Published for the Arts Based School Community
March 23, 2023
How We Do It and Why
By Mary Siebert
“Our humanity is worth a little discomfort, it's actually worth a lot of discomfort.”
― Ijeoma Oluo, So You Want to Talk About Race
Dr. Dani Parker Moore, a board member for The Arts Based School, is an assistant professor of Multicultural Education at Wake Forest University, where she also serves as the Executive Director of the Wake Forest University Children’s Defense Fund Freedom School. Dr. Parker Moore is a Black woman, and her students are predominantly young White women. It is not uncommon for them to report that she is the first Black teacher they have ever had. She is intimately familiar with the difficulties people encounter, when they first talk directly about race.
Yesterday, Dr. Parker Moore joined the ABS instructional staff for a conversation about race. Culturally relevant teaching, she said, benefits everyone in the school. She emphasized the urgency of persistence, in challenging our understanding of race as it impacts all of us: our staff, our students, and our families. Inspired by Dr. Martin Luther King’s speech, Beyond Vietnam: A Time to Break the Silence, she pointed to this era as a time to face down procrastination and move from indecision into action.
Our exhaustion from it all: COVID, police violence, and hate crimes can’t be permitted to make us step back. Now is the time to stay open and keep working. Dr. Parker Moore urges teachers to stay morally engaged, to keep growing in our understanding of how we and our school’s families are impacted by matters of racial injustice. Just as the protests of the 1960’s did not fully resolve these challenges, neither does work on our contemporary problems allow us to become complacent.
The best way to keep growing, Dr. Parker Moore maintains, is to keep talking, pausing, and listening. The inevitable discomfort that springs from talking and listening to one another about race, the requirement to speak truth about it, is never complete. It’s never finished. We don’t have to agree, but we must acknowledge that everyone is bringing their own experience and perspective, and that all are valuable.
At ABS, we embrace the goal of helping students build a positive sense of self, along with the many skills and facts we are tasked with teaching them. But the question of how to accomplish this changes, as our perceptions and understandings change, and as we grow in our ability to recognize the challenges.
Dr. Parker Moore pointed out that we are learning that it’s important for parents to talk with their children about race and racism. If we simply say “Racism is bad. See everyone as your equal. Race doesn’t matter,” - with the goal of being open and affirming - we deny the real experiences of people who know that the struggles are not over. If we don’t talk to our children about race at home, to give them a lens through which to see this issue, they will absorb stereotypes, and society and social media will teach them. Studies prove that conversations about racial attitudes can positively impact relationships in as little as one week. Stay silent and you reinforce the stereotypes. One Black teacher on our staff said “If you don’t see color, then you don’t see what I’m dealing with.”
Our goal yesterday was to continue this talking, listening, and responding. This is not a new conversation at our school. We have had many classes and training sessions over the years in implicit bias and inclusivity. The ABS board has also gathered around this conversation, developing our statement of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. We need to keep going, to be “willing to move.”
We continue to incorporate materials and instruction that reflects diverse identities. We were introduced to many new books and resources, by Dr. Parker Moore. She encouraged us to read books (and sing songs and read poetry, and make art) that allows children to see themselves and their classmates in stories about family, play, adventure…all of the things that children think about. We want children to see themselves represented in the materials we use.
And we also want to have the hard conversations that allow us to keep building equity. Here is an article from the National Institutes of Health on talking with children about race.
Tap Shoe Donations
Our K-4 dance classrooms are in need of children's tap shoes of any size or color, new or used. If you have tap shoes at home you can donate, or if you see some at consignment sales or resale shops that you're willing to purchase and donate, we'd be most grateful! This is an ongoing collection, so feel free to drop them off any time, at the dance studios of both campuses. Questions? Contact Ms. Siebert. Thank you!
Staffing/Hiring 2023-24 School Year
As we look toward the 2023-24 school year, we have some staff positions to hire. We have posted these positions on our website. If you are interested, or know someone who would be a great match for ABS, please send them to our website for an application.
Romeo & Juliet Videos
Archival videos of 5th Grades’ Romeo & Juliet on the Border are now available through the Family Portal on the ABS website. These videos are for educational purposes only. Please do not post this material online.
Summer Camp Openings
Summer camps are filling quickly! Take a look at your summer schedules and find an ABS camp that will work for you! Registrations are ongoing. If you have questions about billing or invoicing, please reach out to Angela Garner. For other questions, please reach out to Mrs. Hollis.
Parent Council Meeting
If you missed it or want to review, here’s the recording and minutes from the March 17 meeting.
Gardening Season!
We’ve had some late freezes, but many of our teachers and students are eager to get planting! We would love for anyone who is able and willing to donate soil to ABS to please help us fill our raised beds!
- At ABS North, the raised beds in the terrace garden outside the 7th street building were refurbished for us last year by an Eagle Scout alum… and they are now in dire need of soil so that our first grade classes can plant seeds!
- At ABS South, there are two oval galvanized beds that also need a great deal of soil to allow for planting.
Please feel free to drop off and fill these raised beds at either campus any time it’s convenient for you! If you have any questions at all, please reach out to Leah Lavin.
Assistant Principal for the Day
Does your child want a chance to be Assistant Principal for the day? We hold drawings every month at Friday Sing! You can purchase raffle tickets online or in the front office of your campus to give your child a chance to be Assistant Principal of the Day. Assistant Principals have their own desk, name tag, and list of very important duties for the day. All proceeds from the raffle support our teacher appreciation fund and allow us to do special things for our staff throughout the year. Thank you, and good luck!
Introducing: A Fresh Crop of ABS Tees!
Due to popular demand, we are happy to offer a fresh round of Arts Based School t-shirts! All shirts are a soft blended fabric available in youth and adult sizes. Please place your orders before April 14. All orders will ship to ABS (unless you elect to have them shipped to your home for an additional fee) on May 2. We hope to sort orders and send them home via Thursdays folders as quickly as possible! If you have any questions at all, please let us know.
Around Town
Chase the Dream 5K
To register for the Dream Center's 'Chase the Dream' 5K or Fun Run, scan the QR code or visit https://runsignup.com/Race/NC/WinstonSalem/ChasetheDream