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July 2019 Envision Equity

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'Literacy &' Street academy March Together and<br />

more!<br />

1<br />

Photo, Getty Images


ENVISION EQUITY JULY <strong>2019</strong><br />

“Literacy &”<br />

Camps Keep Students Engaged This Summer<br />

By Abdul Sharif, Generalist—Diversity, <strong>Equity</strong>, and Poverty Department<br />

As Jefferson County Public Schools<br />

(JCPS) students return to<br />

classrooms this fall, many of them—<br />

especially those from historically<br />

disadvantaged student groups—will begin<br />

the school year with achievement levels<br />

lower than they were at the beginning of<br />

summer break. This phenomenon is known<br />

as the summer slide, and has been the<br />

subject of educational research dating<br />

back to the early 1900s.<br />

Above, JCPS student Antoni Salazar displays his certificate at the Literacy<br />

& Production closing ceremony.<br />

Photos, Abdul Sharif<br />

A May 2018 study by the United States<br />

Department of Education titled The<br />

Summer After Kindergarten: Children’s<br />

Experiences by Socioeconomic<br />

Characteristics found that during the<br />

summer after kindergarten, 83 percent of<br />

children from low-income households did<br />

not have regular care arrangements with<br />

someone other than their parents<br />

compared to 70 percent of those from nonpoor<br />

homes. Higher-income students were<br />

also more likely to attend summer camp,<br />

with 38 percent of non-poor students<br />

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ENVISION EQUITY JULY <strong>2019</strong><br />

attending a day camp, compared to 13 percent of near-poor students and 7 percent of<br />

poor students.<br />

Many studies suggest that in order to overcome the summer slide, students from lowincome<br />

households must be given opportunities to attend high-quality summer camps<br />

with access to culturally inclusive reading materials, caring adults, and engaging<br />

curriculum.<br />

Above, students attend the Literacy & Photography closing program<br />

at Engelhard Elementary School.<br />

To combat the summer<br />

slide, JCPS Chief <strong>Equity</strong><br />

Officer Dr. John Marshall<br />

created “Literacy &”<br />

camps during the<br />

summer of 2015. “Literacy<br />

&” programs connect<br />

standards-based literacy<br />

instruction to characterbuilding<br />

opportunities<br />

using grade-levelappropriate<br />

books with<br />

themes connected to<br />

each program. Program<br />

themes include confidence, competition, activism, compassion, and diversity. In all<br />

programs, students make text, self, and world connections while increasing student<br />

engagement.<br />

This summer, our “Literacy &” camp offerings have more than doubled, with such<br />

themes as production, drama, karate, chess, robotics, and more. With 21 camps to<br />

choose from, JCPS parents were able to enroll students in “Literacy &” camps located in<br />

nine schools, the JCPS Satellite Office @ Shawnee, and Burnett Avenue Baptist Church.<br />

Our newest summer camp is Literacy & Production, which took place at the JCPS<br />

Satellite Office @ Shawnee. With help from the JCPS Communications department, the<br />

“Literacy & Production” summer camp exposed JCPS students to careers in the media<br />

production industry. Students were able to work hands-on with professional news<br />

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ENVISION EQUITY JULY <strong>2019</strong><br />

broadcasters, radio hosts, and videographers. Students learned how to record and edit<br />

videos, conduct interviews, make podcasts, and write scripts, to name a few. During the<br />

literacy portion of the camp, students read the book Ms. Cuddy Is Nutty by Dan Gutman.<br />

Students worked with JCPS teachers Tonda Mack of Crosby Middle School and Jill Byrd of<br />

Luhr Elementary School.<br />

Above, parents attend the Literacy & Production closing<br />

program.<br />

During the Literacy & Production summer<br />

camp, students learned what it was like<br />

to work in front of a news camera.<br />

Bailee, a student from Lincoln<br />

Elementary School, interviewed JCPS<br />

Satellite Offices Supervisor Don Dillard<br />

for her production project. Bailee said it<br />

was “fun being in front of the camera”<br />

but it was also “scary” at the same time.<br />

Emmaline, a student at Lincoln<br />

Elementary School, spent most of her<br />

time during camp working on editing and<br />

podcasting. Aiden, who attends Luhr Elementary School, created a video called “Book<br />

