In celebration of Black History Month and in alignment with the Black Lives Matter at School Week of Action, Langley Elementary School's fifth-grade class explored Black youth excellence in food and agriculture. With support from the FoodPrints team of FreshFarm and led by Mr. Jamie Phillips, students engaged in hands-on activities that celebrated the contributions of Black innovators to sustainable food systems.

Since it launched three years ago, Teaching for Change has hosted a table at the annual "A Day of Action," hosted by the Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery in the museum's beautiful atrium which is shared with the Smithsonian American Art Museum.

In a country that is deeply divided, the staff at Bruce Monroe @ Park View Elementary School show how to bridge that gap with a schoolwide exploration of students’ history and culture — and a commitment to activism for justice.

Elementary and Secondary Working Group Meeting

Twelve teachers from the DCAESJ elementary and secondary working groups gathered at the Teaching for Change office for a workshop on race, identity, and stereotypes in art, led by Diamond Gray of the American Visionary Art Museum.

Inspired Teaching Demonstration School (ITDS) had a successful inaugural Banned Books Week (September 23rd - 27th). From classroom read-alouds early in the week-long celebration, to guest parent speakers, and culminating in a Banned Book Character Parade, read on to learn more about the variety of ways ITDS championed the freedom to read.

2024 is Teaching for Change’s 35th anniversary. Over the last 10 years alone, more than 24,000 teachers have participated in our programs and learned ways to teach for change. In the next five years, we aim to reach teachers at 10,000 schools in the United States. We want your help to do it.

The DCAESJ hosted multiple events as part of the national Teach Truth days of action, with a "get out the vote" focus for the 2024 elections. 

DCAESJ’s early childhood working group facilitator, Makai Kellogg, co-wrote a new book, Reflection, Perspective-Taking, and Social Justice: Stories of Empathy and Kindness in the Early Childhood Classroom.

By Vanessa Williams
On Thursday, April 11th, Capital City PCS juniors took over teaching duties and facilitated workshops for their peers via the annual Capital City Youth Justice Summit. More than thirty workshops were presented on a variety of topics, including gun violence, outdoor education, and the climate crisis.

DCAESJ Working Group Meeting

The May working group meeting was held at the Teaching for Change office, and it was a reflective time for educators across all three groups to connect over a collaborative art project.

Four dozen plus local trailblazers, hundreds of students, and Eleanor Holmes Norton all gather in an auditorium. . . This may sound like the beginning of a cheesy joke, but the 4th annual Sisterhood Summit at Girls’ Global Academy couldn’t have been more moving. This year’s summit was themed “Our Stories, Our Legacies: Together, We Blaze Trails, Ignite Change, & Build Futures.” From the early morning and throughout the early afternoon, the summit captivated all who attended and participated. Read on for a glimpse into this powerful annual event!

By Marcy Campos
On Friday, May 3rd, Salvadoran author Mario Bencastro visited Houston Elementary School to share his 2021 bilingual book, Un tren llamado Esperanza, or A Train Called Hope, illustrated by Robert Casilla.

Anti-Bias Early Childhood Working Group Meeting

The meeting kicked off with a welcome and land acknowledgement. For the icebreaker, working group members shared how they have cultivated a sense of respect for and responsibility to the earth in their classrooms and the ways their schools support or undermine environmental justice.

Students in Ariel Alford’s African American history class at Hayfield Secondary School (FCPS) learned from two artists-turned-educators based in the United Kingdom who shared their stories and curriculum modules designed to champion people of African and African diaspora heritage.

Elementary and Secondary Working Group Meeting

The April elementary and secondary working group meeting centered on a problem of practice that was raised by a working group member: how to find strategies for teaching about Black history that recognize both resistance and joy. Additionally, how to find ways to involve caregivers in that learning. 

On April 9, 2024, 17 students and their teachers took a field trip to the beautiful early 20th-century building on 16th Street in Washington, D.C. The visit was part of a partnership with the school through the DCPS Embassy Adoption Program. Tubman teachers Susannah Schantz and Suzannah Danforth, along with their students, have collaborated throughout the year with embassy staff to bring lessons on Cuban culture and geography to the fifth-grade class. 

Elementary and Secondary Working Group Meeting

All three working groups met at the Phillips Collection for the March meeting. They kicked it off with group trivia, composed by the education team at the museum.

By Vanessa Williams
DCAESJ and EmpowerEd DC’s third annual Unapologetically Black Educator Story Lounge was just as powerful, moving, and joyous as the previously held events.

By Vanessa Williams
Within three minutes of entering Georgetown Day School, I noticed prospective students and their families were visiting the campus for the day. Then I ran into local historian and scholar Pat Scallen — who’s an advisor for Teach Central America and has penned lessons and stories for it — and I was warmly welcomed by Julia Tomasko, current teacher and alum of the school. While she might not have literally uttered “Come and join us” when we made our way up to her classroom, the spirit of that phrase was palpable and at the center of this school visit that day.

Teaching for Change’s Teach the Beat is honored to be a Capital City Go-Go (the NBA G-League affiliate of the Washington Wizards) partner for the 2023–2024 season. As a Go-Go partner, Teach the Beat is a featured host in the Capital City Go-Go’s Education Day Games on February 8 and March 5. Go-Go Education Day fuses a basketball game with the distinctive sound of go-go music.