ben droughty, superintendent ofSanta Monica, Malibu unified
school district, and two peoplefrom his team who are leading
anti-racism and diversityinclusion initiatives.
And that is Dr.
Frita Rossi.
And Dr said, Tinder Hawkins.

(01:40):
All right.
So moving things right along, weare going to start off with some
questions for Dr.
Rossi and for our listeners, aquick overview of her
background.
She is the family engagementcoordinator for the school
district.
That's the Santa Monica Malibuschool district.
And this is her third year inthe role.
And she oversees parenteducation programs, parent

(02:01):
advisory committees, and provideschool sites with training and
support in school plans forstudent achievement and family
engagement.
Prior to joining, she served asthe district level administrator
in various districts throughoutthe state of California.
And for the past 13 years, shehas served as adjunct faculty in
both educational leadership andteacher education programs.

(02:22):
Hi, Dr.
Rossy, thank you for joining.
Hi, thank you for inviting me.
Definitely.
So, um, I think to start outkind of the way that you and I
got in touch for our listeners,um, Dr.
Rossi, you know, my son, uh,actually is part of the Santa
Monica Malibu school districtthis year.
This is his first year.

(02:42):
Um, it was me, the teacher nightback in, I think it was August
and we had a meet the teachernight over zoom and his, uh, TK
teacher who is Melissa Hermanshout out to her she's
phenomenal.
Um, one of the first things shesaid out of the gate to the
parents attending was we aregoing to be focusing on social
justice.
And that was one of the thingsthat DNI had spoken about, you

(03:04):
know, on the side was how areteachers and educators going to
address what's going on in 2020,um, specifically, you know, in
light of these current eventsthat have really, you know,
brought a lot of attention tothings like anti-racism and
inclusion and diversity, andespecially among, you know, four
and five-year-olds.
So, um, I was just so thrilledto hear her say that.
And then fast forward a coupleof weeks after that, I received

(03:27):
an email from you saying, um,you're going to be leading a, an
anti-racism webinars series forthe, all the families that
belong to this set of schooldistrict and just for our
listeners.
I think it's important to notethe district itself is comprised
of, I think it's 10 elementaryschools, two middle schools, and
one high school.
So we're talking about a lot offamilies that you're reaching.

(03:48):
And so without further ado, ifyou could tell us Dr.
Rossi about the anti-racismwebinars series and how the
program came about, that wouldbe great.

Speaker 3 (03:57):
So thank you again for inviting me.
And, um, well, the way that itcame about is that's a family
engagement coordinator.
I'm always, um, working onprogramming for parents, that's
relevant to support studentachievement, um, in light of,
um, the killing of George Floydand, um, the auntie, you know,

(04:19):
the activism that's been playingout throughout the world.
Um, we formed an anti-racismtask force in the district.
I, myself, I'm a member of thatanti-racism task force.
So in my role, I startedthinking, what can I do to
support our anti-racism work inthe district?
Um, so I thought of providing awebinar series for parents, um,

(04:45):
through my work with variousparent committees and through
dialogues, uh, with differentparents and stakeholders, they
really were asking for how do Iengage in conversations with my
child about race and racism.
Um, in also in speaking withsome of the parents of older
teenagers, they also expressedan, um, uh, an interest in

(05:08):
knowing how to dialogue aroundkids, wanting to go out and
protest.
Um, you know, so it just becamereally evident to me that as the
family engagement coordinatorand member of that anti-racism
task force, but this, um, was anopportunity for us to provide
parents with tools and resourcesto engage in, in the style logs

(05:33):
with, um, their children.

Speaker 2 (05:36):
Thank you so much for that background.
Um, had you seen anything likethis in your previous work and
other school districts kind ofthis need for, um, resources and
training, or do you think thiswas a product of, like you
mentioned George Foyt and, um,the events that happened in
2020?

(05:57):
I think it's,

Speaker 3 (05:58):
It's several components kind of came
together.
First of all, it's, um, the workthrough Dr.
[inaudible] leadership, theexcellence through equity work
that he has, um, spearheaded, Ithink really set the ground for
us to really begin to developall these different initiatives.
So I would say that hisleadership really has provided

(06:21):
us with a foundation and a lensto really take on these
difficult topics.
Um, many districts talk aboutequity.
Um, I mean, I think that, youknow, I've been in the field for
25 years and this word is used alot, but in joining the team
here in this district, I seethat there's actionable items.

(06:44):
So, um, I had a lot of supportfrom Dr.
[inaudible] with the interest ofdeveloping this, um, series for
parents.
So I think it was that the twothings, it was the timing with,
you know, the global focus onrace and racism and race
relations.
And then also the fact thatthrough his leadership, we, as

(07:05):
staff are really in a positionto be able to be innovative,
creative, and resourceful aroundthese topics.

Speaker 2 (07:16):
That's great.
I'm learning, you know, new, um,ways to educate my family and
myself.
Uh, we're also trying to inspireour listeners who, like you
mentioned, I think a lot of usparticularly white progressives
have been kind of grappling withthis.
How are we supposed to do thingsdifferently?
You know, how can we improve andhow can we make things better

(07:37):
for our families and our, um,our children and, and education
plays such a crucial role inthat, you know, considering how
many hours our children arespending in school and how
influenced they are by theireducators and their peers.
So in the interest of, you know,kind of giving some ideas to our
listeners on ways they can startsimilar conversations within
their own school districts, doyou have any starting points for

(08:00):
getting a process like this offthe ground?
Um, maybe if you could speak towhat the approval process was
like and how it was funded orimplemented, that would be
really helpful.

Speaker 3 (08:09):
So I started looking really at providing parents with
tools and resources.
So step one was as part of theanti-racism task force.
We started to look at, um, threedifferent, um, levels,
actionable levels.
So the one is really, um,building awareness.
All of this is happening.

(08:30):
Our students are seeing theythis on the news, they're asking
questions.
So what can we as parents do toequip ourselves to be able to be
proactive when our teenager asksus questions when our
five-year-old assets questions.
So that's really what, um, wasthe, the impetus for me to

(08:50):
develop a website withresources.
Um, so if you have anopportunity to navigate that,
um, resource website, parentsare able to, um, connect with
different resources throughoutthe world and state of
California and the nation thathave, um, formed different tools
where parents can read aboutrace racism, what is white

(09:14):
fragility?
Uh, what do we mean by what is amicroaggression, all of these
different words, what iscolorism?
So all of these different wordsthat we're hearing.
So the first thing I would sayis educate yourself, um,
practice self-reflection, um,there's a lot of, um, books, a

(09:35):
lot of anti-racism books rightnow that really focus on having,
um, you become really reflectiveabout how you, um, how you
perpetuate, uh, racist systems.
Um, so th that was really myinterest in developing the
webinar series is to lean intothese difficult topics.

