The information provided below can serve as useful links to support your families and students when the need arises to have brave conversations about immigration and diversity.

Immigration Integration Webinars

The Immigrant Learning Center Public Education Institute brings the latest research and best practices for today’s immigration issues to educators, immigrant-serving organizations, faith communities and the public through free, interactive webinars. Please click here to check out the webinars and resources. 

The ILC has compiled a watchlist of movies, TV shows and documentaries featuring immigrants and immigration stories. Stay occupied during this pandemic with our informative, interesting and inspiring options. We've included streaming locations to make it simple.

Jessica Madden-Fuoco, the Director of Teaching and Learning at Boston Green Academy, wrote a restorative justice circle plan "To Immigrants with Love" to affirm and embrace our students, staff, families, and neighbors who are immigrants. It's the first circle in the Boston Green Academy Circle Plan document. Please note: some parts will require modification for early elementary students because of sensitive content/language.

The Boston Teachers Union (BTU) curated a list of immigration resources for students, families and allies too! Make sure to visit their online resource website for additional information to support your students and families. Also, make sure to add their Google Drive folder to your drive for easy access, and below please find the hyperlinks to share the resources with others!

• Framework: bit.ly/unafraideducatorsframework

• How to Get Involved one-pager: bit.ly/unafraidgetinvolved

• Unafraid toolkit: bit.ly/unafraidtoolkit

• College Guide: bit.ly/unafraidcollegeguide

• College access one-pager: bit.ly/unafraidcollegehandout

• Unafraid reading list for educators: bit.ly/unafraidreadinglist

• Scholarship: bit.ly/unafraidscholarship (application) and bit.ly/unafraiddonate (donations)

• Folder with template letters supporting in-state tuition (previous advocacy we have done): bit.ly/unafraidtuitionbill2019

BTU also organizes a series of events to get educators together to support our undocumented students and families. Please visit their webpage here to learn more about what you can do to support their cause.

Still having trouble finding useful college prep and scholarship information for your students? Try BTU's Resources for Undocumented Students Applying to College doc to get you started.

The Office of Equity aims to ensure that the Boston Public Schools is an educational and working environment unimpeded by bias or discrimination, where individuals of all backgrounds and experiences are welcomed, included, encouraged, and can succeed and flourish. For more information, please visit the following links to learn more about the BPS Nondiscrimination Policy and Reporting of Bias-Based Conduct.

Interested in finding our more about the Office of Equity? Make sure to visit their site or review their policies in various languages.

Natacha Scott and Josue Sakata, Director and Assistant Director of History and Social Studies for BPS, have curated an amazing guide to keep educators informed, prevent the spread of misinformation, and share resources in order to assist educators in having brave conversations with their students.

NEW: Resources for Discussing Racism in the Classroom

These resources collected by the SEL and History/Social Studies Departments provides strategies and content to support conversations about racism in the classroom.

Contact for additional information: Natacha Scott, ntorres2@bostonpublicschools.org; Carla Burley, cburley@bostonpublicschools.org

The Office of Social Emotional Learning and Wellness has assembled the following resources and strategies to help reduce students' academic, social, emotional and/or physical stress.

• "What is Stress"(featured above or click on the following link: Video)
• The Michigan Model for Health is a Comprehensive K-12 Health Education Curriculum available to BPS schools that includes Social Emotional Learning Units that address stress. The Michigan Model for Health: Skills for Health and Life comprehensive health education curriculum offers lessons in the following grades:
  • Grade 6: Stress Less: Many Ways to Handle Stress
  • Grade 7-8: Safe and Sound for Life: Social Emotional Health and Safety - many of the lessons in this binder are related to stress reduction techniques
  • High School: Social Emotional Health (Unit 2) has lessons on Self Awareness: A Key to Stress Management and What Teens Need to Know about Stress

• Teachers can also download the Stress Lessons Toolkit, which features seven engaging lessons including videos, here: http://www.morethanmedication.ca/en/stress_lessons/insiders?educators

• Guided meditations from "Mindfulness for Teens" can be useful to integrate into any lesson during the school day and students can listen on their own at home.

• Education, Training and Research offers a lesson plan from Health Smart/High School: Ways to Manage Stress (Emotional and Mental Health Lesson 6) in their sample lessons.

  For more information on the above or to inquire about professional development for your school, please contact Suzy Spressert at sspressert@bostonpublicschools.org.
• Wellness Toolkit
  • Developed by Children's Hospital and Debbie Cohen. Multiple BPS schools (PE teachers and Wellness Champions) have been trained to use this curriculum. It has lesson plans, visuals and narration to assist with integrating meditation, visualization and yoga into the classroom
  • http://www.bpshealthandwellness.org/pe-pa/wellness-toolkit/

    • In order to access this content, please use the following password when prompted by the BPS Health and Wellness page: B3W3ll 

The Office of Opportunity and Achievement Gaps (OOAG) works to build the capacity of schools to develop and create meaningful opportunities for marginalized student groups, which include immigrant students, to flourish and grow academically for the purpose of closing gaps in proficiency and personal growth. For more information make sure to check out OOAG's resource toolkit.

Still interested in learning more about the OOAG team? Visit their webpage and find contact information for the team.

The amazing team at Usable Knowledge, a resource page for the Harvard Graduate School of Education, have gathered a variety of resources and inspirational stories to help educators work with children and build trust in the classroom. Make sure to check out their new series, One and All, which shares details about developing a community where all students can thrive.

Make sure to visit their latest addition on Supporting Undocumented Students!

Harvard Graduate School of Education Justice in Schools team conducted a case study in New Jersey about a School Culture Committee and how they wrestled with a series of events that challenged their ability to maintain inclusive learning environments that are welcoming to all students.

Please click here to check out this study!

The Justice in Schools team also conducted another case study on"Politics, Partisanship, and Pedagogy: What Should be Controversial in the Classroom?", which probes the challenges that emerge when teachers must balance competing democratic commitments to educating critical thinkers who engage with diverse viewpoints, on the one hand, and instilling common civic values, on the other.

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