Striving Readers Work Team

[Music] hi i’m scott simpson and i’m charlotte stever and we’re thai learning specialists that’s technology and innovation in education we’re officed in rapid city south dakota over the last few years we’ve been doing quite a bit of work with lucy fredricks who’s the director of indian and multicultural education in north dakota and most recently we were working on a grant with her to um to work with our team of champions in north dakota and bismarck that has been doing some work around north dakota native american essential understandings and so today we wanted to share out a little bit about the work that we’ve done with the striving readers grant in north dakota all of that’s connected in with the north dakota native american essential understandings project and a lot of a lot of lessons that have been developed over the last five or six years and really fine tuning some of that to really help our students in all areas but especially well i think i hope we’ll point out uh in literacy so just to frame a little bit about the work that we’re doing in um the application that was put together for the striving readers grant with lucy we state the overall goal for striving readers and it states that north dakota will integrate and align resources and policies to support the literacy skills of disadvantaged children birth to grade 12 to graduate choice ready with the knowledge skills and disposition to be successful in whatever they choose to do and so we chose several goals there were four goals actually that we felt this particular work could address one goal was to prioritize serving disadvantaged children and when we think about the groups subgroups of students in our state one subgroup is of course our native american students and we know historically there has been an achievement gap there and we want to make sure we’re doing something to address that things that we have been doing in the past just weren’t working and so we want to make sure that we’re prioritizing them making sure that what’s being offered in our public schools is addressing those needs specifically another goal was to implement high quality comprehensive literacy instruction that is evidence-based and i don’t know if scott if you want to talk a little bit about that but over the years like you mentioned we’ve been working on creating a set of resources that could be used for teaching the north dakota native american essential understandings in all grades in all content areas and so this was really a part of that is to look at making sure that those resources that have been created are doing what we need them to do what i appreciate is that in that goal the word comprehensive because this is about certainly about language arts and literacy standards but it’s also about the literacy that’s occurring in all content areas at all grade levels and really creating the environment for those literacy skills to be uh to be to grow and to create the right environment for learning to happen especially learning around speaking and listening and reading and writing and you know at times i think the essential understandings have been sort of looked at as something for history and social studies which is very true it’s just that there are so many ways they can be brought into other subject areas including literacy language arts so another goal that was part of the proposal was that we would provide professional development to support teachers and that was a huge part of this work um it’s actually been a real gift to us as well as we’ve been working with this team of teachers many from bismarck some from now from mandan and from grand let’s see grand forks fargo no fargo excuse me fargo um and uh we’ve been working on bringing this group together and this particular grant was able to support a gathering that was um really rich and you’ll get to see a little bit of that here in just a few moments and then finally the improve the last goal was to improve literacy outcomes which we’ve already talked about briefly so that was what we had hoped to do with the striving readers grant application and the funding that was provided through that grant program so i’ll talk just a little bit more about uh this team of champions which really came to a center place in this particular project uh they were they were kind of already mobilized and working uh thanks to great leadership uh in bismarck a school district and beyond uh mandan as well um and so we had been working with them some already uh but then they were really in a good place to begin this particular work because they all really had a really good introduction to the ndna eu and also had been in many cases implementing uh the lessons connected with those essential understandings in their classrooms already and working on that project so we took a lot of the uh the lessons and things that had been developed over the last five or six years which needed updating and really engaged this group in that specific task of updating those lessons but also then creating new lessons we updated somewhere in the neighborhood of 160 some odd lessons that really needed to be updated just things like making sure the links were all working making sure they were still aligned to the standards that they were originally designed to be aligned to and then have now engaged that same team uh in creating new lessons espec with a special eye on the areas that there weren’t lessons uh as many lessons in so this grant actually paid for then having this group of teachers come together for a full week now it was supposed to be in person but of course with the pandemic we shifted and we ended up doing it in a virtual