Talks,” in which he gave his honest review of the camp’s required reading. Aiden stated<br />

that recording the video was fun, but also tiring.<br />

One of the lessons that teachers emphasized during the Literacy & Production camp was<br />

for students to overcome mistakes and keep going. Ms. Byrd made sure to let students<br />

know that even adults “mess up” and it is important to learn from mistakes and keep<br />

pushing on.<br />

“Literacy &” programs are one of many options JCPS students have this summer to<br />

combat the summer slide. Select “Literacy &” programs are also offered after school<br />

during the academic year and during fall and spring breaks. For more information or to<br />

register for any of the camps, contact Taylor Utley at (502) 485-6331 or<br />

taylor.utley@jefferson.kyschools.us.<br />

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ENVISION EQUITY JULY <strong>2019</strong><br />

Street Academy<br />

Students Graduate<br />

With Honor!<br />

By Charles Davis—Coordinator, <strong>Equity</strong> & Inclusion Unit<br />

Street Academy is an education enhancement program that provides<br />

academic enrichment, increased social/behavioral skills, and cultural<br />

enrichment for targeted male students of Jefferson County Public<br />

Schools. Street Academy instruction emphasizes a direct reading<br />

curriculum model with literacy enhancements. Additionally, students<br />

engage with martial arts and chess professionals to increase discipline and<br />

self-resiliency skills. Lastly, there is a parental involvement requirement with<br />

that consists of scheduled parent workshops throughout the school year.<br />

Photos, Abdul Sharif<br />

The young men in Street Academy are taught movement in unison. Learning<br />

controlled movement teaches the young men how to be connected with<br />

their “physical and mental selves” and their surrounding environment. They<br />

are also taught active listening, self- awareness, personal pride, courtesy and<br />

respect for their fellow man and woman. Finally, experiential Learning<br />

provides opportunities for Street Academy participants to connect lessons<br />

from Street Academy sessions and school to “real-world” situations.<br />

Opportunities such as visiting the Muhammad Ali Center give students<br />

insights into other cultures, perspectives and world views.<br />

This past June the Street Academy program graduated more than 20<br />

students during a ceremony held at Roosevelt-Perry Elementary School.<br />

Please enjoy some of the photos we captured during the event!<br />

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ENVISION EQUITY JULY <strong>2019</strong><br />

Above, Ballard student Conner Wilson conducting an oral history<br />

interview with Kip Mackie, retired JCPS teacher and community<br />

March Together:<br />

Understanding Kentucky’s Civil Rights History<br />

The following article documents various<br />

activities during a year-long Civil Rights<br />

Oral History Project at Ballard High<br />

School (BHS), in partnership with the Kentucky<br />

Center for African American Heritage (KCAAH),<br />

August 2018 to May <strong>2019</strong>.<br />

By Aukram Burton and Laura Younkin<br />

Ignorance remains the operative word when it<br />

comes to the Civil Rights Movement and the<br />

contributions of African Americans in American<br />

history. In a report titled, Teaching the Movement<br />

2014: The State of Civil Rights Education in the<br />

United States, prepared by the Southern Poverty<br />

Law Center under the guidance of Teaching<br />

Tolerance, documents the fact that most states<br />

demanded little instruction about the Civil Rights<br />

Movement. The report states:<br />

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Continue on next page


In casting the movement as a regional matter, or a topic significant to African-American<br />

students only, the states failed to recognize the profound national significance of the<br />

movement. Their standards and frameworks sent the message that the movement could<br />

safely be ignored.<br />

The major aim of the Civil Rights Oral History Project is to illuminate the rich history of past<br />

struggles for civil rights and social justice in the region, yet in many ways, they remain<br />

fragmented. So the vision is to link various public projects, providing a first-stop interpretive site<br />

located at KCAAH that will inspire further exploration of historic preservation sites, driving and<br />

walking tours, digital projects, and oral history collections for local school field trips.<br />

Ballard Students on the bus participating in a field trip using “The Self-Guided Tour<br />

of Louisville’s Civil Rights History," a public history project developed by the Anne<br />

Braden Institute for Social Justice Research. (Photo by Aukram Burton)<br />

The idea for the Civil Rights Oral<br />

History Project at BHS started in a<br />

conversation between friends. Laura<br />

Younkin, librarian/teacher at Ballard<br />

High School was talking to former JCPS<br />

teacher Marsha Stone, a friend who is<br />

just a little older than Ms. Younkin,<br />

about Louisvillian’s nostalgia for<br />

Fountaine Ferry Park. Fountaine Ferry<br />

was an amusement park that was on<br />

the west end of Market Street from<br />

1905 until 1969.<br />

Ms. Younkin had never been there, but<br />

Ms. Stone talked about seeing the<br />

beautiful lights on the Ferris wheel from a distance and getting so excited. She asked her mother<br />

if they could go to the park so she could ride that glittering Ferris wheel. Her mother told her no,<br />

people who looked like they were only allowed in the park one day a year.<br />

Ms. Younkin grew up middle-class in the East End. She said it had never occurred to her that Ms.<br />

