DEB Newsletter
Volume 3
January 2021
Winnetka Town Green, July 25, 1965

"We must also rid ourselves of the belief that only time can solve the problem. Be nice and patient, some say, and wait 100 or 200 years and the problem will work itself out.

But time is neutral. It can be used constructively or destructively, and the forces of evil have used time much more effectively than the forces of good will.

I may well be that we will have to repent in this generation not merely for the vitriolic words and violent actions of the bad people, but for the appalling silence of the good people."

-Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

From Wilmette Life. See also North Shore Summer Project archives at UIC for the full text of the speech, reprinted in NSSP newsletter.
We are Hosting:
The DEB Committee's Parent Workshop

Who Am I? Who are you?
Understanding How Identities Impact Students Today
presented by Lizzy Appleby, LCSW

February 1, 2021 (two times)
9 a.m. Zoom Workshop
7 p.m. Zoom Workshop

This workshop is an opportunity for parents to develop a common language to describe identity development and how it impacts a school community. Parents will also learn concrete strategies for supporting their child's positive identity development and respect for all.

Lizzy Appleby, LCSW (she/her) is a facilitator who works with youth and adults to build a more welcoming, inclusive, and kind world. She received her Masters in Social Work from the University of Chicago School of Social Service Administration and currently works as the Pride/Share Director at Youth Services in Glenview. There she provides leadership for several programs, including the Share Program which focuses on providing education and consultation to students, parents, and professionals on healthy relationships, equity and inclusion, and mental health. She grew up in Wilmette and graduated from New Trier High School and is deeply committed to working with north suburban communities to ensure that all individuals are celebrated for their authentic selves.

This workshop has been kindly paid for by the JSSPVA through the Diversity Equity and Belonging budget. Thank you!
We are Talking About:
Refugee by Alan Gratz
In December, the eighth-grade students read Refugee by Alan Gratz. It was a multidisciplinary unit across the classes of ELA, Social Studies, and Creative Arts that taught the themes of inequity, diversity, and belonging within the past and the present global refugee crisis. In ELA, with Mrs. Trueman, they read the book, followed the stories of the three main characters, and learned about the physical and emotional fears refugees face on a daily basis. In Social Studies, with Mr. Paeth, they learned about the historical background
of the refugee crisis in Germany, Cuba, and Syria. In Creative Arts, Mrs. Narhwold contacted Refugee One, a refugee resettlement agency in Chicago and the 8th graders wrote letters to current refugees. Students ended the unit by making public service announcements advocating how society can help refugees today.
The students also completed a reflection form and shared what they learned. Here are their own words:
The most important thing I learned was...
  • How inequitable the refugee crisis really is.
  • How many people around the world are struggling with belonging
  • If we welcome refugees with kindness and open hands we will be saving many lives and welcoming diversity.
  • It gave me more knowledge on refugees and helped me apply them to real-world situations with refugees today.
  • The struggles of three different refugees around the world from three significant times in history.
  • We learned about the struggles of Cuban refugees getting to America by boat, Jewish refugees that fled the Nazis, and Syrian refugees on their journey to Germany.
  • I have never paid attention to this international crisis before and now I feel like I have more empathy for refugees because I know how difficult their struggles are.
We are Observing:
International Holocaust Remembrance Day (January 27)
In honor of International Holocaust Remembrance Day, which falls on January 27th, please consider visiting The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum website. Remembrance Day memorializes the liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp - a tragic symbol of the World War II genocide which resulted in the deaths of 6 million Jews and 11 million others by the Nazi regime and its collaborators. Persecution based on perceived racial, ethnic, religious, behavioral, biological, or ideological inferiority has inspired millions across the world, of all races, religions, and nationalities, to embrace the cause of "#NeverForget."
National Braille Literacy Month
January is Braille Literacy month, in honor of the birthday of Louis Braille, who was born on January 4, 1809. Louis Braille was born in Coupvray, France, and went blind at the age of 3. As a student, he tried to devise a way to efficiently represent print letters and numbers actually. His inspiration to use embossed dots to represent letters came from an officer in Napoleon's army. By 1824, Braille became the official writing system for the blind. Over the years as audio technology has caused the use of Braille in the classroom to dwindle, it is increasingly vital to highlight the importance of Braille literacy.
Facts about Braille education:
  • 85% of blind students go to public school but only 10% are literate in Braille
  • The number of teachers qualified to teach Braille, known as VI teachers, decreases every year causing a national shortage
  • Braille is not a language. In fact, most languages have their own Braille system.
  • Braille literacy is critical to independence and the attainment of education and employment for the blind.
We are Reflecting:
Dr. King’s Legacy
Contributed By Dr. Robert Drewry, The Joseph Sears School Faculty