setting which i think actually ended up being great the interaction was very rich so this work week was designed then to take on those two tasks update the current resources and create a new set of resources to add to it and that i think was really well accomplished this group of teachers they were so amazing i should say teachers and educators because there were a variety of positions involved but the work week itself just provided for opportunities for us to be together through zoom where we talked through the importance of the work we had already done a course together earlier this summer with the team of champions work around the essential understanding so that was all still very fresh in people’s minds but then took it this step deeper to dig into so what has been created what are those resources that are out there and so every lesson that has been created over the past few years had a chance to be looked at again and something i don’t know i don’t think we expected this benefit from it but one of the really great things that happened is because of all that deep work in those lessons teachers the educators who were involved suddenly became aware of these lessons in a way that they hadn’t been before only a few of them had been involved in writing those initially and so that was really wonderful to see that i think they became aware of the lessons i think they also became very aware of issues in their schools and in their settings in their districts that maybe they weren’t aware of before because of the rich conversations we had three zoom meetings the first two really to help set the stage for the work they were going to be doing and then to check on how that work was going answer questions the last zoom meeting uh really was near the end they were they were all getting close to wrapping things up and that’s when uh we kind of encouraged them to have some discussions about some of the learnings and some of the maybe the aha moments uh some of the important uh issues that kind of came up to the surface and had a great discussion and i will also add importantly i think a diverse discussion because we had uh indigenous elders we had educators everyone we had non-indigenous educators non-indigenous administrators we had a really great group of diverse folks working on this team and so everyone was bringing something a little bit different and made a lot of progress so we’re really excited to show you uh we’ve selected a few clips uh from that uh that meeting uh so the video quality won’t be the greatest but it’s you know we all know that we’ve done a lot of zooms recently so uh but i think you’ll be able to hear and to see the excitement and the learning uh in everyone’s voice uh so we’re gonna take a look at uh about three um uh moments that came out uh during this zoom meeting and then we’ll maybe uh draw a couple of connections there and then look at the uh the rest after that so i think this first one we’re going to listen to is kathy fralick right [Music] it’s been quite the experience those standards are kind of overwhelming i can imagine teachers trying to go in and figure all that out um but one of the things one of the lessons i was working on which it’s taking me time but anyway it was on tribal language native language um and as i was looking at the standards it all kind of fit under foreign language and i was wondering as i was looking for how it how what standards to use why there isn’t a separate standard for north dakota tribal languages this is not a foreign language it’s the most indigenous language that i know and that bothered me a little bit that there isn’t a separate area i just think that you know while most tribes are in some form of revitalization that it just adds a message to our education world that it is important and valued that it isn’t a foreign language that it impacts so many of the other areas [Music] and i also i believe that our educational system was not made for our indigenous peoples it was weaponized against them so there is there’s a lot of systematic thought that needs to go into addressing those issues so it goes way beyond just you know it’s it’s a language it’s the way we need to think about our indigenous peoples it’s the total overhaul that we need to do in our society and that hard work [Music] i have a comment you know you brought up uh south dakota and i did teach there for three years and one of the things that they did was they had 400 minutes a week that students were spending on culture and i know we’re far cry from that because i think about the you know i spend uh time teaching in the classroom language and culture a week but i don’t have all of the students but we do have the students on monday mornings we spend from 8 30 till about 9 15 the students are 7th through 12th grade are in the gymnasium and we do uh smudging prayer and we have students come out and they will share the language or the culture we’ll have drumming and we’ll have singing and dancing so you know it is getting better but yet uh you know i knew that those languages were being addressed as foreign and one of my comments has always been that i can remember growing up and going to school and having left a home where it was rich in language and culture and you know coming to school where it was sterile and there wasn’t any language and culture and i feel like i’m beating my head against the wall again you know having this conversation about our indigenous language that is rooted here in north dakota every one of these languages are vital and they’re in the water they’re in the trees they’re in the land and we’re still saying you know that it’s it’s foreign when actually you know that