April 2023 Newsletter
Visit the Cultural Celebration Page for upcoming events, professional development panels, academic resources, and more!
April is Arab American Heritage Month!
From the Arab American Institute
Beginning is not only a kind of action. It is also a frame of mind, a kind of work, an attitude, a consciousness. – Edward Said
Here is a message from our partners at Al-Bustan Seeds of Culture for National Arab-American Heritage Month:
“The Philadelphia area has been home to immigrants with Arab heritage from as early as the 1800s, the Arab community in Philadelphia has continued to grow rapidly and become more diverse in the past two decades. The Arabic language is now among the 5 most spoken languages in our school district by English language learners and their families.
Arab families in Philadelphia are concentrated in South, North, Southwest, and Northeast Philadelphia and while some have been here for 5 generations, many are also newcomers.
The Arabic language holds a special place for Philadelphia residents of many diverse cultural backgrounds who don’t necessarily hail from the Arab world with West Africans, Southeast and Central Asians, and African American Muslim communities in Philadelphia as examples.
Despite a long history of existence dating back prior to the US independence, Arab American communities from the Middle East and North Africa are still not included in the U.S Census, but there are national and local campaigns for their existence to be recognized.
We hope that this Arab Heritage Month is an opportunity for us to explore and reflect on the history, contributions, as well as current challenges that Arab heritage communities, students, and families in our school district strive to overcome.”
Al-Bustan Seeds of Culture will be joining us for “Equity in Practice” this month, make sure to find details in the events section of the newsletter.
Arab American Heritage Month Resources
April Events & Happenings
April is also: Black Women’s History Month, National Autism Awareness Month, National Deaf History Month, National Minority Health Month, Scottish American Heritage Month
Equity in Practice: Al-Bustan Seeds of Culture
Wednesday, April 12th, 2023, 12pm – 1pm, Virtual on Zoom, FREE
For the month of April and in celebration of Arab-American Heritage month, we will be welcoming Al-Bustan Seeds of Culture to explore best practices around the integration and celebration of SDP students, families, and community members who have Arab heritage and shared experiences with Arab cultures in schools and beyond.
Equity in Practice is a monthly lunch and learn series in which district stakeholders can learn about what services our partners throughout the city offer and learn ways to engage with the communities they serve.
Visit the DEI YouTube Page to watch our past lunch and learn sessions.
Philly Youth Voices: Candidates & Elected Officials Listening Session
Saturday April 15th, 12:30pm-5pm, School District of Philadelphia Building
Share this opportunity with students!
Are you a public high school student in Philadelphia interested in sharing your thoughts on what needs to happen to bring change, to candidates running for office and existing elected officials?
Candidates running for office and existing elected officials will be present for youth to voice their concerns prior to the May primary elections. Students who participate in this upcoming session will also get community service hours.
April Spotlights
We’ve been partnering with Communications to highlight members of the SDP community for the SDP social media. Last month we put the spotlight on people like, Assistant Principal Dr. Nicole Patterson who says that:
I’m proud to be a Nigerian-American leader because my K-12 educational experience did not include educators that looked like me. Representation is important. Relatability is important. Relationships are important.
As always, make sure to submit your nominations for folks you think work to make our diverse district a more equitable place.
DEI Office Updates
Have a person, program, or idea about what should be featured on the Equity Is podcast? Fill out the form below!
Podcast Updates
Listen to our latest Podcast Episodes From this Month:
- Episode 12: Equity Snapshots: Linguistic Racism- On this episode one of our Equity Training Specialists, Ryan Villanueva, gives listeners an understanding of the nuances around linguistic racism.
- Episode 13: Equity is Understanding: The Breakfast with the Brothers Program in LN 6- Breakfast with Brothers is a different kind of violence prevention program. Learn about their work and the work going on in learning network 6.
Gender and Sexual Health Summit
The Office of DEI has partnered with The Office of Student Rights and Responsibilities and Promoting Adolescent Student Health (PASH) for our first Gender and Sexual Health Summit. Our teams have been hard at work planning the event that will be held later this month, for student leaders in GSAs (Gender and Sexuality Alliances).
Students from GSAs all over the district will be in attendance and will be able to network, engage in learning opportunities, and promote the work they do. Registration is closed but be on the look out for news about the event and other student events in the future.
ETS Corner: Spotlighting Schools & Programs Picked by our Team!
Jason Benfield’s School Shoutout: Stephen Decatur School
I am nominating Decatur Elementary because as they progress in their Equity Journey, the Decatur staff have been intentional in engaging in activities that help to better understand themselves in order to better understand others and build trusting relationships between students and staff. The staff has also been intentional in creating opportunities for their students to also better understand themselves and their identities to better understand others in order to be more inclusive and equitable and celebrate the diversity in their school community.
One of these intentional activities was the 6th grade team, in alignment with the 6th Grade Quarter 2 text “When Stars are Scattered,” chose to communicate with the author, Omar Mohamed, who is currently a PA resident. Beginning in January, the students proposed a Book Drive in which they collected over 1500 books to be donated to Refugee Strong, Mr. Mohamed’s Non-Profit. With his guidance, books the students collected will be sent to Refugee camps in Africa.
Additionally, they invited, and were able to get Mr. Mohamed to come deliver a presentation to the students in grades 4-6. Mr. Mohamed shared his lived experiences as a refugee with the students and what led him to the point of writing his book, as well as what he is currently doing with his organization to help other refugees around the world. The students were able to ask reflective questions and engaged in conversation with Mr. Mohamed to gain greater insight into the lives of others. Mr. Mohamed finished his presentation with pictures, book signing, and motivation to continue to be intentional in getting to know others’ lived experiences to better understand other perspectives and be more inclusive
In Case You Missed It!
March Equity in Practice Lunch & Learn: CAIR Philadelphia
The Philadelphia School District has a growing population of Muslim students and staff. Folks were invited to a lunch and learn session to hear a presentation from the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR Philadelphia) and to learn about their work with the district and best practices you can use to support your Muslim students and colleagues.
Resources from the event
Recent Comments