(09:57):
And, um, through my partnershipwith Edelman, um, I had part
partnered with them to do aCOVID-19 series.
And when all of this happenedduring the summer, I reached out
to Jenelle Mays, who's theclinical supervisor there.
And I said, you know, I reallythink that it's important for us
to address this.

(10:17):
Um, there's a lot of also racialtrauma.
There's a lot of, um, fearthat's being instilled in, in
our young people.
What can we do to equip parentswith the tools and resources to
have these difficultconversations and to promote
anti-racism?
So it's not just, that's why theseries is called resilience and

(10:37):
anti-racism

Speaker 2 (10:39):
Got it.
Yeah.
And actually, I know there havebeen multiple webinars so far.
What are the, um, the topicsthat we've covered so far?

Speaker 3 (10:47):
The first module is race racism and resilience and
the topic.
Well, the first topic was traumaresilience in the face of
racism, and that's just reallylooking at, um, how, um, how
racism, um, is traumatic for, um, communities of color.

(11:08):
And that there's also an impacton the social, emotional
development of white studentsand black and Brown students.
So it impacts us differently.
So the first session reallyfocused on looking at, um,
trauma resilience in the face ofracism, identifying racism, what
it is and how it impacts oursocial, emotional development.

(11:30):
And then the second one was howto talk to your child about race
and racism.
So in that one, um, we haddialogue around, well, what's
age appropriate.
What are some of the resources?
How can we address comeconversations with our
five-year-old versus our 11 yearold versus our 19 year old that
wants to go out there andprotest.

(11:51):
So that was the second one.
And then the third one wasparents of black and Brown
children healing together insolidarity.
And this came about because manyof our black and Brown parents
are saying to me, well, predate,you know, um, I, you know, my
child is seeing, um, a lot ofwritten, you know, a lot of
racism, a lot of protests,people Brown and Brown, black,

(12:14):
and Brown people are gettinghurt.
I don't know how to navigatethat with my child.
So we thought it would beimportant to also have a session
that really addressed thatreally equipping parents with
the tools to also address theracial trauma that, um, many of
our black and Brown children arefeeling, and our parents are

(12:39):
wanting to ensure that theyinstill, um, strength and
resilience in their children.
The other part of the series ismodule two, which is building
hope together.
And that's really looking at,um, what are some of the mental
health, um, issues that come upwith, um, persistent, racist,

(13:03):
um, systems.
And what we see is that manytimes, um, if there is a
preponderance of experiencingall these microaggressions, um,
many times people self-medicateand may look to, um, use some
drugs or alcohol.
So we, our second module isreally focusing on suicide

(13:23):
prevention, building hopetogether, um, substance abuse
prevention, and then stressreduction for parents.
So it's also looking at like themental health pieces that you
have to address in order to bean anti-racist, because it's the
two things working hand in hand.

Speaker 2 (13:46):
And then, um, for people who don't have a family
engagement coordinator type of aperson contact, they can reach
out to what do you do recommendreaching out to a principal at
their school or something likethat to ask about resources,
like the one that you'vecreated, the website you
created.

Speaker 3 (14:05):
They're welcome to visit our website, um, Santa
Monica, Malibu unified schooldistrict.
If they go to the parent tab andthey go to the anti-racism, um,
I've compiled differentresources there that they can
access, um, there's books,there's, um, webinars, there's
podcasts, there's videos.

(14:27):
Um, the national history museumof African American culture has
developed, uh, interactive, um,site for parents.
And there's a lot of veryrelevant work.
There's a lot of books, um, bookclubs.
So I welcome anyone to, to visitour anti-racism website.

Speaker 2 (14:49):
So how has the reception been from it's

Speaker 3 (14:52):
Been great reception.
The webinars series has beenvery well attended, and I also
post the recordings and peoplehave been, um, also logging in
to view them after the fact, um,many of our parents have
biracial children.

(15:12):
Um, that's kind of the feedbackthat I'm getting from some of
our participating recurringparticipating parents, and they
have found the webinars to bereally well received,

Speaker 2 (15:22):
Wrapping things up for you.
Um, Dr.
Rossi, are there plans to extendthe anti-racism training to
students, um, within the schooldistrict?
Because I think right now it'skind of focused on the parents
and if you could speak to howyou envision or hope to grow the
program, that would be great.

Speaker 3 (15:40):
So, um, one of the things about the resilience and
anti-racism webinars series isthat it does support parents in
having those conversations withtheir students.
So our family engagement, um,parent programs are really
focused on that teacher, parents, student connection.

(16:02):
Um, so as you experience withyour, um, TK or, um, teachers
are very immersed in this work,um, I think when you speak with
Dr.
S um, such Tinder Hopkins, shecan provide more context in
regards to the training forteachers and for students.

Speaker 2 (16:24):
Okay, great.
Thank you so much, Dr.
Rossi, um, moving right along toDr.
Ben[inaudible] quick overviewfor our listeners.
He has been the Santa MonicaMalibu unified school district
superintendent since 2017.
And before that, I believe youwere assistant superintendent in
the Santa Barbara schooldistrict and per previous to

(16:46):
that were, uh, an educatorfootball coach, um, among other
things.
And then one thing I read, readthat you came to the U S with
your family at the age of 10from Uganda, which is
incredible.
So thank you again for joiningus Dr.
Droughty and, um, we'll justkick things off.
So I was really excited.

(17:07):
Like I mentioned, being a newparent in the school district.
Um, I went on to the school'swebsite, the district's website
and the motto right there foreverybody to see extraordinary
achievements for all studentswhile simultaneously closing the
achievement gap.
And, um, I would love to hear,you know, a little bit about
that and, um, what that means toyou.

Speaker 4 (17:26):
Yeah.
Great.
Great.
Well, thank you.
And then thank you, uh, Dr.
Rossi for setting this up to ananswer Tinder for joining us, as
you can see, I have a verytalented group here, and maybe
I'll speak to just how we'veassembled this talented group
to, to achieve what we wannaachieve.
So, uh, it's always good to havepeople in the organization

(17:47):
where, where you're aligned inthought, and as w w w when that
situation occurred with GeorgeFreud, when he got, when he was
murdered, uh, I didn't have togo ask what should we do?
People came to me like, uh,doctor Dr.
Rossi and September Hawkins, andthe rest of the ed services team
said, we need to developsomething to help our family.