does need to be addressed so that our students and uh upper i mean the mainstream can know that you know these are still vital they’re still being spoken and they’re important with the values and everything that we are as indigenous people so that our students can really celebrate who they are and know their identity yes so some really great insights there i think from a couple of elders and a culture specialist who are all indigenous themselves uh in north dakota about things that really i think impact literacy learning and learning in general when the system or the way we see language or the way we see uh culture the way we make uh flexible space for culture things that are connected with the local students in the local community in ways that really make that environment for literacy learning uh a place where that can happen and those were really just some highlights you know the conversation we were zooming together for um well over an hour and those are just a few of the highlights that came out of that first part of our discussion i think one of the things that happened that’s an example of some of the insights of issues maybe that still remain that are still blocking the learning blocking the literacy learning in our in some of our schools and then some of the other members of the team uh began to talk about how we how can we mobilize how can we address some of these issues what can we do next what are some of our next steps and so we’re going to listen to a few of those members share some things now actually it makes me think of one thing i was looking into um i started to look at the professional development um things that we have and i’m thinking of our team of champions work and the conversation that we had earlier with shelby too um of like becoming those advocates and becoming the people who can disrupt the system um and one thing that i applaud sashay on is your ability to uh do this work but you also and i bought is not the right trend like you push for this work and you also say it’s going to be uncomfortable you’re learning and that’s okay and you’re going to make mistakes and it’s almost this combination of like well maybe the idea is like you’re you’re a warm demander of i want better but i also know it’s going to be hard and uncomfortable um i’m thinking of the circles of trust is that the right um the yeah the circle of trust touchstones that’s on the teaching of our elders website but we if i’m right about this we haven’t gone through that this group um and i think that would be core in helping me at least become a true champion i’m not just knowing the lessons and not just knowing um the seven essential understandings deeply and believing in it but how do i have these tough conversations and it’s hard to say tough conversations when you believe in it and you just want to see things different and move things forward but we know that if we really want to disrupt the system we have to have these tough conversations but to do them well we have to establish trust we have to like sashay does we have to create these spaces of vulnerability and learning and unlearning um so i’d be curious about that as we’re talking about moving this work forward um i personally need to get skilled up in that work [Music] i think that something that maybe would be helpful in that dismantling of um racism in schools is just um a set of questions that could be a starting point for the north dakota school administrators or whatever to look at and examine um like what are the white structures what are the institutionalized um like racist structures of the way our schools are designed the way our classrooms are designed the way um like physically but also instructionally um you know as a white girl who grew up in north dakota who had a pretty traditional public education you know um i am not really aware personally of you know the way that i this is how school was for me and this is how it just always it still is you know and so i think that a movement um for this group and i hope to see um as a part of the anti-racist movement is just like how can schools um work to um self-examine um how do we do things and a lot of us are white unfortunately in our schools um that are diverse and so how can we challenge some of the thought and i don’t really know what that would look like but um i think that some of that needs to really start to happen in north dakota schools and to say you know um are we really structuring this in a way that is white are we you know or is this is this really computing with the brains of kids of all different cultures um and i don’t really know where that would start but um that might be the next chapter in the development of not curriculum but um the development of guidelines for schools to start to examine [Music] well i mean that may be a way to look at the standards and look at sort of you know sort of inclusively that there are some systematic changes that this group could help to model [Music] you know if you’re going to work in fargo schools work in north dakota these are things that you need to do you need to get the circle of trust training you need to have exposure to all of these things so one of the things melody has done is uh reached out to her superintendent administrators and others and has uh made this as a plan you know if we’re going to really do anything there is already a product you know the indian aeu so what i found kind of exciting is that you know it seems like everyone’s mind is on some of these really important issues and awareness that’s even bigger than just our schools and our state but kind of part of the national conversation right now becoming aware non-indigenous