Stone wouldn’t have been allowed into Fountaine Ferry. That was so foreign to her experiences.<br />

It made Ms. Younkin wonder how many other Louisvillians were out there with stories to share<br />

about the days of Jim Crow. How many people were out there who could remind people that not<br />

everyone had the same advantages while growing up?<br />

The story led to a conversation with Teresa Hinkle-Jones, an English teacher at Ballard High<br />

School, and Eddie Fossett, who teaches social studies at Ballard. Along with Stephanie Conrad,<br />

the other librarian at the school, the adults decided to collaborate. They could expand their<br />

students’ awareness of the Civil Rights Movement in their own hometown. Ms. Hinkle-Jones and<br />

Continue on next page<br />

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Mr. Fossett student rosters had a combined<br />

total of 167 students between them an<br />

overlap of only 7 students.<br />

Mrs. Hinkle-Jones had her senior English<br />

classes read “March: Book One” an awardwinning<br />

graphic<br />

novel by John<br />

Lewis about his<br />

early days in the<br />

Civil Rights<br />

Movement. Mr.<br />

Fossett taught a<br />

unit on the<br />

movement in his<br />

American History<br />

and American<br />

Government<br />

classes. Students<br />

wouldn’t learn<br />

about that era in<br />

the isolation of<br />

one classroom but<br />

across the<br />

curriculum.<br />

Talking with students, the teachers realized<br />

the teenagers saw the Civil Rights Movement<br />

as something distant. It was school children in<br />

Arkansas, Rosa Parks on a bus in Birmingham,<br />

Martin Luther King Jr. marching in<br />

Washington, DC. They didn’t know there had<br />

been activists here at home.<br />

All the adults agreed that human stories are<br />

powerful. Looking someone in the eye and<br />

hearing about the discrimination they faced<br />

and what everyday life was like would make<br />

the movement more real to the students. But<br />

where would the Ballard librarians and<br />

teachers find enough people to share their<br />

stories?<br />

Ms. Younkin had been to a librarians’<br />

professional development day a few summers<br />

before at the Kentucky Center for African<br />

Above, Ballard High School students learned about the history history of the Civil Rights Movement as<br />

they listen to panelist Marshall Abstain, retired JCPS teacher; Kip Mackey, retired JCPS; Ira Grupper,<br />

former civil rights activist in Mississippi; Bill Allison, Retired Civil Rights Attorney; Bernard Minnis,<br />

retired JCPS Assistant Superintendent; and George Thornton, Senior Pastor at Magazine SDA Church.<br />

(Photo by Aukram Burton)<br />

American Heritage (KCAAH). Perhaps they<br />

could help figure out where to start. Did they<br />

ever.<br />

The Executive Director of KCAAH, Aukram<br />

Burton, listened to Ms. Younkin’s somewhat<br />

vague ideas of a lesson plan and immediately<br />

stepped in to help. He immediately made a<br />

connection with Mrs. Hinkle-Jones' and Mr.<br />

Fossett's interdisciplinary approach to<br />

teaching about the Civil Rights Movement<br />

across the curriculum. Mr. Burton shared two<br />

projects that he had been developing at<br />

KCAAH which eventually provided major<br />

resources for BHS teachers and students.<br />

Continue on next page<br />

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It turns out that KCAAH had recently received a grant from the National Park Service to develop a<br />

permanent exhibition on the Black Freedom Struggle in Kentucky, to be installed at KCAAH in<br />

September <strong>2019</strong>. The exhibit will examine Kentucky's distinctive role in the history of American racial<br />

justice struggles as a border state with Northern, Southern, and Midwestern influences. This<br />

exhibition highlights individual sites that are significant to the long struggle for racial justice, linking<br />

them to the larger themes of activism that took place across the country.<br />

Above, Ballard student Conner Wilson conducting an oral history interview with<br />

Kip Mackie, retired JCPS teacher and community activist. (Photo by Aukram<br />

Burton)<br />

Mr. Burton suggested that BHS organize<br />

students around topics that are<br />

consistent with the exhibition and its<br />

accompanying website with the same<br />

title. (https://<br />

kentuckyblackfreedom.org/kentuckyfreedom-struggle/index.html),<br />

developed in partnership with the<br />

Cooperative Consortium for<br />

Transdisciplinary Social Justice<br />

Research at the University of Louisville<br />

and Kentucky Center for African<br />

American Heritage. The exhibit provided<br />

BHS teachers and students a better<br />

understanding of the concepts of place-based history and topical approach for teachers and<br />

students. The exhibition’s topics include Businesses, Churches, Community Institutions, Culture,<br />

