For More Information Contact H.A. Jabar at admin@rjndmv.org

Beginning in October of 2017, during the Dignity in Schools Campaign national week of action, the West Dayton Youth Task Force (WDYTF), Racial Justice NOW! (RJN!) and the Dignity in Schools Campaign (DSC) released the beginning of an ongoing project- the Culturally Relevant Curriculum and Culturally Responsive Schools Toolkit.

This toolkit is a compilation of information from a variety of sources. This information is shared online for free and trainers can be brought in to your respective locale for additional and specified training.  You can also view our past culturally relevant curriculum webinar series HERE. Please continue to visit this page for updates.

1. 1.  An introduction with the mission and vision of WDYTF, RJN! and DSC, which explains how culturally relevant curriculum fights the school-to-prison pipeline.
   2. Definitions of key terms like pedagogy, culture, curriculum, Rites of Passage and more!
   3. Research and scholarly articles on the positive impacts of culturally relevant curriculum from Dr. Molefi Asante, Dr. Gloria Ladson-Billings and Dr. Cheryl Grills.
   4. The “Centric Idea,” which was the greatest takeaway from year one of WDYTF and RJN!’s campaign. “Through observations, inquiry, and discussion, I’ve found that children who are centered in their own cultural information are better students, more disciplined, and have greater motivation for school work.” – Dr. Molefi Asante, Article: Afro-centric Curriculum, Educational Leadership, Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development
      
   5. A Guide for Advocates, including how to add books to your school’s course of study, how to approach your school board and superintendent, how to change curriculum, and how to measure how culturally responsive your school is. Click HERE for the Culturally Relevant Curriculum Advocate Guide.
   6. School Cultural Assessment Matrix (SCAM) Guide–TM Victor Gibson

Watch an interview with Victor Gibson on the School Cultural Assessment Matrix (SCAM)

9. In the future, we hope to publish a Book List featuring examples for different subjects in school like novels, poetry, fiction and non-fiction, including titles such as The Mis-Education of the Negro and Up From Slavery and more!

Best Practices in Culturally Relevant Pedagogy for Black Students with a Specific Focus on the Mathematics Classroom

In this Webinar, Master math Instructor, Akil Parker describes certain best practices in culturally relevant pedagogy for Black students with a specific focus on the mathematics classroom. He also provides an introduction to his methodology entitled “Histematics” which formally merges African-Centered Historiography with Mathematics.

Akil Parker retired from the School District of Philadelphia in 2018 to grow and develop his math tutoring and educational consulting company, All This Math, LLC. He works diligently to empower youth through mathematics education. He worked in Philadelphia Public School classrooms as a math teacher for over 15 years, teaching courses ranging from pre-algebra to calculus, including state-standardized test prep and SAT/ACT prep.

Special guest K. Lynn Morton from Women of God’s Design Ministry covers topics of culturally relative restorative justice and restorative practices.

Racial Justice NOW! staff are available for:

Professional development for administrators, teachers, schools, school districts, teacher unions, community organizations, and others.

1. Presentations- Staff will use a power point presentation along with the online toolkit to thoroughly explain the who, when, why, what, and where of each section. Staff will host question and answer time and engage in scenario situations to increase understanding.

2. Workshops- Staff will use a power point presentation along with the the online toolkit to thoroughly explain the who, when, why, what, and where of each section. Staff will host question and answer time and engage in scenario situations to increase understanding. Following the presentation staff will teach attendees interactive classroom activities and techniques, utilize “circle time” to show by example how to build community, and

3. Gallery walk- In addition to a presentation and/or workshop, attendees are partnered together and given a series of 7questions to discuss together while walking around a series of 7 – 12 visuals that are displayed throughout a room. Partner groups walk around visuals discussing the questions and at completion come back to a “community circle”. Attendees then dialogue about what they saw and their answers to questions. Visuals are based on themes, which are chosen at the time of booking. Some themes include: American education system history, Black education history pre-America, and contributions of African Americans to society (based on Portland Baseline Essays).

Fill out the form below for more information.