Record of Activities

2021 - 2022

• November 2021

  • PTO sets up Disability Awareness Display at FEs

  • Wonder Project had its first follow up meeting!

  • Equity Leaders presented an overview to the board

  • FHS Day of Welcome led by civil rights team

  • Equity leaders facilitated 1st Marceline Follow-up staff meeting in their buildings

  • Reviewing policy pertaining to challenged materials and opting out

• October 2021

  • October 8th All District PD: What is Equity, with Marceline DuBose

  • Equity Leaders and Administrators compile and share an EQUITY in Falmouth Schools FAQ with the School Board and Community

  • Equity Leaders prepare Monthly ‘tips’ and guides for staff on a range of topics.

• September 2021

  • Equity Leaders in each building present themselves to staff and students as a resource, support and advocate

  • District-wide professional development with Marceline DuBose (Equity Literacy Institute) begins

  • Focus Groups and Surveys go to the community as he final steps of the district equity audit

 

2020 - 2021

 

• September 2020

  • IAIC Renewed membership drive to continue to ensure breadth of board membership: parents, parent, staff, student participation.

  • Evening meetings to adapt to COVID & schedules

  • Addition of new subcommittees

    • Steering Committee

    • Communications Committee

    • Equity Audit ACTION Committee

    • Mascot Task ACTION Committee

  • Cultural Competency Institute presented by Maine School Management Association (Monthly Workshop + Debrief Sessions): 25 participants including Board/Administrators/Staff members (Program runs through May 2021)

• October 2020

  • District Wide Antiracist Book Talks

• November 2020

  • Resources shared with staff re: Indigenous Peoples’ Day

• January 2021

  • Resources shared with staff re: Black History Month

• February 2021

  • 12 Staff members (FES, FMS, FHS) take part in the Equity Literacy Institute’s Facilitators Training

• March 2021

  • Experiential learning: IAIC leadership has been in early contact with peers in the Portland area regarding a collaborative DEI project focusing on the Presumpscot River and also colleagues in China about immersion & exchange programs.

  • IAIC leadership identified helpful resources including

    • Unequal: A series on race and inequality in America @ Harvard

    • Gorsky’s Equity Literacy Institute

    • Boston College Racial Trauma Toolkit

    • Ellington Public Schools "Seeds of Civility"

• April 2021

  • Town: Senior staff has been working with Dustin Ward at “It is Time”, a 3-series class. Town council is discussing a racial justice resolution on April 12th to address these matters. Seeking some public comment on the resolution and with the IAIC involvement. Should we put us a communication out to the community

  • Mascot Sub-Committee: Press Herald/Forecaster published an April 20, 2021 article regarding the possible retirement of the current Falmouth Schools Mascot

  • School board votes unanimously to retire the Yachtsmen mascot: Press Herald coverage

• June 2021

  • IAIC announces that it will run a cross-media workshop on the book and film adaptation of RJ Palacio’s “Wonder”, in collaboration with Harvard Graduate School of Education, to foster stronger inclusion for students with physical, developmental, and learning differences.

• July 2021

  • IAIC runs the Wonder Project Workshop in collaboration with Harvard Graduate School of Education, Falmouth Memorial Library, and Falmouth Flagship Cinemas

 

2019 - 2020

 

• September 2019

  • In the Fall of 2019, the Maine Law School provided anti-bias training for staff at FES. 

  • In the 2019-2020 School year, all members of FHS and FMS staff participated in training with the Maine Attorney General’s Office / Civil Rights Project to foster understanding about implicit and explicit bias and how it plays out in schools.  The training scheduled for FES, scheduled for April, was currently being rescheduled due to the pandemic.

• February 2020

  • IAIC Mission Statement Sub-committee drafts: 

    • “Falmouth Public Schools is committed to creating an environment where all community members and visitors feel safe to be different. We develop and implement policies and practices that empower us all to feel the confidence to be ourselves, to risk courageously, and to fail productively, so we may grow and thrive in our learning and lives.”

• June 2020

  • IAIC sent a June 11th Letter to the Community which included the finalized June 2020 Vision, Mission, & Values Statement

  • Curricular Shifts over the two years have included:

    • Social Studies Teachers K-12 began to review and revise curriculum to include direct instruction related to race, intercultural awareness, and diversity.   New curriculum was implemented in 2019-2020.

    • English Language Arts began to expand classroom libraries (including 6-12) and design units that specifically address issues of race and equity. New curriculum was implemented in 2019-2020.

 

2018 - 2019

 

• September 2018

  • 15 staff join a year-long Interculturality PLT and training program

• January 2019 

  • Since January 2019, more than 60 staff members have attended, and continue to attend, the Racial Equity Institute Training (2 day intensive) to foster deeper understanding of the history and structural components of racial discrimination in the U.S.