Gender, Health Care, Higher Education, Housing, Direct Action Protest, K-12 Schools, Racial Violence,<br />

and Working Life.<br />

Although there are countless possible sites of significance across the Commonwealth of Kentucky,<br />

the stories featured in the exhibition provide an introduction to some of the locations of activism<br />

across the late 19th and 20th centuries. Selected sites will comply with the National Historic<br />

Landmark theme study, “Civil Rights in America” and will be informed by the Louisville Downtown<br />

Civil Rights Movement Markers Project (http://louisville.edu/artsandsciences/idep/engagement/civilrights-markers-project),<br />

and the Self-Guided Tour of Louisville’s Civil Rights History (http://<br />

louisville.edu/braden/oral-history-tours-exhibits/civil-rights-driving-tour), two public history projects<br />

developed over the last decade which was created by the Anne Braden Institute for Social Justice<br />

Research, and the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Louisville, in partnership with<br />

Louisville Convention and Visitors Bureau, KCAAH and the Muhammad Ali Center. The introduction of<br />

the above historic preservation sites provided a framework designed to introduce multiple<br />

perspectives for learning about the civil rights movement by introducing students to three (3)<br />

fundamental questions:<br />

Continue on next page<br />

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1. What roles do individuals, groups, and institutions play in strengthening democratic<br />

ideals and practices?<br />

2. How did cultural patterns and economics decisions during the 1960s influence the<br />

environment and daily lives of African Americans living in Louisville during that time?<br />

3. How did grassroots activists work together to end Jim Crow practices in public<br />

businesses?<br />

Mr. Burton, Mr. Ira Grupper, and Mr. Kip Mackey came to Ballard to share their experiences as<br />

Civil Rights activists and assist Ms. Younkin, Mrs. Conrad, Mrs. Hinkle-Jones and Mr. Fossett in<br />

developing a plan to expose BHS students to what the Civil Rights struggle looked like in<br />

Kentucky. They<br />

developed a plan that<br />

had two components:<br />

(1) taking BHS<br />

students on a field<br />

trip using “The Self-<br />

Guided Tour of<br />

Louisville’s Civil<br />

Rights History,” and<br />

(2) teaching students<br />

how to conduct oral<br />

history interviews<br />

with people in there<br />

family and<br />

community recording<br />

Above, (from L-R) Bill Allison, Retired Civil Rights Attorney; Aukram Burton, retired JCPS<br />

Specialist; Marshall Abstain, retired JCPS teacher; Bernard Minnis, retired JCPS Assistant<br />

Superintendent; Ira Grupper, former civil rights activist in Mississippi; and Kip Mackey, retired<br />

JCPS.<br />

their memories and<br />

involvements in the<br />

the Civil Rights<br />

Movement. Mr. Burton<br />

facilitated a<br />

professional development workshop on how to conduct oral history interviews, as well as how<br />

to properly operate audio recording equipment. Examining the “A Self-Guided Tour of<br />

Louisville’s Civil Rights History,” pamphlets Mr. Burton had supplied, Mrs. Hinkle-Jones and Ms.<br />

Younkin picked out a route that would cover essentials, get some students into their own<br />

neighborhoods and fit within the time constraints of a field trip.<br />

Continue on next page<br />

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ENVISION EQUITY JULY <strong>2019</strong><br />

The students had a sheet to fill out while on the bus. They couldn’t just sit and goof off, they<br />

had information to assimilate. Also, they were encouraged to use their phones to take pictures<br />

of the various sites on the trip. Those would come in handy later.<br />

Mr. Burton and Mr. Grupper<br />

were also on the bus ride<br />

and they were able to add<br />

personal insights into the<br />

places students were<br />

seeing. Mrs. Hinkle-Jones<br />

reminded students about<br />

the sit-ins in Nashville that<br />

John Lewis wrote about<br />

then students saw the spot<br />

at 4th Street and Jefferson<br />

where local teenagers<br />

began the fight for equal<br />

access to the stores and<br />

restaurants downtown.<br />

During the tour, one<br />

student remarked, “I didn’t<br />

know all this happened in<br />

my neighborhood.”<br />

Above, Ballard Students pose for a group photo at Freedom Park on UofL's campus under a pergola<br />

displaying a photo and biographical of Charles H. Parrish, Jr., one of 9 civil rights activists memorialized<br />

at the park who advanced inclusivenes at UofL. This site is one of the 22 sites featured in “The Self-<br />

