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Fonkou Djoendia joined Henrico Schools' Equity and Diversity Advisory Committee to help ensure that Henrico County's public schools are inclusive.
At its first meeting Sept. 24, Djoendia, a young African American man, made it clear that he wants to get the sense the he and other committee members are creating effective and lasting change.
"Bullying is a huge thing for me," he said. "I feel that it is a big problem. And with this committee, I feel that we can address some of those issues and actually make things better."
During the past decade, Henrico's public school system has witnessed a significant change demographically, Henrico Schools' Director of Equity and Diversity Monica Manns told committee members during the meeting at the Eastern Henrico Government Center. “There has to be a paradigm shift internally to make sure we are meeting the needs of everyone or most. In order for us to do that, we have to change some of our belief systems, some of our processes, some of our programming. The demographics of the whole country are changing and we need to be proactive in our response instead of reactive.”
The school system created Manns’ position last year, after a racially-charged incident at Short Pump Middle School made national news. It hired her earlier this year at a salary of $99,000 annually.
Her department now is in the final planning stages of several projects to support principals, teachers, and students, according to a newsletter it published.
“The ‘gift of diversity’ will literally be handed to principals during the first week of October,” the newsletter read. “This 'gift' is a box that contains resources and tools to guide educators in the classroom and the entire school.”
Religious sensitivity is one aspect of diversity support that is included in those resources and includes the religions that are practiced by the majority of HCPS staff members and students: Christianity and Catholicism; Judaism; Islam; and Hinduism.
Charts, calendars and information about decisions related to the needs and requests of stakeholders are included in the sensitivity documents.
The materials also include a thorough outline that teachers and administrators may use to begin the study and celebration of four cultural histories and heritages; in addition to Black History and Heritage Month, most often observed in February, the materials include information about Hispanic-Latino heritage, Native American heritage and Asian-Pacific American heritage as well.
The Department of Equity and Diversity is supporting instructional leadership by incorporating the principles of multicultural education into instructional practices, according to the newsletter.
“To support the implementation of multicultural education strategies, our Social Studies and History department, part of the HCPS Department of Instruction, will receive equity and diversity training,” it read.
Mike Hasely, the district specialist for history and social studies, has identified a variety of trainings that will:
• Assist teachers and administrators with how to use culturally appropriate, systematic decision-making approaches to create learning objectives that intersect multicultural content, goals and activities with subject-specific curricular standards;
• Teach teachers how to be intentional in the inclusion of all people to ensure that students not only learn historical facts, but also develop the ability to identify diverse groups of people who contributed;
• Identify and provide written perspective about issues of social justice within the historical context.
Research suggests that students of color are more likely to engage with information when they see themselves as a reflection of the cultural fabric of the United States, according to the newsletter.
As for the students, a “windows and mirrors” paradigm will enhance K-12 literary and English instruction by providing students with culturally diverse literature that should serve to affirm students’ identities, cultures, and experiences.
“Finding themselves in a text validates their lived experiences… Providing students with a window broadens perspective and nurtures an appreciation of new ideas and experiences,” according to the newsletter.
The Department of Equity and Diversity is implementing programming to support pre-K through 12th grade instruction and with the help of school staff and members of the community, the multi-cultural and literary program has chosen seven themes: Courage/Confidence, Belonging/Community, Hope/Grief/Loss, Friendship/Shared Identity, Curiosity/Wonder, Love/Kindness, and Resilience/Perseverance.
At Monday's meeting, the committee also voted unanimously to create a fourth subcommittee, called One Henrico.
