April 2024
Greetings from the Deeper Dive!
I hope that everyone had a marvelous March! Spring has finally “sprung” on the calendar, and I am sure the higher temperatures will soon follow! March was another month packed with events, education, and engagement!
One of the first highlights was a day filled with community-building, collaborative learning, analyzing, and reflection at Oakland Schools. Royal Oak Schools was the district with the largest representation at the “Inclusive Classroom- Strategies, Principles & Practices for Teaching and Learning” professional learning conference facilitated by Cornelius Godfrey. Godfrey serves as the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Consultant for Oakland Schools and is a former Special Education teacher.
During the session, participants engaged in learning about the definition and/or practice of the following concepts and more:
Strategies for building an inclusive classroom
Diving deeper into the Academic Mindset
The Impact of Microaggressions (Intent vs. Impact)
Student Identity
Building and maintaining relationships
Positive Classroom Culture
We are always grateful for engaging and exciting professional learning opportunities and are looking forward to attending future events and sessions at Oakland Schools.
The second week kicked off the inaugural Reading Rocks Tour for Royal Oak Schools. I coordinated this tour to offer an opportunity for Board Office staff and our Royal Oak School Board members to visit classrooms to serve as Mystery Guest readers. We were able to visit over 35 classrooms and read to over 800 students from March 11th- March 22nd. Students received many bookmarks and surprises at the end of their visits, including materials from Royal Oak Public Library. This was a great celebration for National Reading Month but also tied into Reading Across America’s March 2024 theme of “Celebrating Diversity.” The tour was a huge success, and I am excited to expand it even further during our 2024-2025 school year. A huge thank you to everyone who participated! (See photo gallery in the April edition of the Dispatch.)
As we travel into April, we will travel worldwide as Keller Elementary hosts the 2024 International Food and Fun Festival. The event will be held at Keller Elementary on Friday, April 12th. Doors will open at 6:15 pm, and the event will run until 8:45 pm. Keller students, staff, and PTA are already hard at work preparing for the Royal Oak community to join them in celebrating families, cultures, arts, and food around the globe. Please click here to learn more about the event and check out the IFFF Online Recipe Book.
Well wishes to everyone as we celebrate inclusion, togetherness, and belonging in April. We are very excited to honor, celebrate, and demonstrate acceptance during Autism Acceptance Month throughout the month of April.
~Ashley Phillips, DEI Coordinator