Guided Tour of Louisville’s Civil Rights History," a public history project developed by the Anne Braden<br />

Institute for Social Justice Research. (Photo by Aukram Burton)<br />

The field trip ended with a tour of the KCAAH campus before having lunch. Students toured the<br />

58,000 square foot campus and had a chance to view many of the exhibitions on display<br />

including: “Pleading the Cause Through the Black Press: Remembering Frank L. Stanley, Sr.<br />

and the Louisville Defender,” telling the story of a key civil rights figure whose contribution in<br />

Kentucky and American history should not be forgotten. They also had the opportunity to view<br />

other exhibitions on display such as: “The Gallery of Great Black Kentuckians”, an exhibition of<br />

56 posters recognizing Kentucky African Americans who have made unique accomplishments,<br />

or who have helped the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the nation by breaking racial,<br />

professional or other barriers, or whose stories have been significant in Kentucky; “Life of<br />

Inspiration: A Photographic Retrospective of Muhammad Ali,” an exhibition of memorable and<br />

iconic images of Muhammad Ali, taken over many years by award-winning photographers from<br />

the Courier-Journal newspaper; “Two Centuries of Black Louisville,” an exhibition featuring<br />

selected black & white photographs from the book of the same title tracing two hundred years<br />

of Kentucky’s African American community behind the wall of slavery and the veil of<br />

segregation, forging a remarkably vibrant community that, at times, influenced the political<br />

Continue on next page<br />

11


and cultural history of the nation; and “Colonel Charles Young Soldier, Educator, Diplomat, & Civil<br />

Rights Advocate,” an exhibition dedicated to an unheralded military hero, Colonel Charles Young<br />

(1864–1922). This exhibition is in the shadow of the Colonel Charles Young Veterans Flag Memorial<br />

on the South<br />

Lawn on the<br />

KCAAH Campus.<br />

Above, Ira Grupper, former member of Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) and the<br />

Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party answering questions from Ballard High students during lunch at the<br />

Kentucky Center for African American Heritage after taking “The Self-Guided Tour of Louisville’s Civil Rights<br />

History," a public history project developed by the Anne Braden Institute for Social Justice Research. (Photo by<br />

Aukram Burton)<br />

After the tour of<br />

the campus,<br />

students had an<br />

opportunity to<br />

talk individually<br />

with Mr. Burton<br />

and Mr. Grupper<br />

during lunch<br />

where many<br />

questions about<br />

the field trip<br />

were raised.<br />

Their questions<br />

revealed that<br />

many of the<br />

students had<br />

moved beyond<br />

an abstract<br />

understanding to a more realistic understanding of the Civil Rights Movement as a result of what<br />

they experienced during the bus tour and the exhibitions. The questions where aligned with the<br />

three fundamental questions discussed earlier in this article. The student’s questions were<br />

evidence that the experience was transformative for them.<br />

Those pictures students took on their field trip? They came in handy when they returned to<br />

school. Scheduling time in the library the next week, Mr. Fossett and Mrs. Hinkle-Jones had their<br />

students create their own tours of the sites they’d seen, written in their own words and using their<br />

own pictures. Ms. Conrad showed them how to use Google My Maps to create their own guides --<br />

stories that were Google Digital Backpack worthy. The students had evidence of authentic<br />

learning to add to their backpacks that can be used in their defense of learning if they want to.<br />

The last piece of this puzzle, to make it even more real to the students, was to have them meet<br />

veterans of the local Civil Rights Movement. They could ask questions, hear stories and know<br />

Continue on next page<br />

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ENVISION EQUITY JULY <strong>2019</strong><br />

what it felt like in the ‘60s and ‘70s in Louisville. Mr. Burton convened a gathering at BHS of<br />

seven veteran Civil<br />

Rights activist who has<br />

made significant<br />

contributions in<br />

obtaining civil rights in<br />

their community. The<br />

activist included:<br />

Marshall Abstain, retired<br />

JCPS teacher in the<br />

School to Work Program<br />

who taught African<br />

American history; Kip<br />

Mackey, retired JCPS<br />

teacher and former<br />

community activist with<br />

the Alliance for Racist<br />

and Political Repression;<br />

Above, Ballard High School student Marc Namid conducting an oral history interview with<br />

