As families of school-aged children and teens prepare to wind down summer and start the school year, we offer 5 steps you can take to center anti-racism in this process.
- For the youngest children returning to school, it is important to talk to preschoolers/kindergarteners in a developmentally appropriate way about anti-racism. Sesame Street offers multiple resources, including a Town Hall about race from 2020 (https://www.cnn.com/2020/06/06/app-news-section/cnn-sesame-street-race-town-hall-app-june-6-2020-app/index.html), an episode about learning to be an “Upstander” (https://www.sesameworkshop.org/what-we-do/racial-justice/watch-and-play-together), and additional games and tools for parents to address these issues with their children further (https://www.sesameworkshop.org/what-we-do/racial-justice).
- Fill your child’s backpack and shelves with books about race for children at different ages and educational levels. Learn about what to look for in children’s books featuring characters of color https://theconversation.com/rooting-out-racism-in-childrens-books-149432, then check out these book lists to help you get started: https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/antiracist-books-for-kids-and-teens/, https://www.todaysparent.com/family/books/kids-books-that-talk-about-racism/#gallery/books-that-talk-about-racism/slide-29,
- The COVID-19 pandemic has made the return to this school year challenging for all families, and Black youth have been disproportionately impacted. Read this report from the Society of Research in Child Development about the differential impact of the pandemic on children’s school progress and educational gains, and consider how you might advocate for policies to help close this gap: https://www.srcd.org/research/addressing-inequities-education-considerations-black-children-and-youth-era-covid-19
- Keep up with current news about how schools teach students about race (https://www.texastribune.org/2021/07/09/texas-critical-race-theory-schools-legislation/), learn about critical race theory (https://www.edweek.org/leadership/what-is-critical-race-theory-and-why-is-it-under-attack/2021/05), and read about teachers’ perspectives on how this could impact their teaching (https://www.texastribune.org/2021/08/03/texas-critical-race-theory-social-studies-teachers/)
- With everything students, families, and communities have gone through over the past couple years, mental health concerns are peaking (https://www.usnews.com/news/health-news/articles/2021-03-04/childrens-mental-health-crisis-could-be-a-next-wave-in-the-pandemic. Be sure you are aware of how to access mental health support in schools: https://www.texastribune.org/series/texas-schools-mental-health/