Social Justice Resources

Diversity Makes Us Stronger is Important & Valuable Should be Celebrated

Hello Danvers Community,

The Danvers Public Schools is committed to addressing issues of race and equity. We strive to make sure that our students feel safe, cared for, and heard as they navigate our complex world. We believe it is vitally important for us to support our community as we face social justice issues together. Below we have listed carefully curated resources for our students, families, and educators. These resources aim to strengthen our anti-racism skill set and promote a more inclusive environment. Our schools will be incorporating Social Emotional Learning to advance inclusion and equity in the classroom.

Letter to the Community

Letter to the Community from Danvers Public Schools Leadership

How Danvers Students Advocate

Anti-Racism and Self-Advocacy Books

Resources for Parents

Danvers Public Schools Curriculum

Suggestions or Questions?

How Danvers Students Advocate

through art, music, and allyship

Anti-Racism & Self-Advocacy Books

Books for Youth

Ages 4-8

Ages 4-8

Ages 4-8

Ages 4-8

Ages 5-9

Ages 8 – 12

Ages 10-12

Ages 10-14

Books for Young Adults

Ages 12-17

Ages 13-17

Ages 13-17

Ages 14-17

Ages 14-17

Books for Adults

Resources for Parents

The Importance of Talking About Race With Youth

We teach our children from a young age that if we have nothing nice to say – say nothing at all. So when we refuse to talk about race and racial injustices, youth can absorb that silence as complacency and acceptance. We need to discuss race with youth to demonstrate the role we want them to play in society as allies, advocates, and social justice leaders. Racial differences are a human-invented social construct, but they exist as a very real thing in our society, with a real impact on real people. Acknowledging this reality is key to creating change. read more…

A Guide to Talking About Race with Your Child

These tips are guided by advice from “Books for Littles”, an organization that uses books to help parents have important conversations with their kids about social issues.

Be Honest
Tell our kids that yes – we do see skin color and racial identities. Let your child know that it’s perfectly okay to notice skin color and talk about race. Start talking about what racial differences mean and don’t mean.

You don’t have to be an expert on race to talk with your child. Be honest about what you don’t know and work with your child to find accurate information.

Encourage
Encourage your child to ask questions, share observations and experiences, and be respectfully curious about race.

Be Open
When children point out that they like particular skin tones, body shapes, or hair textures more than others. Ask why they feel this way. Help kids separate bias from fact. Use an open, non-judgemental tone. Discuss how all bodies are good bodies – how we differ, and what we have in common.

Discuss
Talk about the histories and experiences of the racial, ethnic, and cultural groups you and your family identify with. Talk about their contributions and acknowledge the less flattering parts of those histories as well. Tell stories about the challenges your family (your child’s parents, aunts and uncles, grandparents and great grandparents, others) has faced and overcome

Acknowledge
It is important for adults to acknowledge their own biases. We’re less likely to pass on the biases we identify and work to overcome. It is essential that we uncover our unconscious bias in order to prevent future unintentional discrimination and poor decision-making.

Try taking the Implicit Association Test, a study designed by Harvard University.

Be Mindful
We are role models for our students and children. Our actions speak louder than words, especially for our children. They notice how we treat others, who we are friends with, and the media we keep in our homes.

Advocate
Don’t be a “bystander”. Help your child understand what it means to be, and how to be, an advocate for justice. Whenever possible, connect the conversations you’re having to the change you and your child want to see, and to ways to bring about that change.

Explore
Expose your child to different cultural media: photographs, films, books.

If your child doesn’t attend a diverse school, consider enrolling them in after school or weekend activities such as sports leagues that are diverse if you’re able. Choose books and toys that include persons of different races and ethnicities. Visit museums with exhibits about a range of cultures and religions.

Discuss the experiences afterwards.

Additional Resources

NPR’s Michel Martin talks to Jennifer Harvey, author of Raising White Kids: Bringing Up Children in a Racially Unjust America, about how to talk with white kids about racially-charged events.

Danvers Public Schools Curriculum

Social Emotional Learning

as a Lever for Equity and Social Justice

Social and emotional learning (SEL) is the process through which children and adults understand and manage emotions, set and achieve positive goals, feel and show empathy for others, establish and maintain positive relationships, and make responsible decisions.

“The work we do in SEL must actively contribute to antiracism by always using a lense of equity. SEL can help people move from anger, to agency, to action. Through finding and sharing your voice, you can move from anger to agency. From there you begin building your moral courage that moves you to action, where you can face challenges and execute on goals.” – Karen Niemi, President & CEO of CASEL

CASEL is an organization that supports educators with evidence-based social and emotional learning.

Anger

Agency

Action!

Suggestions or Questions?

Sources:

Anti-Racism for Kids

Melrose Public Schools

10 Tips for Teaching and Talking about race with kids

Reflecting on George Floyd’s and Police Violence on Black Americans

Social Justice Resources

Diversity Makes Us Stronger is Important & Valuable Should be Celebrated

TABLE OF CONTENTS

How Danvers Students Advocate

Anti-Racism & Self-Advocacy Books

Books for Youth

Books for Young Adults

Books for Adults

Resources for Parents

A Guide to Talking About Race with Your Child

Additional Resources

Danvers Public Schools Curriculum

Social Emotional Learning

Anger

Agency

Action!

Suggestions or Questions?

Contact Danvers Public Schools

Contact

Schools

District