Dear SEEN Community,
The SEEN Steering Committee met again this week to start planning our General Meeting at the end of the month. Last year, we were guided by the oft-repeated question (in life, not in SEEN), “Couldn’t that just have been an email?” While remote opportunities and Zoom meetings seemed, on the one hand, a way to have many others joining, it also meant that we were all inundated with more programs, competing with other meetings, and many were already sitting in a chair or looking at the screen. Zoom fatigue set in, and we decided that, yes, many things could just be an email.
But what can’t be in an email is the personal connection, the conversations, and the community expressed in meetings. Ours is a network of parents, teachers, and community members, and so the upcoming meeting on February 28 will be remote, but it will be about connection and conversation. What are you reading, watching, thinking about, or talking about in terms of equity? And then, what can we each do to translate our learning and thought into actions?
Please join us on February 28 at 8 p.m., because the meeting is about the network, the one thing that can’t get into an email. Register online, and in the meantime, we are sharing new resources for Black History Month regularly on the SEEN Cares Facebook and Instagram accounts, and have a few more actions to tide us over until the end of the month.
Actions
- Invite. In addition to registering for the SEEN General Meeting on February 28, why not invite a friend you already have conversations with, and build the network?
- Attend. The Saratoga Springs Board of Education will be meeting tomorrow – Tuesday, February 15, at the High School, starting at 7 p.m. If you would like to make a public comment, please know that there are two parts of the meeting devoted to comment – the first thirty minutes at the beginning of the meeting (where you sign in to make a comment), and then the 30 minutes after the business meeting concludes (where anyone can get up and make a comment). Public comments are limited to 3 minutes each in length. The agenda and link to YouTube will be available on the District website.
- Share. SEEN is seeking a social media intern (paid) to help with our outreach and engagement on Facebook and Instagram. If you know of an interested teen or college student, have them email us at SaratogaEEN@gmail.com.
Resources
- Educator Shortages. The National Education Association – the nation’s largest labor union – published this article discussing their recent survey about educators planning to leave the field. The details are alarming, especially because they report a disproportionate number of BIPOC teachers planning to leave. For a district seeking to improve its diversity, these issues must be considered at the forefront. It is important to consider what can be done, including advocating for better pay for both teachers and support staff.
- Black History Test. This article by Joseph Gerth discusses his research with Ricky Jones who created a 25 question test on Black history that he claims anyone who has taken an intro level Black Studies course would be able to ace. Gerth discusses his own experience taking the test as well as implications for students of color in our education system. Want to take the test first? Here’s a direct link.
- Reflections for Presidents Day. The Washington Post has compiled data on the history of slaveholding congressmen. This interactive website is both informative and thought provoking.
~ The SEEN Team
SEEN 