Community Conversations: Pandemic Learning & Returning to School in South King County
Did you know?
In the publication, Is Everyone Really Equal?: An Introduction to Key Concepts in Social Justice Education, integrating student and family voice into student learning is a positive youth development approach that fosters culturally responsive classrooms and enhances education success for students who are historically marginalized within the K-12 education system.
In 2020, Puget Sound Educational Service District (PSESD) invited community leaders to join a Road Map Wisdom Council to elevate voices, expertise, and partnership opportunities of our Communities of Color. In less than a year, the council has grown to a group of 15 youth, community-based organization leaders, parents, and educators of Color. One goal of the council was to create a sustainable path for listening to and acting on behalf of our Communities of Color through ongoing community conversations.
This past year, 44 participants from seven Road Map school districts engaged in more than 35 hours of conversations with trusted peers. Conversation participants engaged topics such as meaning-making, generating recommendations, and shaping reporting and communication strategies to inform how the Road Map Wisdom Council might operate.
This gathering centered on Youth of Color voices (23 conversations) and shared perspectives of parents (nine conversations), community leaders (seven conversations), and educators (five conversations). Participants are reaching out to ask questions of their own students, families, and communities impacted by the pandemic AND systemic racial inequities and will use that feedback in further development of the Wisdom Council. Please read our full report for a more in-depth look.
