The PTA’s FACE (Family Advocacy and Community Engagement) and DEI (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion) committee started in 2019 and we are always looking for new members and voices to join our group. We work closely with Parkwood’s Family Advocate to help our most marginalized students and families.
We acknowledge that racism exists and that we have a need for a more diverse PTA Board so that our beautifully diverse Parkwood community is represented.
- Provide a framework for our PTA to work with in future years
- Learn about the history of racism in our country/the world and share anti-racism resources
- Share ideas for encouraging family engagement, in both a virtual world and “normal” world
- Participate in a book study and discussion
Black Lives Matter
Read more about the 13 Guiding Principles to support BLM for the Year of Purpose.
Stop AAPI Hate
It is important to elevate the voices of our Asian-American community, to share stories and learn the history of the Asian-American experience in the United States. Anti-Asian sentiment has been on the rise and there are useful tools and trainings available to provide people the confidence to stand up to hate. Below are some resources for more information
- KCLS Understanding Asian-American History and Anti-Asian Racism
- Filipino-American Experience
- “America is in the Heart” by Carlos Bulosan. This classic memoir by well-known Filipino poet Carlos Bulosan describes his boyhood in the Philippines, his voyage to America, and his years of hardship and despair as an itinerant laborer following the harvest trail in the rural West.
- Vietnam War
- The Best We Could Do: An Illustrated Memoir by Thi Bui – Vietnam war and refugee experience
- “Inside Out and Back Again” by Thanhha Lai. Semi-autobiographical historical fiction about a child’s refugee experience, from Vietnam to the US.
- Japanese Internment
- “They Called Us Enemy” by George Takei. Also Allegience – Japanese Internment
- “Farewell to Manzanar” by by Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston and James D. Houston – Japanese Internment
- “Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet” by Jamie Ford – Japanese Internment during WWII
Resources
Resources for Families
Racial Equity Tools : Great website with tons of resources to help you in your journey for achieving racial equity. Also includes a useful Glossary of Terms.
Know Your WHY : A short but impactful video to watch. “When you know your ‘why’ then your ‘what’ has more impact, because you’re working towards or in your purpose.” – Michael Jr.
Becoming an Anti-Racist Zones : It is a journey where people may move forward a zone but also take a step a back. Don’t give up and remember your WHY! Take a look at this diagram and think about where you are today, and where you need to be.
Talk about Race : “Silence about race reinforces racism.” Our kids are not too young to talk about it. They see examples everyday in life and on TV.
Barbie and Friends video : Barbie and her friend, Nikki, have been friends for a long time, but they haven’t talked about race before. Here they talk about Nikki’s experience and how Barbie can be a white ally.
Lots of resources available at our Shoreline School District pages as well. Shoreline School District Black Voices Read-Along and Events in February and the Equity and Family Engagement Department.
Understanding Implicit Bias – A Tool Kit : Implicit (or unconscious) bias occurs when individuals use information from experience, media, culture or other individuals to organize people into social categories according to salient traits like age, gender, race, ethnicity or social role and then utilize these categories unconsciously in decision making or behavior… It is the unconscious activation of this supplemental meaning that biases how people respond to such a description (Kang, 2009).
The Hazel Wolf K-8 PTST has some great resources listed at their website.
Racial equity workshops via Seattle Families of Color (FOCS)
Training
Free online anti-harassment, bystander training available at https://www.ihollaback.org/harassmenttraining/
Books and Media Resources
Visit our very own Parkwood Library and classroom! Our school was a recent recipient of the Symetra grant!
““I See Me!”— Parkwood Elementary School, Shoreline Washington
Approximately 55 percent of Parkwood Elementary School’s students are students of color, and 27 percent speak a language other than English as their primary language. “I See Me!” will leverage the Shoreline school’s existing race and equity work by taking it directly to students and affirming their identities in a positive, impactful way. The “MVP Award” grant will equip all 22 classrooms and the school library with books, play materials and artwork that reflect racial diversity to help ensure that Parkwood students see themselves reflected in the stories they read and materials they study.”
Anti-Racism Picture Books : A list of books from KCLS
Follow @katereadstherainbow on IG : “Great books to help kids see, love, + respect themselves and others 🌈 from a teacher-librarian and mom in the PNW 🏔”
Below is a list of books and articles, in no particular order.
- Waking Up White: And Finding Myself in the Story of Race by Debby Irving
- White Fragility by Robin DiAngelo
- So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo
- Self Made: Inspired by the Life of Madam C. J. Walker on Netflix – “Self Made is a fictionalized depiction of “the untold story of black hair care pioneer and mogul Madam C. J. Walker and how she overcame the hostilities of turn-of-the-century America, epic rivalries, and tumultuous marriages to become America’s first Black, self-made female millionaire.””
- Video of Trevor Noah with Derek Black, subject of the book “Rising Out of Hatred: The Awakening of a Former White Nationalist” by Eli Saslow.
- Understanding Oppression by Leticia Nieto article – Addressing Power and Privilege. Are you an Agent or a Target or both?
- Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You: A Remix of the National Book Award-winning Stamped from the Beginning by Ibram X. Kendi and Jason Reynolds
- A Kids Book About Racism by Jelani Memory
- You’ll Never Believe What Happened to Lacey: Crazy Stories about Racism by Amber Ruffin
Resources for PTAs and Members
When making decisions, consider using the Shoreline Race and Equity Planning Tool to guide your thought process.
PTAs Leading the Way for Transformative Family Engagement : This document has some great examples and ideas for how some PTAs have expanded their community engagement.
WSPTA Resolution 26.6 on Dismantling Institutional Racism : Passed in 2020, this resolution states that PTAs are to work within the PTA, with the community, and with local school districts and schools to end practices that are detrimental our BIPOC students, families and communities. There is a lot of great information in this resolution.
Characteristics of White Supremacy Culture : How does White Supremacy culture show up in your organization?
Racial Equity in Your PTO or PTA: What Are You Doing? : Ideas on how to build a more racially-equitable PTA.
Parent Organization Equity and Inclusion Tool “DOs” and “DON’Ts” : An easy-to-consume chart with Dos and Don’ts on how to plan communications, meetings, participation, decision-making, group dynamics, and fundraising/events, with attention to inclusion and equity.