(18:07):
So, so it's comforting that youhave people that are just out
there thinking the same wayyou're thinking.
So, and I thank you also forhosting this, this conversation,
because it's very important.
Um, I think, um, uh, uh, we havean opportunity in the nation to
make the world better, but it'sgoing to have to take courageous
conversations, like, like whatyou're doing here.

(18:30):
So thank you for that.
So that statement is animportant statement, uh, because
you miss out from Uganda, Ugandais more of a, uh, or a, a place
where, uh, capitalism, isn't soprofound, you know, with

(18:50):
capitalism, there's always awinner and loser.
There's a winner and loser, andI married in an American
society.
And I think because it's acapitalistic country, there's
often that when you say, well,let's make sure everybody
achieves somebody.
Who's always saying, well, areyou taking some money from me?
So, you know, when, when youtalk about this, let's close the

(19:15):
achievement gap, uh, because weare a capitalistic country,
somebody's arm is going to say,well, are you slowing down my
child for the other person tocatch up?
And, and I reject that notionbecause you can, you can support
everyone, uh, and reach yourpotential.

(19:35):
And so extraordinary achievementfor our wild simultaneous close.
The achievement gap just meansjust that in that all students
in our district are talented,they have great potential with
support all, but at the sametime, there are some things that
are, uh, that are done in theeducation system that do not
promote the social and academicdevelopment.

(19:58):
African-American students, uh,Latin X students, uh, and a
native indigenous students thatare the students that are often
behind the achievement gap.
Um, uh, there are some thingsthat are missing in our
curriculum that they need inorder to meet the potential that
they should meet.
So we are in the process ofintroducing those things.

(20:20):
And we think, so our theory ofaction is that we introduce
those concepts and Centennial.
We'll talk about a lot of that.
Um, we, to those concepts, wethink our students are going to
progress the way they shouldhave progressed all along.

Speaker 2 (20:34):
That's amazing.
Yeah.
I've never, um, I've never readanything so forward thinking,
and I'm really just on pointwith what's happening right now
for a school district motto, sokudos to you and your team.
Um, so in your career, Dr.
Droughty, have you addressedanti-racism and social justice

(20:56):
in the past, in previous roles?
Or do you feel like, um, this iskind of a different point that
we're in as a country and as asuperintendent, did you feel
like this was a more opportunetime to bring these things up?

Speaker 4 (21:09):
Yeah, no.
I, I came into education, uh, todo just that is to address, uh,
um, the issue that the racismthat actually exists in our
system.
I think education is probablythat, that, that they're really
the only entity in the U S thatcan fix the issues that we have
to do, whether it be climatechange or racism, it has to be

(21:31):
through education.
No other agency is going to dothat.
We have the captive audiencefrom preschool all the way up to
eighth grade at a veryimpressionable time for, to get
people, to see each other have,have different perspectives
about life.
And, and, and I think, uh,during that time, we can do a
lot to, to imprint on people howto live best.

(21:53):
So I'm going to read you aquote.
I often show people and read topeople about why, why is all
this important?
Why, why, why is this necessary?
Do we really need it?
So, and I'm going to read this.
As I said, we need to teach allstudents to acquire the
knowledge, attitudes and skillsneeded to function effectively
in a pluralistic democraticsociety and interact, negotiate,

(22:17):
and communicate with people fromdiverse groups to create a
civic, moral civic, and moralcommunity that works for the
common good.
That, that, to me, that's aprofound statement because that
is the why that is the why.
And, and, and that is what'smissing in our system right now.
And I'll just, it saddens meanytime.

(22:39):
I just read, uh, what's going onin the world.
And to me, it's so simple asthat is, is people not seeing
each other.
We all, we all want happiness.
We all want to eat.
We all want to have, enjoy ourchildren.
We all want to enjoy ourparents, and we all want to die

(23:01):
fulfilled.
And it seems like we don't knowhow to do that.
Uh, as a, as a system that'savailable for everybody, it
doesn't have to be a zero sumgame.
And, uh, and that I thinkeducation can teach people.
If he asks a question, what ishappiness?
What is happiness?
And what is, what issatisfaction?

(23:23):
What is true happiness.
And I think if view teach peoplehow to attain happiness, it
doesn't have to be throughmaterials or things like that.
Then, then the work functionbetter.
And you see people that arewealthy all the time.
They're miserable.
You see people that are poor,they're miserable.
It's just, and you find peoplethat are just enjoy life.
Whether they have money, youdon't have money, or whether

(23:45):
they're impoverished and areimpoverished.
Um, but they find joy in justliving.
And that's not an easy thing toattain, you know, or to learn.
So, but I think in education, wecan teach that

Speaker 2 (23:59):
That was, um, profound.
That made sense of a lot ofthoughts that I have swirling
around in my brain.
Right.
Right.
Now these days as a parent.
Um, so thank you for your, um,prevision and, um, yeah,

Speaker 4 (24:15):
Actually, no.
So, uh, anyway, so, um, I endedup here as many, I was doing
this work, uh, as high schoolprincipal, I came into this,
into this role at easy mess out.
I grew up in Uganda.
I came here as a refugee in awar, and it was, it was through
the education system that I wasable to learn how to speak
English here, uh, take myclasses and get supportive

(24:37):
educators to get me to where Ineed to go, where I need to get
to.
Uh, and, and I grew up in LAactually, and then ended up in
Fresno state on a footballscholarship.
And then from there, uh, majoredin biochemistry.
Um, and then, and then insteadof going to pharmacy school, I
was at recently tended to, Iended up helping my friend coach

(24:57):
a football team.
One season.
I just fell in love witheducation and went into teaching
chemistry.
And, but all along, I knew that,uh, I saw everything I stated
right now.
I saw that what education can dofor people it did for me.
And so my work as a high schoolprincipal, as an assistant

(25:19):
superintendent has always beenaround letting people see racism
for what it is in the systemand, and trying to dismantle
that.
So I was so glad when sent toMonica Malibu reached out to me.
And while I was in Santa Barbaradoing this work, and they
described the board, talkedabout what they wanted to do in
the community.
And they acknowledged racismthat racism is real and alive.