teachers becoming aware what are the things that are really designed in a way that are that cause our indigenous students or other students who don’t quite fit that mold to not be able to do as well and you know what’s interesting is that’s another kind of literacy if you know if literacy is being able to to decode and make meaning out of written language out of spoken language another part of literacy is being able to make meaning out of that social engagement if i look at a place and i see that this person’s struggling with something am i able to look around and say well of course we’ve got this blockage that’s in the way and that’s what i think what good teachers are wanting to do and excited about doing that’s really you’re you’re talking really about the culturally responsive practices that we have been working on especially with this team of champions but with in other places i know many school districts are taking that on how do we make sure that the instruction that we’re providing the experiences our students are having in school meet the needs of every student of every learner no matter their background no matter their socioeconomic status no matter their culture their race or whatever other part of who they are part of their identity that they aren’t feeling on the outside of that and you know with this particular group this particular work that happened i knew it would be great just because they’re wonderful people involved i didn’t realize unprompted that these teachers would bring up such rich and deep concerns and issues for education and i really feel like they have some of those answers of how to go about making this happen and so i’m excited when i think about they’re talking about next steps i’m excited for those next steps what is it that we do now knowing some of the things that we became aware of through this process a couple of other things we’d like to share with you uh there was while this all was going on face to face on the zoom uh there was also a lot going on in the chat so i’m gonna share a couple of these things we’ll put those up on the screen and read through those for you uh just some really great interactions that we wanted to capture and then share with you so jt shining one side whom you heard from said for instance i thought everyone on my res grew up knowing their anishinabe identity unfortunately that was not the case how do we create lessons to get teacher administrator student involvement to want to talk about these ideas and grow together important work and another one from vonda dahl who is on this call as well to add to that thought jt as the district coaching coordinator i am thinking of ways to make turning to these lessons a natural part of every teacher’s lesson planning it would be tragic to have these lessons relegated to a thematic unit or week of culture and then jt responded i agree we have a month dedicated to indigenous uh in november we can do better the work is there we just need to put the work out there and touch base with the teachers and parents each week and love this from alex dakota you guys are awesome i love listening to you all tackle this most important work that most choose to avoid we’ll pull them in and jt responded right alex we need to use the north dakota standards in the work so teachers know it’s important and valid in the classroom do you have the link to show these standards and then lastly from jt i would be interested as that is an area to help teach and learn from each other in north dakota i love the woolokota project work also makes my spirit feel valued well and having your spirit feel valued is a key i think a key thing for our students and for our teachers as well literacy skills are developed as i connect personally with whatever it is i’m reading whatever it is i’m listening to and when i’m in an environment where the things around me uh give me a sense that i’m my identity is not really valued and that happens to so many of our of our uh students who are people of color uh that because of the bias that’s built in um they oftentimes don’t see themselves in the stories we’re reading they don’t they don’t see themselves in the structures in the school they don’t see themselves in the processes that we go through knowing that i have a place here knowing that my identity is valued enables me then to connect not just with things that are coming from my own culture but that enables me to connect with things that are coming from other cultures um and so that’s such an important piece of this so we are really thankful to be invited into this work we’re very thankful for lucy frederick’s leadership and vision around this work and that she sees the importance and value of making sure that teachers have opportunities like what we just had with this group and so we want to express our gratitude for the funding that was provided for this and the time and of course all of the talent and energy and everything from the teachers who have been a part of it and we really look forward to what this might lead to next right so thank you so much uh in a nutshell uh the work has created a great uh and strengthened a great group of the champions and their work and they’re spearheading that taking leadership and it’s produced uh i think well over by the time we’re done well over 200 really up to date lesson plans that are going to be out there for all our teachers to use where they can bring together their standards and the indian aeu in culturally responsive ways in so many ways north dakota is leading the way oh yeah yes so thank you for allowing us to be involved and we look forward to what we can do together in the future be well thanks [Music] you