Bernard Minnis, retired JCPS Assistant Superintendent. (Photo by Aukram Burton)<br />

activist. (Photo by Aukram Burton)<br />

Ira Grupper, former member of Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) and the<br />

Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party (MFDP); Bill Allison, retired Civil Rights Attorney who<br />

started his law career with the Southern Conference Educational Fund (SCEF) who has litigated<br />

many famous civil rights cases with the ACLU-KY; Bernard Minnis, retired JCPS Assistant<br />

Superintendent known for his work in school desegregation, equity, diversity and poverty<br />

issues; Aukram Burton, retired JCPS Specialist also known for his work in equity, diversity and<br />

poverty issues; and George Thornton, current Senior Pastor at Magazine SDA Church known for<br />

his works in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.<br />

Many of these veteran activists greatly appreciated this undertaking and believe that the Civil<br />

Rights Oral History Project at BHS is an excellent model that needs to be replicated in other<br />

schools in JCPS. They were very impressed with the Ballard students who were very focused<br />

and engaged and they particularly praised the work of Ballard teachers and librarians. Realizing<br />

that two-plus generations have grown up knowing little about the Civil Rights struggles, and<br />

what is ‘known’ is a too-often caricature. This project allowed students to learn that the Civil<br />

Rights Movement wasn’t a faraway event. It happened right here in Louisville, too, and was<br />

carried out by people they now know personally. Ballard and KCAAH plan to do this project<br />

again, tweaking it here and there.<br />

13


Against All Odds<br />

By Kelly N. Rowan Burrell<br />

For the last 14 years, Ballard High School<br />

graduate Lorenzo J. Rowan has been<br />

making his mark in Jefferson County<br />

Public Schools (JCPS). Lorenzo has<br />

participated in Academic Team, Yearbook<br />

Staff, County and State recognized Choirs, and<br />

the elite Madrigal Singers. Lorenzo is also a<br />

member of an A-capella group called The<br />

Bobbing Murphy’s. An accomplished artist,<br />

poet, dancer and actor, Lorenzo’s artwork<br />

earned him a Scholastic Gold Key. His poetry<br />

is featured in Ballard’s award-winning<br />

publication The Collage. He participated in all<br />

of Ballard’s school musicals, and to add to all<br />

of these accolades, Lorenzo has maintained<br />

his grades with purposeful rigorous study and<br />

graduated with Valedictorian honors.<br />

This article is not about Lorenzo’s<br />

accomplishments at all. It is my hope that you<br />

would be empowered to succeed. Did you<br />

know Lorenzo lost a sibling when he was 4?<br />

When you read the achievements, did you<br />

know that he is the oldest child in his<br />

household, helping with his young sisters?<br />

Can you tell that Lorenzo’s mother battles<br />

chronic illness that has to sometimes cause him to worry (he doesn’t say so, but how could it not?).<br />

Against all odds, you can make it. Everyone’s best is different. You don’t have to be like Lorenzo.<br />

Whatever your goals are, create a plan, use your resources (parents, family, friends, teachers,<br />