(25:42):
So when I saw the opportunity, Iwas like, wow, I have the school
board it community and staffthat's okay.
And having this conversationthat I'm there.
So, so that's how I ended uphere and it's been, it's been
good.
So I'm just running in theprocess of really assembling a
team that, uh, that, that we cantake on this challenge.
And as you can see, I have twogreat people.

(26:03):
Uh, we hired here, uh, withinthe last two years to help
advance this work.
So

Speaker 2 (26:09):
That's great.
And then, um, I guess this isprobably more of a personal
question, but it'll beinteresting for our listeners
too.
Um, I read your, your statementthat you issued in July, the
commitment to anti-racism.
And I was inspired when I readthat and I sent it to Z and she
had a similar reaction.
So we were actually justwondering, where do you draw

(26:30):
inspiration from, as a leader inthis anti-racism movement?
Um, or like, where do you getyour, your ideas or how do you
feel, how do you, how do youkind of know that, um, your work
being put, you know, put intoaction, how do you gauge your
success?

Speaker 4 (26:47):
Oh, great, great, great point.
So, um, I think that racism isinsidious.
It is it's, it's hidden, it'shard to see unless you have a
trained eye on it.
To me, all students have thepotential of being very
successful, whether it be in,in, in, in, in, in life, in, and
, and, and, and achievement.

(27:07):
And when you start seeing wherestudents are lacking in there,
that's when you start seeing, ifyou unpack what's happening, you
start seeing sometimes as a, asan education system, we put
barriers in front of people.
For example, this, the wholeidea of intellect, right?
Uh, being, being intelligent,um, that notion is defined

(27:31):
through a specific perspective.
And a lot of time is very you'recentric.
As a result, you, you, you, ifyou, if you are of that elk, you
, you, you, you will besuccessful because the system is
going to blow you up.
If you come from a differentplace, uh, and your worldview is

(27:52):
a little different, a verydifferent perspective.
It could be challenging.
Take me for example, this, this,I came in here.
The only language I knew was lowby that at 10th grade.
Okay.
I was an English learner andthere's 10 of us in the family.
Uh, all refugees didn't havemuch the education system at
that time saw me.

(28:13):
The teachers felt horrible thatI didn't know how to speak
English.
They took the time to say, let'steach this student, let's teach
this young child how to learnEnglish, but they approached it
in a way in which they nevertook me out of my science
classes or my math classes.
And so on.
They made a conscious choice andsaid he does know English and

(28:37):
English.
Can't be tied to his intellect.
So let's keep him in thisclasses and teach English
through those classes and let'simplement strategies.
So he can unpack science.
You can unpack math and learn itall along, learn English.
Okay.
That's it decision made by myteachers that said, listen,

(28:57):
guess what happened in thatsituation?
I thrived in, in my math, Ithrived in my English, uh, in
my, in my sciences whilelearning English so much to
where I ended up taking APclasses, uh, chemistry classes
and, and majoring in chemistryand biochemistry in college,
because somebody said, we're notgoing to tie his intelligence to

(29:21):
English, the English language.
If that was a case that youwouldn't have French teachers,
you wouldn't have, you wouldn'thave French scientists or
Chinese, um, scientists, or, uh,you name it.
You wouldn't have people whospeak different languages.
Uh, but, but, uh, but, but, but,uh, but sometimes in our system,

(29:41):
people would say, well, you knowwhat, he's an English learner.
So let's, let's, um, let's takethem out and let's fix them
first before we put him in thisclass and let's fix it, you
know?
And then all of a sudden, you,you you're harming your student
there.
So if they had, they treated methat way, I wouldn't be able to,
I wouldn't have been abiochemistry major.
I wouldn't have been.
So, and so I think, um, that'sa, that's a hidden bias that we

(30:04):
have to unpack.
And so the way I would see thatas I will.
And so if I come here, I'mlooking at the schedule.
I say, God, why are all myspecial education students
concrete in one class?
Why aren't they in the generaled class?
Well, they don't know how to domath.
So you're going to put them witha person that's that has a major
math, how's he gonna, how's thatgonna how's that going to be

(30:25):
fixed?
Right.
So, so w we do those things.
So, so you can see.

Speaker 2 (30:30):
Yeah.
And, um, that's an incrediblestory.
And now I remember reading onyour bio also mentioned that you
are a huge advocate for publicschools, and this is all making
a lot of sense.
So thank you for sharing thatstory.
That's, uh, that's inspiring.
Yes.
Um, so kind of along thoselines, in terms of celebrating

(30:51):
diversity, equality andinclusion, um, do you have any
ideas for our listeners waysthat they can encourage or start
organizations within their ownpublic schools?
Um, what have you kind of seenbe the most successful maybe
among students?
Um, I feel like that's achallenge.
That's,[inaudible], you know,you can have all this great,

(31:12):
these great intentions, goodintention, white people that
want, you know, their parents,their, their children to have
this inclusive experience.
But even if they're going to aninclusive school on paper, you
know, it's a racially diverseschool.
How are, how can we encouragethem?
Because they were brought up ina certain system, how can we
encourage them to break downthose barriers that they might,

(31:33):
um, that's all they know, youknow, how can we encourage truly
inclusive school educationexperience?

Speaker 4 (31:39):
Yeah.
But first at first, I want tostay, you notice that statement
I wrote earlier, uh, earlierabout, um, how, uh, that we must
teach students how to live, uh,with, uh, in a pluralistic
world.
Uh, to me, that message is trulyfor, for, for, for, for, for the
white people out there tounderstand that you also need

(31:59):
the perspective of Latin X, uh,Chinese and Asian,
African-American, you need thoseperspective for you to be more
successful in whatever you'retrying to do.
I think, um, so, uh, so to methe best, one of the things I'm
trying to incorporate here, uh,and in Centennial, we're talk
about the social justicestandards and a little bit just

(32:21):
about a person's identity andhow to see the world and each
other.
And so on.
You can incorporate that throughwhat we call a project, it
project based learning approach.
I think when you create a systemwhere you are incorporating the
different disciplines to solveproblems through projects,

(32:42):
you're going to automaticallyinvite the different
perspectives of solve thatproblem.
Right?
So let's take an example.
You want to study math and youwant to study, uh, you, you
love, you want to understandmath in a more, um, relevant
way.
And so on.
I could, you could teach thestatistics slope of a line or
scattergrams and have peoplememorize those things.

