Spring 2014 News and Updates

América Calderón

"America Calderon pointed at me and told me I would lead the summer program," Olga Salazar said. "She did not even know who I was. I was sure she did not mean me. But here I am and I will continue." This is one of many testimonies shared at the celebration of the life of our dear colleague, America Calderon. America passed away in April after a yearlong battle with cancer. She was in her home country of Guatemala. You are welcome to add your own story about America or learn more about America's life and legacy.

Three more giants, who have informed and inspired our work, passed away this month: Vincent Harding, William Worthy, and Maya Angelou.

In the spirit of carrying on in the shoes of these freedom fighters, we have lots of stories to share from this spring about parent organizing, youth activism, dialogues with noted poets and authors, new board members, and more. Thank you for your support in this journey. We look forward to your comments or questions about this update.

Sincerely,

Deborah Menkart

Teaching for Change

Where are the People of Color?

In the last five years, only 10% of children's books published were about people of color despite the fact that 37% of the U.S. population are people of color.

In a March op-ed in the New York Times, Christopher Myers described this situation as an "apartheid of literature."

This is one of the reasons that, despite the financial odds, we are doing all we can do keep the Teaching for Change Bookstore at Busboys and Poets in operation. In the bookstore we demonstrate that there is tremendous interest in books featuring children of color if they are made visible and available. In fact, close to 90% of the children's books we sell are by or about people of color. Read more here.

Activism in Education

Update: Victory in Sight
for Orr Elementary

$39 million for Orr's renovation! Parents and community members are proud that their advocacy efforts led officials to restore funding for their school's modernization to the FY15 D.C. budget. Read more.

Student Questions for
SNCC Veteran

"Did you ever feel like giving up?" was one of dozens of questions students in Birmingham asked SNCC veteran Dorie Ladner when she "visited" their class via the internet. The students tweeted throughout. Read more.

Elevating Students, Elevating Teachers

Food Justice Teach-In:
When the Students
Become the Teachers

Students of former TfC staff member Jill Weiler led a school wide Food Justice Teach-In on the intersections of food, economics, and environmental justice. Attendees learned about fast food, GMOs, grocery store deserts, and more. Check it out.

The Collective Stories Were Bigger Than Each of Us: Speakeasy Teacher Event Rocks the House

"As a member of the public, I rarely get a chance to hear the honest and real challenges teachers face," said Denna Lambert in appreciation for the Speakeasy event co-hosted by Teaching for Change. Read more.

Stories from Our Bookstore

Festival of Poems of Provocation and Witness

We were honored to co-sponsor and coordinate the book sales for the 2014 Split This Rock: Poetry of Provocation and Witness, a festival of activist poets from all over the country.

Pearl Cleage: Things I Should Have Told My Daughter

We have had many wonderful events this spring with authors including Maude Barlow, Junius Williams, and Susan Carle. One of the highlights was Pearl Cleage.

Upcoming Author Events


Wednesday May 28	Monday June 2	Monday June 9	Wednesday June 18

Still Putting the Movement Back into
Civil Rights Teaching

McComb Student is Featured Speaker on National Freedom Summer Panel

McComb high school student Noah Martin was selected to participate on panel for the national summit for youth about Freedom Summer, hosted by the Smithsonian Institution. Read more.

Black History 360:
Summer at the Schomburg
for Teachers

We're going back this summer to the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture to present at the fifth annual Black History 360 Summer Institute. Read more.

Turning the Tables on Parent-School Relations

Listen Up! Professional Development for Family Engagement Practitioners

Fantastic community and parent organizers from across the country attended the National Family Engagement Conference in Cincinnati--and we were invited to present! Read more.

Parents and Teachers Swap Stories About What
Children Can Do

Parents and teachers in D.C. are building relationships and learning from each other through parent-teacher Grade Level Dialogues, a signature Tellin' Stories activity. Read more.

Teaching People's History

'Power In Our Hands' Labor Lessons Now Available

The Zinn Education Project has just posted all the labor lessons from The Power in Our Hands: A Curriculum on the History of Work and Workers in the United States by Bill Bigelow and Norm Diamond for free access online. Read more.

Defending Howard Zinn

As a result of a campaign by American Federation of Teachers (AFT) members, a letter to the editor from the Zinn Education Project was published in the AFT journal in response to an attack on Howard Zinn. Here's what we said.

Internal Strength and Smarts

Fair Chance Selects Teaching for Change for Year Two!

Teaching for Change was selected by Fair Chance for a second year of pro-bono organizational development. Read more.

Welcome to Our New Teaching for Change Board Members

We are excited to welcome Sylvia Sanchez, Mike O'Brien, and Timothy Jenkins to the Teaching for Change Board of Directors. Read more.

Support the Work

Teaching for Change provides teachers and parents with the tools to create schools where students learn to read, write, and change the world. You can help us continue this work.