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CRSJ News – January 2025

Julia Luna Julia Luna
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Happy New Year, Educators!

I wanted to take some time in our first newsletter of 2025 to look back and reflect on everything that 2024 held for CRSJ. First, I want to express how grateful I am for this role; I love that I have the privilege to serve and connect with SEA members in the context of CRSJ work. THANK YOU!

2024 brought us many challenges: from navigating school closures to a tumultuous election season. But we as SEA, along with our incredible Seattle community, rallied together and supported one another through it all. I am so excited to keep our momentum up in 2025.

It also was great to see new leaders stepping into their own at the NEA Minority & Women’s leadership conference here in Seattle last month. Our first night started with a wonderful acknowledgement by our WEA President, Larry Delaney, in his opening speech. The conference days were long, but it was powerful to see how everyone showed up for themselves and for others. We ended the conference with a racial literary circle that featured hip hop music as well as other genres and discussed how it impacts us and how it can engage our students in the classroom. I hope you’ll come to our next Representative Assembly (RA) on Monday, January 13 to hear from attendees directly.

Please continue to take care of yourselves and your loved ones as we venture into 2025 and all that it will hold, the good, the joyful, the challenging: we got this SEA!

In Solidarity, 
Elizabeth Ward-Robertson 
CRSJ Director  

CRSJ Advisory Committee: Director Elizabeth Ward-Robertson, Nisha Daniel, Matt Legacki, Toni O’Neal, Davina Diaz, Jennifer Matter, UniServ Director Uti Hawkins

 All SEA members, especially our members of color, are encouraged to attend our monthly SEA Representative Assembly at John Marshall. Every month at RA, we set aside time to uplift your voices during the 9:29 RA assembly to reflect on the George Floyd uprising in April 2021. Your CRSJ advisory team wants to call you in to share on the December topic below. Please contact me with any questions or concerns. 

January topics: 

  • What is a Co-conspirator? A co- conspirator is someone who is compelled to take action against racism and oppression regardless of the consequences. A co-conspirator is unapologetically anti-racist and committed to dismantling the system of white supremacy culture and the benefits they receive from it.​
  • When a racially charged situation arises in SEA, how can the role of a co-conspirator support you as a fellow educators? Please share an example.

I hope to see you there!

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CRSJ January Learning Resources: 

History of NEA & ATA: Honoring Our Legacy of Inclusion | NEA – ATA Merger​

BLACK LIVES MATTER AT SCHOOL : A Guide for Black Lives Matter at School Annual Week of Action​

https://bit.ly/canvaguidetoblmas ​

Includes “What We Do and How We Done It” story’s of how BLM at School started and grew, teaching and planning resources, week of action ideas for in and out of the classroom. Read and share! Keedron Bryant – I JUST WANNA LIVE (Official Lyrics Video)​

  • ​SEA CRSJ Len Hill Leader & Advocacy Grants are still available this year starting from $500-$1500 per school grant.​

Book resources:​

Video & TED talks:​

“How Studying Privilege Systems Can Strengthen Compassion”: Peggy McIntosh at TEDxTimberlaneSchools

Ep. 249: U for Understanding – Raising Free People™ Network​

“The Man” – Book references on the history of black Men in US Bing Videos​

Celebrating “Black Boy Joy” – Bing Videos​

Phillis Wheatley history: Bing Videos​

Get comfortable with being uncomfortable | Luvvie Ajayi Jones | TED

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WEA Professional Development Notices: 

More details about the courses at wea-win.org.  

AftC: 1/9/2025 CRCM Module 1: Classroom Communities (Equity) (3hr) 5pm – 8pm​

Course Description This training helps educators by providing a lens of relational equity and cultural competency for the purpose of improving student engagement through effective classroom management that focuses on student-to educator and student-to-student relationships. The purpose of educator relationships is to increase student hope and resiliency as the greatest factor towards graduation and individual success.​

C: 1/11/2025 Interrupting and Disrupting Bias (Equity) (3hr) 9am – 12pm​

Course Description Interrupting and Disrupting Bias will educate on moments of oppression in the classroom and build skills in which to advocate against it. Participants will learn and share various moments of discrimination in the learning and workplace environment, and how they affect students and colleagues within their cultural identities and create a skillset to intervene. Participants will recognize the presence of similarities and differences within a given setting, collective, or group based on multiple factors including race and ethnicity, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability status, age, educational status, religion, geography, primary language, culture, and other characteristics and experiences, and how disrupt the biases related to them. This will provide a more inclusive learning environment through removing barriers and improve greater participation. In skill building interruptions participants learn to build a safe environment for students and staff.​

C: 1/20/25 Integrating Wellness (2hr) 4:30pm – 6:30pm​

Course Description Class participants will participate in a variety of mindfulness activities, usually surrounding a central theme. This is a time of self-care for education professionals that easily translates into use in their school buildings. Each activity is debriefed, and participants engage in dialogue how and when the strategies can be used in their classrooms and/or at meetings. Each month session(s) will have a different theme. All activities are based n the SEL Competencies, are taught in a trauma informed fashion, and can be used with k-12 students as well as adults. Participants will leave the class with the knowledge and skills to create a more trauma-informed and SEL based learning environment.​

C: 1/20/2025 Developing TPEP Student Growth Goals (3hr) 4:30pm – 7:30pm​

Course Description Learn about the changes to TPEP Student Growth Goals. Examine the shifts, including an increased focus on educator reflection, and the role of educator knowledge of students’ assets in in developing student growth goals. Learn more about the role that student growth plays in a TPEP evaluation. Examine the student growth critical attributes, and how these critical attributes may already be part of your practice. You will have the opportunity to explore tools and resources for your own student growth goal-setting process.​

C: 1/22/2025 Micro-credential Orientation (2hr)​

Course Description Micro-credentials are job-embedded, self-directed learning to demonstrate competency in a specific area. Over 200 NEA micro-credentials are available. Come learn more in this orientation course. Participants will learn what an NEA micro-credential is, explore options, and plan for next steps. After completing this course, participants will be ready to start work, and will understand the requirements for earning Washington state clock hours for an NEA micro-credential. Participants will attend this course ONCE to learn about how to access and choose an NEA micro-credential. This course is designed for ALL certificate and job roles. After completing this orientation, you will be eligible for the clock hours for this session, and will be eligible for additional clock hours after successfully completing an approved NEA micro-credential. While completing certain specific micro-credentials will meet the equity or STEM certificate renewal requirements, this orientation course itself does not meet the equity or STEM requirement. This micro-credential orientation meets the Leadership certificate renewal requirement.

Upcoming events:  

 

 

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Community Announcements & Engagement:

AARTH Community Happenings: January 2025 Newsletter​

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RARE Newsletter December 2024 (Roosevelt Alumni for Racial Equity) ​

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Upcoming events:​

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