(33:04):
Or you can say let's studygentrification in the, in the,
um, in LA and, and, um, uh, but,uh, but in order to do that, uh,
let's understand whose, uh,whose what's, area's being
gentrified, who lives there andcreate mathematical formulas of
where these things occur andthen say, well, how did, how,

(33:24):
how are who's taken advantage ofgentrification?
Um, what seems to be all thewhites that are doing it?
Uh, why is that?
Let's, let's, let's unpack thatall of a sudden you start
bringing in historical contextof red lining you.
There's so much packed into thatquestion that, that, uh, guess
what's going to happen is if youare this a person that doesn't

(33:44):
have that, if you're notthinking in that direction, and
you're never going to ask thatquestion to go there, but if you
have a diverse group that you'reworking with on the project to
address that address, thatissue, guess what all these
people are going to bring their,uh, their perspectives of life
and all that to the question.
And all of a sudden the wholegroup is learning, right?

(34:06):
So to me, uh we're uh, we'rewe're we're w by the time, how
was your, is it you have acenter daughter?

Speaker 5 (34:14):
I have one of each, just, my son is in the school
district currently.
My daughter's a three and ahalf.

Speaker 4 (34:21):
Okay.
So by the time your daughtergets to samurai, you're going to
see some great programs therewhere students are going to be
working in an interdisciplinaryfashion with teachers where
you're going to have a mathteacher working with the English
teacher, or working with ascience teacher in developing
development projects.
There's all kinds of schoolsacross the nation, that approach

(34:41):
learning in that way.
And when you're in there, yousee special education shootings,
thriving, because autisticstudents thriving, because I'll
take this journey.
You wouldn't know it, but theysee the world differently.
And sometimes solve problemsthat, that the norm, the
general, what we call general,it gets person wouldn't wouldn't
solve.
And they struggle with.
And I think this, the schooldistrict has, has made a

(35:04):
commitment with me to try todevelop the curriculum in that
way, and also develop, uh, ourfacilities to support that
initiative.
So, by the time you get tosamurai, you're going to see
laboratories where you, uh, you,uh, multimedia, that's going to
focus on climate climate change,or just, just stuff that kids

(35:25):
are going to be able to learntheir curriculum, as well as
create an authentic way.
And it's going to be powerfulbecause at that point, that's
when I know kids because you'relearning, you're learning the
academia as well as learningabout life, learn about each
other and respect and how peoplework together, uh, to, to create

(35:46):
things.
So, so, um, uh, so, uh, andthat's a long way to way of
saying there is an approach toaddress that.
But if we, but if we don'tdismantle the traditional way of
teaching, where everybody'steachers in AP classes, and, and
, uh, you get to ma you teachmath just on a silo, you teach
science separately, you teachEnglish separately, and none of

(36:06):
it works together.
Uh, you want to be stuck withwhat you have right now, but if
you put all that together tocreate, to solve problems, to
solve real life problems, you'regoing to really incite people to
bring in their best.
And everybody learns in that inour system,

Speaker 5 (36:25):
You had so much to add to the conversation, um,
that it's so valuable for peopleto hear.
Um, I was saying, um, that Isaid, it's what you're saying is
just so valuable to theconversation about, um,
educating children of differentethnicities and incorporating it

(36:47):
amongst the subjects.
Because I think that, you know,sometimes, uh, at least for
those who are educatedpreviously, you know, like you
said, it was kind of likeeverything was in a silo and you
know, where you had a class thatwas where they people thought
outside the box, if it wasleadership or, you know,
something interesting where youcould combine the different

(37:10):
subjects and talk, you know,have discussions.
I think that's when kids reallylearn and grow is because they
have that access to theinformation in a different
context.
And they can say, Oh, that's allwe're talking about history
because, you know, so I thinkthat's just so I'm, I'm excited.

(37:31):
I'm like, my kids are so luckyto grow up now.
Um, my kids aren't in schoolright now, they're doing a
homeschool curriculum.
Um, a Christian-based homeschoolcurriculum.
They're supposed to startkindergarten this year.
So, um, yeah, so unfortunatelywe'll have to experiment, um, a

(37:52):
little bit later, but they'reare doing a few online things
like Spanish and piano lessons,which is engaging for them

Speaker 4 (38:01):
Now, we'll, we'll be, we'll be here waiting for, uh,
for them once they get here.
So

Speaker 5 (38:08):
That's awesome.
Well, I only have one questionfor you back to dry it.
Um, and then in the essence, wehad a few more, but in essence
of time, I want to make surethat we get to the back, the
Hawkins, give her her fair sharethere.
Um, but I did want to ask you've, you've spoken about so much,
um, and coming from SantaBarbara, um, do you see this

(38:32):
program being implemented inother counties?
Um, you know, do you, are thereconversations taking place about
implement thing it within thestate or outside of the state?

Speaker 4 (38:46):
Yeah, I think, um, I think, uh, it has to be, it has
to be for us to achieve what wewant to achieve in a, in a, in
America.
Right.
You know, you see what's goingon in the world right now.
And I go back to what I saidearlier, the only way that's
going to get out of this messageis education.
And we have to, we have to equipour young children to, to, to
our students, to, um, to live inthis pluralistic world with all

(39:09):
these different views andunderstand what's fact or not
fact, and how to thinkcritically and how to work for
the common good.
So we have to, uh, I thinkeveryone is interested in
engaging in this.
It's just, it takes, it takescourage.
It takes the school board thatis willing to have this
conversation.
And, uh, and I think, uh, my, mytask is to make it work for

(39:34):
everyone that is not, uh, and,and let people know that it's
not a zero sum game.
Uh, it could be veryintimidating.
People are seeing the websitethat Dr.
Frita and her team created there, but, but we didn't do, we did
it in a loving way.
We didn't do it in a, in a let'shate white people, or it wasn't
done that way.
You know, it's done in a lovingway and it's done what people

(39:56):
can learn.
And, and, and you'll notice thatthe, the trainings you, you saw
that, uh, Dr.
Frieda was hosting for theparents.
So w why focus on parents?
Because it's important.
We can say, let's not invest inthe parents.
This is focused on students,but, but you can't do it.
It's got, it's all got to cometogether.
So when Dr.