As you read and discuss Martin Rising, consider that Dr. King’s legacy encompasses more than the maxim to not judge people “by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.” King was not as widely adored during his lifetime as he was in the decades following his death. Even people in the highest levels of government were threatened by King’s critique of the status quo. While J. Edgar Hoover ran the FBI, he ordered the FBI to surveil King and his associates because he considered their vision a threat to white America. For instance, King spoke against the “giant triplets of racism, extreme materialism, and militarism” in a speech that was, again, widely unpopular in its day. Notably, his wife, Coretta Scott King, encouraged his thinking on this topic. She was also an activist before meeting him, and her fight for women’s liberation continued after his assassination. It helps to have a fuller understanding of King’s radical vision for a different America–especially his analysis of the interrelated nature of racism, poverty, and war–when discussing his legacy and the lessons it can teach in the 2020s. He was more than a humble, nonviolent activist of mythical patience who thought ignoring skin color would solve America’s problems.
A local organization we are excited about:
New Trier Coalition for Diversity

The New Trier Coalition for Diversity's mission is to provide an effective, unified voice for all races/ethnicities in the New Trier student and alumni community, and to use our unified voice to promote productive discussions with the New Trier High School administration on issues of race and diversity in education.
An article we are reading:
Harvard Business Review

How to Hold Your Company Accountable to Its Promise of Racial Justice
A poem that we love:
"It's because being American is more than a pride we inherit, it's the past we step into, and how we repair it."

- Amanda Gorman, the nation's first-ever youth poet laureate

Hear and read the full poem here.
Who We Are.
In February 2019, members of the JSSPVA met with the Joseph Sears School Administration to encourage richer dialogues and augmented programming around diversity, equity, and belonging in our school community. In response to this request, the JSSPVA and the administration co-created the DEB committee in August 2019 with monthly meetings beginning in November 2019. The committee is made up of parents, faculty, administration, socio-emotional learning team leads, and a school board member representative. This unique collaboration amongst school and community stakeholders allows for diverse perspectives on the committee and in the school house.
The Joseph Sears School DEB Committee
Kate Donegan, Superintendent, kdonegan@kenilworth38.org
Stephanie Helfand, Principal, shelfand@kenilworth38.org
Mia Sachs, School Board Liaison, msachs@kenilworth38.org
Kathleen Lyman, JSSPVA Board Representative, kathleenclyman@gmail.com
Rebecca Quigley, Parent Lead/HEROS Liaisonrebeccaquigley@aol.com

Faculty/Staff Committee Members
Nancy Economou, Social Worker
Hilary Harvey, Social-Emotional Learning Facilitator
Jennifer Arra, Fourth-Grade Teacher
Robert Drewry, ELA Teacher
Myra Love, Student Services
Laura Romisher, Eighth-Grade Math Teacher
Toula Sideris, Third-Grade Teacher
Daphna Stepen, Sixth-Grade ELA Teacher

Parent Committee Members:
Kathy Ambrosino, Shawn Bard, Marjorie Bransfield, Tanya Brown, Sarah Czepiel, Steve Fifita, 
Brittany Gottschall, Joe Guarino, Omar Khalaf, Radhika Maheshwari, Anaga Maira, Sumita Mehta, Vanessa Menton, Steve Mugg, Amisha Muthialu, Joanna Naftali, Kyra Nelson, Douw O'Kelly,
Kristin Pilant, Anne Ryan, Claire Serpi, Janet Scholl, Meredith Sullivan

Interested in joining the DEB Committee? Please fill out the following form and a committee chairperson will reach out with more information.
The Joseph Sears School Diversity, Equity, Belonging Committee
542 Abbotsford Road, Kenilworth, IL, 60043
School Office: 847-256-5006