counselors, etc.) and step-by-step you can get there. We believe in you!<br />

Above, a JCPS student is welcomed by<br />

Flash Dads at Wheatley Elementary<br />

14


ENVISION EQUITY JULY <strong>2019</strong><br />

A Song for Gwendolyn Brooks <br />

By Alice Faye Duncan<br />

Sterling Children's Books (January 1, <strong>2019</strong>)<br />

Kindergarten – 3 rd grade<br />

Books for Young Readers<br />

Warm and hazy, yet sharp illustrations combined with free verse<br />

focus on the life of poet Gwendolyn Brooks. This title would be a<br />

wonderful curriculum resource for school age and middle school<br />

students studying African American history and poetry and also a<br />

lovely book for parents to share one on one with their children.<br />

Girls with Guts: The Road to Breaking Barriers and Bashing<br />

Records <br />

By Debbie Gonzalez<br />

Charlesbridge (May 14, <strong>2019</strong>)<br />

Grades 1-4<br />

A great nonfiction title<br />

for school age children<br />

highlighting the days<br />

when girls were<br />

discouraged from<br />

participating in sports<br />

and how far we’ve<br />

come since then.<br />

Many well-known and<br />

lesser-known women<br />

athletes who broke<br />

down the gender barrier in sports are mentioned such as Althea<br />

Gibson, Gertrude Ederle and Margaret Gisolo. This title also<br />

helps explain the importance of Title IX legislation to young<br />

readers.<br />

I am Alfonso Jones<br />

By Tony Medina <br />

Tu Books (October 12, 2017)<br />

Grades 9 and up<br />

<br />

Alfonso Jones is a young man who loves to play trumpet and is<br />

excited about trying out for the class play Hamlet. On a shopping trip<br />

with his crush Danetta, Alfonso purchases a suit to wear in celebration<br />

of his father’s release from jail. An off duty cop stops Alfonso and<br />

assumes the suit hanger is a gun and shoots the teen.<br />

When Alfonso wakes up he is in the afterlife and on a ghost train led<br />

by well-known victims of police shootings. They take him on a<br />

journey and show him what he needs to know about this spiritual<br />

world. Meanwhile, Alfonso’s family and friends struggle with their<br />

grief and pursue of justice for Alfonso.<br />

Images obtained from Google Images.<br />

Books provided by Heather Lee, Louisville Free Public Library<br />

15


ENVISION EQUITY JULY <strong>2019</strong><br />

JULY Professional<br />

Development<br />

Title Session Code Date & Time Location Contact<br />

Regional Homeless<br />

Education Conference<br />

(Mandatory and Only<br />

for Homeless Liaisons)<br />

19-20103971 August 2<br />

8:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.<br />

Crown Plaza –<br />

Louisville Airport (830<br />

Phillips Lane)<br />

Giselle Danger<br />

(502) 485-3650<br />

To view a complete list of DEP professional development sessions, visit https://www.jefferson.kyschools.us/node/1350<br />