(40:16):
Dr.
Hawkins, uh, Mrs.
Hawkins talks about thecurriculum, these kids are going
to be probing parents aboutissues that they're dealing with
.
What, why are you asking methis?
Um, Oh my God, what did youlearn that from?
We need our parents tounderstand why the kids are
asking those questions, possiblypossibly challenges their

(40:36):
parents.
Right.
So, so, so we all, we all haveto kind of move in the same
direction.

Speaker 5 (40:41):
Yes, absolutely.
Yes.
Parents are key because the kidsgo home at some point.
Yeah.

Speaker 4 (40:47):
But that there is a it's courage, courage, and it
takes courage to do this.
And then you just got to haveempathy that no, we're all
breathing, this messed up air.
Okay.
We're all breathing it.
And no one is to blame, but ifwe are to blame, if once we
recognize it, we don't doanything about it.
So, so, so I just think that'sjust, that's just the inception

(41:09):
of our America from thebeginning.
Uh, the history of it is pretty,uh, pretty brutal on how America
was formed.
And we were still living, livingthrough that.
We have to reconcile that.
And the only way to do that isthrough, uh, through education.

Speaker 5 (41:25):
Yes, definitely.
So with that, I would like to,um, welcome the audience to our
next panelist.
And that is Dr.
S attender Hawkins.
Um, let's see, is joining us.
And she's also a resident ofCalifornia who was born in India

(41:50):
and came to the United States atage four, another transplant.
That's awesome.
After a brief stay in Ohio, herparents relocated to California
where she continues to callhome.
Uh, Dr.
Hawkins has over 30 years ofcombined experience in teaching
history and science and longbeach and LA USC.

(42:11):
She had board certified inhistory for both early
adolescents and young adults.
Uh, she was voted teacher of theyear, twice by long beach and
teach of the semifinalist for LACounty deletions, that the
Hawkins holds a doctorate ineducational leadership.
And for the past two years, shehas served as coordinator for

(42:32):
Santa Monica Malibu overseeingthe history and social science
department, the district's avidprogram for the seventh and
eighth graders preparing themfor college and the social
justice standards, integrationand implementation, and in her
free time, whenever that is thatthe Hawkins enjoys traveling to

(42:56):
other countries and reading.
So welcome Dr.
Hawkins.

Speaker 6 (43:01):
Thank you.
I'm really excited to be hereand have the opportunity to chat
with you guys.

Speaker 5 (43:07):
So can you please, we've heard so much about the
curriculum.
Can you please give us moredetails about this fabulous
curriculum and help ourlisteners understand how they
can become involved if they'rein other States, how they can
become involved maybe with theirschool districts so that they
can see something similar occur?

Speaker 6 (43:28):
Sure.
I'd love to talk about that.
Um, I think the, the origin ofwhat's going on in Santa Monica,
at least from my perspective asa new person in the district is,
um, it really comes from the topdown.
So one of the things thatattracted me when I interviewed
for the position was thecommitment that I could see that

(43:51):
Dr.
Draughty and, and my boss, Dr.
Maura had to this, this programand this belief in the idea of
equitable education.
And so, um, they, when you talkto educators, you'll find that
they're all of them, or almostall of them really believe in,

(44:14):
uh, education as a force tochange kids' lives.
That's why we got into teachingand education.
Um, but in order for, to make asystemic change, it can't just
be a teacher in an individualclassroom.
It really has be led at thedistrict level.
And so that's, what's going onin Santa Monica, there's a

(44:36):
commitment to this, um, beliefand there is a lot of support
for it.
So, um, and I'll give you anexample of, of how that sort of
plays out.
Um, one of the, uh, the bigcommitments that the district
has is to social justiceeducation.

(44:57):
And so as part of that work, theboard of education adopted these
they're called social justicestandards, and they come from
the teaching toleranceorganization and there's four
domains, uh, related to identitydiversity, justice, and action.
And, um, the district isinterested.

(45:19):
And when I say the district, Imean, the leadership and
teachers are interested.
Um, everybody is, you know,wants to do this work.
And so there's this interest inintegrating all of those
standards into the everydaycurriculum.
And, and so that is part of thework that I'm doing is I'm
working with teacher teams, uh,just sort of, um, needing with

(45:42):
them, helping them to designtheir curriculum and lessons and
integrating these.
And just as a really tangibleexample, just two recent ones.
Um, in November at the beginningof November, one of the things
that I, as a history person, assomebody who's taught history,
um, of course I love history andpolitics and elections.

(46:05):
We conducted a district-widestudent mock election.
And, um, and so we, uh, we gave,uh, kids like the kindergartners
all the way through 12th grade,we had differentiated ballots
for them.
And so the kids could go on andthey could vote.
So we had like, you know, a fewhundred elementary kids voting.

(46:26):
We had over 2000 kids.
And, um, there were lessons thatwent along to sort of teach
civic responsibility andengagement, um, and all of that
stuff.
And so, um, of course socialjustice is, is an important part
of being involved in yourcommunity and things like that.

(46:47):
And then, um, this week I justpushed out a lesson on
Thanksgiving and it wasinteresting because it was, um,
to decolonize Thanksgiving, um,to, um, to teach it from the
perspective of native Americans.
And so it it's, um, nativeAmerican, uh, commemoration as

(47:10):
well.
And so, um, but I just createdthese lessons that were sort of
easy for teachers to implement,um, distance learning world.
It's really hard for them tofind the time to do that work.
And so, um, those are just acouple of examples and, and I
can share more, let me stop fora minute and we'll have any

(47:33):
questions.

Speaker 5 (47:34):
I hope our listeners don't take for granted the
efforts behind this, you know,teachers have had to totally
reconstruct how they're teachingbecause of COVID and everything.
And then on top of that, they'realso like you all are trying to
find ways to incorporateinformation about social justice

(47:58):
and, and empowering children tolearn more about it, not just to
explain what has happened, butso that they have, you know, a
foundation on which they canbuild on as they are growing.
And so I just want to commendall of you because that's, I

(48:19):
mean, that's a huge undertakingto do all of that, you know, in,
in just a few months, you'rereally doing it in just a few
months.
And I upload all the teachersalso that are taking this on
because, um, their mindschildren's minds they're willing
to absorb.
I always tell my husband, Isaid, don't decide for them what

(48:43):
they can learn or absorb.
I said, I picked your childrenas like a Velcro mat and, you
know, you throw the ball at itand if it sticks, it sticks, you
know, and if it does it, maybeit'll stick later on, you know,
but give them an opportunity tochoose what they can absorb,

(49:06):
don't decide for them.
And, um, of course, you know, wehave to have some boundaries in
place because, you know,different age groups and such,
but, um, but I think that it's,it's so vitally important for
future generations that if wedon't address these issues of
social justice and environmentaljustice and equitable education,

(49:28):
now that, you know, we'll, we'llbe back here 50 years from now.
Um, so, um, with that, uh, whatwould you say has been the
greatest area of concern orfocus, um, and dealing with

(49:48):
American history?
Like when you sit together andyou say, well, what can we focus
on updating or, or modifying,you know, or deconstructing what
time period, if there is one,have you, you know, focused on
or thought was most important toaddress maybe upfront.

