Last June, the Montclair Fund for Educational Excellence awarded Nishuane a $10,000 Equity Grant that focused on social justice. A group of Nishuane teachers were selected to attend professional development and began writing lessons guided by “Using Their Words: The Six Elements of Social Justice Curriculum Design,” a framework for elementary students to learn about social justice created by Dr. Bree Picower, a professor at Montclair State University. The work aims to grow all students’ understanding of social justice in a developmentally appropriate way.
Read more about the grant.
Each month this year, students engaged in social justice lessons, working to understand themselves better, learning about concerns that face the community, and how to make changes that can impact the community.
Kindergarteners learned a lot about who they are and what makes them unique, celebrated one another, and learned how Kheris Rogers was a changemaker who took action because she wanted everyone's skin color to be represented in a box of crayons. First graders learned about the importance of making sure everyone in the community is included. They focused on different ways people can come together and take action through literacy (by writing letters, making posters, creating flyers). Then they learned about actions taken here in Montclair to help the environment, people, and animals. They are now prepared for next year when they begin to plan an action of their own as second graders. This year’s second graders also learned about the impact of young changemakers. They worked on their very own action project after hearing about how important buddy benches are for playgrounds. They decided to write letters to Mayor of Montclair, Dr. Renee Baskerville (a Nishuane alumna) urging her to consider installing more "buddy benches" on the playgrounds around the town. Additionally, they created personal flyers that were given out as families attended the Moving Up ceremony to show the community for what they are advocating.
At Tuesday’s ceremony, Mayor Baskerville surprised students with her attendance and a special announcement. “We listened to you, and we did pass an ordinance that went for a first reading, and it looks as though we’re going to get more buddy benches. This was in part because of your activism. I shared some of the letters you wrote with people who are lawmakers in the Township, and they were so excited. Some of your words were so beautiful we had tears of joy coming down,” she said. “Our benches are called ‘Happy to Chat’ benches and they will have a little sign on them that will say ‘If you’d like to sit and talk, please sit here.’ So,
you made a difference. No matter how old or how young you are, your words are so important. You are changemakers and this is something that you can carry on for the rest of your lives.”