Ali Center Camp Day Specials for Youth Groups<br />

Starting in June, the Muhammad Ali Center will have Camp Day<br />

Specials for all youth groups every Tuesday and Wednesday. This<br />

special includes an educational introduction from an educational<br />

programmer, the orientation film, and exploring over three floors<br />

of exhibits through a self-guided journey. This also includes<br />

admission to our brand new temporary exhibit, PICTURE ALI.<br />

This exhibit showcases the photographers of The Courier Journal<br />

that were always ever present documenting the many movements<br />

of Muhammad Ali, both in and outside the ring, giving us a<br />

glimpse of the life and legacy of the Greatest. With the Camp<br />

Day Special, students save two dollars by coming in for a price<br />

of only $4. As always, one chaperone gets in for free for every<br />

six students based off our 6:1 Student to Chaperone Ratio. The<br />

Camp Day Special goes through August 14. If you have a youth<br />

group that is interested in scheduling to come to the Muhammad<br />

Ali Center, please contact our program coordinator at (502)<br />

992-5340 or emitrani@alicenter.org.<br />

The Muhammad Ali Center is accepting applications for both<br />

high school student programs, the Muhammad Ali Center<br />

Council of Students (MACCS), and UCREW – DUE <strong>July</strong><br />

10th at 11:59 PM<br />

The Muhammad Ali Center Council of Students (MACCS) is<br />

a diverse group of young leaders, committed to improving<br />

themselves and their communities through the practice of<br />

Muhammad Ali’s six core principles: Respect, Confidence,<br />

Conviction, Dedication, Spirituality, and Giving. As a youth-led<br />

organization, these dynamic students make decisions that guide<br />

the course of their service work and leadership development.<br />

UCREW is a ground-breaking social enterprise program, that<br />

offers a unique opportunity for students to not only learn about<br />

social entrepreneurship, but to work in teams to develop an actual<br />

social enterprise. During the 2016-2017 school year, students will<br />

meet twice monthly to explore the issue of “poverty” in their<br />

communities and to reflect on ways to combat local poverty<br />

through creative business endeavors. By the end of the program,<br />

students will have conceptualized, produced, marketed,<br />

and launched a small social enterprise business.<br />

You can apply by clicking here or by copying and pasting<br />

this link into your browser:<br />

https://form.jotform.com/90975399332167<br />

16


ENVISION EQUITY JULY <strong>2019</strong><br />

J E F F E R S O N C O U N T Y P U B L I C S C H O O L S<br />

DIVERSITY, EQUITY, AND POVERTY DEPARTMENT<br />

With Dr. De'Nay Speaks & LaTonya Frazier-Goatley<br />

Please join us as we discuss the importance of including more students of<br />

color in the Gifted and Talented Program through an administrative lens.<br />

Mrs. LaTonya Frazier-Goatley is the assistant principal at<br />

the W.E.B. DuBois Academy in Jefferson County Public<br />

Schools (JCPS). Previously she was Advance<br />

Program/Gifted coordinator for JCPS. She is the author of a<br />

chapter in Telling Our Stories: Culturally Different Adults<br />

Reflect on Growling Up in Single-Parent Families (2017,<br />

Vanderbilt University). Mrs. Frazier-Goatley is a recipient of<br />

a KAGE Service & Advocacy Award.<br />

Dr. De’nay Speaks is principal of Cochran Elementary<br />

School in JCPS. Her career also includes tenure as an<br />

assistant principal, classroom teacher, Instructional coach,<br />

and as a Coach for a social-emotional learning curriculum,<br />

“CARE For Kids.” Mrs. Speaks has been featured on an<br />

Edutopia video documenting the work of “CARE For Kids”<br />

in JCPS and has facilitated many professionaldevelopment<br />

sessions focused on building relationships,<br />

routines and procedures, proactive strategies, and<br />

classroom management.<br />

<strong>July</strong> 11, <strong>2019</strong> | Louisville Urban League | 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.<br />

For more information, please contact Telva Hogan at 485-7318 or telva.hogan@jefferson.kyschools.us.<br />

Register online at http://bit.ly/julycommconvo<br />

Continued on next page<br />

17


ENVISION EQUITY JULY <strong>2019</strong><br />

T h e r e a r e o v e r 3 5 0<br />

s h o r t - t e r m t r a i n i n g<br />

p r o g r a m s o f f e r e d<br />

a c r o s s t h e s t a t e<br />

i n c l u d i n g :<br />

M e d i c a l a s s i s t a n t<br />

P a t i e n t c a r e t e c h<br />

A i r C o n d i t i o n i n g<br />

T e c h n o l o g y<br />

A u t o m o b i l e T e c h n i c i a n<br />

S u r g i c a l T e c h n i c i a n s<br />

P h y s i c a l T h e r a p y<br />

A s s i s t a n t s<br />

P i p e l i n e W e l d e r<br />

C o m p u t e r S u p p o r t<br />

T e c h n i c i a n<br />

D e n t a l A s s i s t i n g<br />

E l e c t r o n i c s<br />

M e d i a l C o d i n g<br />

E m e r g e n c y M e d i c a l<br />

T e c h n i c i a n ( E M T )<br />

R o u g h C a r p e n t e r<br />

P i p e l i n e W e l d e r<br />

I n d u s t r i a l M a i n t e n a n c e<br />

A n d m a n y m o r e !<br />

F i n d a c o m p r e h e n s i v e<br />

l i s t o f p r o g r a m s a t :<br />

h t t p s : / / w w w . k h e a a . c<br />

o m / p d f / w r k s _ a p p r o v<br />

e d _ p r o g r a m s . p d f<br />

Did you know you can get trained for a high paying,<br />

in-demand job in four months or less, tuition free!<br />

Benefits of completing a short-term technical<br />

program:<br />

Increase your earning power! Starting<br />

salaries for those with certificates can be up<br />

to $40, 000!<br />

Those with certificates can “stack” them and<br />

earn more $$$<br />

The Department for Community Based Services will<br />

provide a $250 gift card to any foster youth who<br />

earns a short-term technical certificate!<br />

For more information on available training<br />

programs at KCTCS visit:<br />

https://workreadykentucky.com/program_search<br />

To be eligible for the gift card, youth must be<br />

currently committed; Eligible programs include any<br />

short-term training program in a high-demand field,<br />

where youth can earn a certificate or diploma. The<br />

youth is eligible for the incentive after they have<br />

completed the program and passed the required<br />

industry certification test. For more information,<br />

contact: chafee.ilp@ky.gov.<br />

18


ENVISION EQUITY JULY <strong>2019</strong><br />

Editor—Catherine Collesano<br />

Editor, Photo Contributor—Abdul Sharif<br />

Credits<br />

Special thanks to all of our community partners and educators who helped make this special edition of<br />

<strong>Envision</strong> <strong>Equity</strong> possible.<br />

<strong>Envision</strong> <strong>Equity</strong> is a publication of the JCPS Department of Diversity, <strong>Equity</strong>, and Poverty Programs. All<br />

submissions should be sent to Catherine Collesano at catherine.collesano@jefferson.kyschools.us or Abdul<br />

Sharif at abdul.sharif2@jefferson.kyschools.us. If you are interested in becoming a subscriber or a<br />

contributor to <strong>Envision</strong> <strong>Equity</strong>, please contact one of the editors at the above email address.<br />

www.jefferson.kyschools.us<br />

Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer Offering Equal Educational Opportunities<br />

19

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