Speaker 6 (50:09):
That's a great question.
Um, so as a history teacher,I've known a lot of history
teachers in my, um, in my careerand the vast majority of them,
um, are, are well aware of the,the, um, stains in our nation's
history.
And, and they work to teach thatto children.

(50:31):
And that's true of the, uh,history teachers I worked with
in Santa Monica.
They understand, um, you know,the real history, not
necessarily the sanitized one.
And, um, so what I have found is, uh, in our district is, uh, a
really responsive audience.

(50:53):
And, um, and, and speaking, um,just specifically of the history
team, one of the things that wedid last year, um, which I think
is a great example of theirdesire and motivation to do this
work, um, was we created acurriculum guide for us history.

(51:14):
And, and it's interesting to me,um, that, that our, the
California history frameworkdoes address a lot of the things
that we've been talking about.
So for example, in first grade,students are, uh, the, the
history framework says studentswill start to learn about native
Americans and the immigrantcontribution.

(51:36):
Um, so our state framework isvery enlightened in that sense.
It's, it's very much, um, uh,it's a true history.
Um, it doesn't leave anybodyout.
Um, and I think there's always alittle bit of, uh, anxiety.
I think Dr.
Draughty kind of captured itreally well when he talked about
a zero sum game, some of thehistory Wars, you know,

(52:01):
sometimes you don't feel like,well, if you teach this group's
history, does that mean then,then this group doesn't get it.
And that's not really what, um,happens to me when you teach
that truer history, you sort ofget this beautiful, um, this,
this rainbow of diversity.

(52:22):
I mean, think about even withinour group, look at the diversity
in this small group and how, um,how just exquisitely joyful.
That is right.
And that's what, when you teachreal history, that's what
happens.
Nobody gets left out,everybody's included.
It's not always perfect.
We're not, um, you know, we'renot, we haven't always done the

(52:44):
right thing, but once werecognize that, then we can move
forward.
And so the history team, whatthey did was they created, um, a
curriculum guide, which is whatwe call in the district.
ASIS certified and ACEs standsfor American culture and ethnic
studies.
And it's a requirement forgraduation in Santa Monica that

(53:07):
a student in order to, um,graduate from high school, in
addition to the other state and,um, board requirements, they
must take a class that's ASIScertified.
Um, now what does that mean?
That means that that class hasintegrated all of the social
justice standards, that itincludes a capstone project and

(53:32):
what the us history team did wasthey integrated, um, what Dr.
[inaudible] was referring toearlier, what we call an
education project basedlearning.
And so this end project in this11th grade history classes,
students, um, become a historianand they do the work of his
historians, which is toconstruct history.

(53:55):
And so they learn about bias andperception, and they research an
area of interest that they have.
Um, and so, um, and the other,the third requirement for, to be
ASIS certified is that, um, theclass must be taught from a
multiple, uh, perspectives, aminimum of five.

(54:16):
So those can be racial, ethnic,um, linguistic, religious
socioeconomic.
And so the history, the ushistory team last year, the
district's history team workedon that, and they did all of
that work.
And so it's a really beautifulcurriculum guide.
It's a living document.
Each of the teachers contributedless than exemplars.

(54:39):
So for example, one of theteachers, um, has a beautiful
lesson on, um, progressivebiographies, which is really
interactive.
There's some lovely lessons onthe Harlem Renaissance that
integrates some poetry and musicand things like that.
And so that is, um, sort ofwhat's going on, um, in the

(55:01):
history realm, in, in SantaMonica.
And again, um, I've, I've beenin education a long time, but
making that kind of progressthat quickly depends on the
leadership you have.
And so, and we have really goodleadership Dr.
Draughty and Dr.
Mora.
I mean, you really can't do thatwithout somebody saying, yeah,

(55:25):
let's move forward.
And, and, and not just sayingit, but creating the process and
structure to facilitate thatwork.
Um, and so, so really, um, it'sjust a, it's a community-wide
effort that goes on in thisdistrict.

Speaker 5 (55:45):
That's that's a great, great answer.
Wow.
Okay.
So then would you say that thegreatest challenge maybe that a
school system would face wouldbe the leadership and the
community that, you know, thecommunity involvement?

Speaker 6 (56:05):
Yes, I, I guess, um, I guess I would say that, um,
because like I said, most peoplewho get into education do it for
the right reasons.
They love children, they believein the power of education to
transform the lives of children,but what you need is somebody to

(56:28):
sort of put all those, thosepassions and those desires
together in a package.
Um, and so, um, you know, thatthat's where, where leadership
comes in.
That's, that's the significantpiece that I think is missing in
a lot of our efforts ineducation.

Speaker 5 (56:50):
Wow.
That's ironic.
I think, uh, a briefconversation we have with Dr.
Rossi, she was saying almost theexact same thing.
I'm like, no one needs to getalong with this whole program to
add to that, to ginger.
And I will be doing a socialjustice series for families.
So stay tuned.

(57:10):
We're going to go, we're over,we're working on that.
Um, so we'll launch it lateJanuary, early February.
Oh, that would be awesome.
We would love to let ourlisteners know.
Um, another question, are youaware of similar projects that
are underway, um, outside ofCalifornia?

Speaker 6 (57:35):
I think, um, there are all kinds of different
efforts to address some of theequity issues, the achievement
gap, that achievement gap existseverywhere.
Um, you know, if, if you talk toeducators, they know about it.
Um, and so I, I think thatpeople all over the state and

(57:57):
all over the country are doingwhat they can to address these
issues.
Um, I guess I've been a teachera long time, and so I, I, you
won't find me, um, reallylooking askew at education cause
I know how hard people work,even though sometimes you don't

(58:19):
see it and it doesn't always getresults.
Um, but I, I know the intent ofmost of the teachers I've worked
with, um, is good.
And so, um, and that's the otherthing there's not necessarily
one way to fix the problem.
Um, I think what Santa Monica isdoing is the, the longer I've

(58:41):
done it, and this is only thestart of my second year, but the
more excited I get at thepossibilities.
Um, but that's not to say that,you know, another district isn't
doing something that's good aswell.
I just, I'm a little partial toSanta Monica because I'm part of
that team.
So, um, you know, we all sortof, we all sort of stumble

(59:03):
forward the best we can.

Speaker 5 (59:08):
That makes sense.
Thank you for answering that.
Um, and then my last questionwould be for our listeners, who
are parents, um, what would yousay to them if they're in a
district someplace?
Uh, let's say Minnesota andthey're like, my school doesn't

(59:29):
have this, I haven't heard ofthis.
Um, I would love for, you know,our kids to learn about social
justice and things.
How can they get involved?
What would you, what advicewould you give them?

Speaker 6 (59:43):
So, um, there's actually a, um, a website that
parents can visit from teachingtolerance.
Um, and if, if they wereinterested, they could share
that with the teachers in theirdistrict.
Um, what's kind of cool aboutthat website, um, from a teacher
perspective is that you can, um,find lessons that are suited to

(01:00:07):
your grade level, your contentarea.
And it's built around those, um,social justice domains of
identity, diversity, justice,and action.
And so that might be a goodplace for parents to, to start.
Um, and, and I would say themessage, I would say for

(01:00:28):
parents, and this is me sort ofwearing both a parent and a
teacher hat, um, is to, to getthat work, going to create a
partnership with their, theirteachers.
Um, because a lot of timesteachers feel like things are
done to them.
Um, and so if you do things withthem, um, which I think is

(01:00:52):
definitely the philosophy inSanta Monica, it's, it's a, it's
a very, um, respectful towardstheir professionalism, um, kind
of philosophy.
And so when you sort of approachit that way, um, and give a nod
to the, to the expertise ofthose teachers give a nod to

(01:01:13):
their pedagogical expertise, um,and then work together.
And I would say to teachers givea nod to the parents for their
expertise on their own child'sneeds.
I think sometimes in our world,we don't always do that.
Um, and I think that goes a longway in building a respectful

(01:01:33):
culture where we can worktogether.

Speaker 5 (01:01:36):
Do you that the rest of that the Jedi have anything
to add?

Speaker 4 (01:01:40):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, certainly.
Certainly I think, um, uh,education is, is a, is a, is a
personal journey when you're,when you're a teacher, you, you
can't force somebody to dosomething really, um, in a
meaningful way.
Uh[inaudible] is one of thosesituations where if you're going

(01:02:00):
to teach and you're going to putall your all into it, it has got
, gotta be a personal, personaljourney.
And I think what Dr.
Hawkins just mentioned aboutgetting, working with people is
really the only way you can doit.
If you try to force it, I needyou to teach this curriculum in
this particular way.
It's not going to come out withthe authentic authenticity it

(01:02:22):
needs to.
So, so, so the people, as youcan see, doctor Dr.
Ross and Dr.
Hawkins are people that wouldhave worked with, would work
with staff and bring them along.
And they won't, they'll never dostuff to them, do, do stuff with
them.
So, so, um, we're excited.
Uh, I'm excited for this, uh,for this team, I think, um, I'm

(01:02:43):
glad there are parents out thereand community members out there
that are interested in thisconversation, uh, because it is
going to, it's going to have totake beyond just us.
And so our, our that's why weinvited the parents in the
conversation, uh, w we invitecommunity members of
conversation.
It needs to be a whole communityaffair.
So if we do it that way, I thinkwe'll be successful.

Speaker 2 (01:03:05):
Yeah.
Thank you so much.
And as a parent and in yourschool district, I just want to
say, thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you to each of you really,um, for making this a team
effort, like you said, and youknow, this being my first year,
I was incredibly scared anddaunted at the thought of my
child being in the hands ofsomeone else for the first time.

(01:03:26):
He taught things, especiallyhistory.
And, um, it is just soreassuring to hear how forward
thinking and progressive andoptimistic, you know, your
approach really is and howthorough you're being.
So it really means the world tome.

Speaker 4 (01:03:41):
Uh, thank you.
Thank you.
And welcome to the new, so

Speaker 2 (01:03:46):
Go geckos.
And then, um, I think Dr.
Hawkins, you had one quote, you,you, uh, wanted to share with
our listeners.

Speaker 3 (01:03:54):
It's, it's my favorite cut.
I I've loved it.
There's a few there's one.
Um, but this one sort ofcaptures, um, my view of
education it's, um, all who I'vemediated on the art of governing
mankind have been convinced thatthe fate of empires depends on
the education of youth.
Um, and that's from Aristotle.

(01:04:15):
And I think that just sort of,um, captures what so many people
who are in education believeabout the work that we're doing.

Speaker 2 (01:04:27):
Dr.
Rossi.
Is there one closing statementyou'd like to give to?

Speaker 3 (01:04:31):
I just wanted to thank, um, the two of you, Jesse
and fi for reaching out, um, andfor getting engaged in the
parent webinars series and forleaning into these topics and
providing a space for familiesto really, uh, come together,
because it is an opportunity forall of us to learn from one

(01:04:53):
another.
And I look forward to continuingon with this work.
Um, like I said, um, Dr.
Hawkins and I will be, um,launching a social justice for
parents webinars series.
So, um, we are excited tocontinue with the conversation
and the work.
Thank you so much.

Speaker 2 (01:05:13):
Yeah.
And whenever that's up andrunning, let us know, and we'll
be sure to let our listenersknow.
Yes, definitely.
Thank you.
And then, um, yeah, I think onefinal thought like, uh, we've
been discussing today.
Education is really key inmoving this conversation forward
and, um, it, it requires courageto have discussions about, um,

(01:05:35):
what's equitable when it comesto our children's education and,
um, having that commitment tosocial justice that you have all
been so kind to share with ourlisteners.
Um, so thank you again and, uh,stay safe and we'll talk to you
soon.
Bye everyone.

Speaker 1 (01:05:57):
Thank you for listening to awakened in
America.
If you enjoy today's podcast, besure to subscribe and leave a
review.
You can also find us onInstagram at awakened in
America.
That's awakened underscore inunderscore America, and remember
be mindful, be grateful.

(01:06:19):
And most of all be you.