• May 2019

  • Community Dialogues included session topic about Intercultural Inclusion/Diversity

  • Community-wide Survey about Diversity, Intercultural Awareness & Inclusion in Falmouth Schools

• Summer 2019

  • In both 2018 and 2019, our District Summer Book Selections (all staff members partake, and students and community members are invited to partake) have included titles focused on fostering understanding of diversity and educational practices for equity. At least 60 staff members have selected these titles each summer.

  • Librarians took a course in 2019 called Evaluating, Auditing, and Diversifying your Collection class presented by Library Journal to identify gaps in multicultural collection development within our libraries.  

 

2017 - 2018

 

• September 2017

  • 20 Staff Members participated in a Professional Learning Group led by Maine Intercultural Associates during the 2017-2018 School Year.  This group led to the inception of the Intercultural Awareness & Inclusion Committee.

• May 2018

  • Community Dialogues included session topic about Intercultural Inclusion/Diversity

• June 2018

  • More than 30 Staff Members and administrators engaged in training based on the Intercultural Development Inventory in 2018. 

  • More than 20 staff members have taken part in trainings by Teaching Tolerance and Facing History since 2018 to learn how to incorporate curriculum related to understanding discrimination and hate.

• Summer 2018

In both 2018 and 2019, our District Summer Book Selections (all staff members partake, and students and community members are invited to partake) have included titles focused on fostering understanding of diversity and educational practices for equity. At least 60 staff members have selected these titles each summer.

2021 - 2022

September 2021

2020 - 2021

December 2020
PTO launched Diversity in December Book drive where parents purchased books for the FES library about race, gender, religion, disability and more. 

February 2021

• FES Teachers took part in Teachers College Reading & Writing Project Training: Culturally Relevant Reading Practices & Texts that Empower Students
• The FES Civil Rights team also created FES Spread Some Love for Valentine’s Day: They made and delivered Valentines for all classrooms with messages from the CRT team. 
• PTO DEI subcommittee: “Hate has No Home Here” and other lawn sign campaign will launch in April 2021
• 100% of proceeds will be allocated to Story Tales at FES, a new authors series designed to expose students to a multitude of diverse voices. 

April 2021

The FES PTO is proud to be selling four select lawn signs that speak to diversity, inclusion, community love and Falmouth pride. 100% of proceeds from the sales will go directly to a fund to bring diverse authors to FES in-person next year as part of a new series, Story Tales at FES. Deadline to order is: May 7, 2021: https://falmouthpto.org/fes/shop/sign-orders-2021/

2019 - 2020

October 2019
The FES Civil Rights Team hosted a "FES Welcoming Library" for three weeks in October, 2019. This library consisted of picture books featuring the immigrant, refugee, or "new arrival" experience. The Bowdoinham Public Library lent us these books for three weeks and many staff members and students were able to read and learn from these resources.

December 2019
For the FES Multicultural Children's Book Day celebration (2019), the Librarian selected and ordered high-quality, age appropriate multicultural books for each grade level to add to their classroom libraries and to expand our general collection. This was made possible through the generosity of the FES PTO.  

The FES Civil Rights Team organized FES Celebrates the Holidays. They surveyed all FES families, analyzed the results as a team, created a bar graph and slide so that we could share the results with the school community.  We also educated the students and staff about 14 different holidays by coming up with short paragraphs about each holiday. 

April 2020
FES PTO was slated to sponsor the inaugural International Festival at FES. The event was to include information/experience tables representing countries and cultures around the world. This event was cancelled due to COVID-19.

June 2020

• PTO had planned an International Festival for April 4, involving Falmouth families from about 25 different countries, along with a Bulgarian guitarist, Burundi drummers, and a Flamenco dancer. Event featured ethnic dishes, crafts, activities, and games from around the world to represent and celebrate Falmouth families from around the world.
• PTO developing a “Tuesdays at 7” education series on Zoom with various community leaders focused on social and emotional learning, racial justice, and Fall 2020 curriculum and schooling plans.
• PTO Ran spirit wear campaign to raise money for Falmouth Food Pantry
   

2021-2022
FMS has been accepted as a member of the Project Lit Community!  

2020 - 2021

September 2020

• FMS English Teachers have diversified their instructional selections to include titles that represent a broader range of the human experience 
• FMS Social Studies Teachers continue to review and redesign instructional units to ensure broader inclusion of diverse voices and perspectives

October 2020

• MS Civil Rights Team organized Day of Welcome Activities/Displays to celebrate and promote the idea that school communities are for everyone and all the parts of their identities protected under the Maine Civil Rights Act: race and skin color, national origin and ancestry, religion, disabilities, gender (including gender identity and expression), and sexual orientation.
• FMS Students took part in a Culture Fair this past fall. Students read books that focus on difference, and created artistic interpretations and posters they presented with insights about their learnings about different cultures, races, identities, abilities, etc.  Students, parents and staff were invited to tour the library and listen to student presentations.

November 2020

 

• MS Civil Rights Team organized Advisory Activity / video to learn about the work of the Civil Rights Team

January 2021

• MS Civil Rights Team organized Advisory activity to discuss the mascot

February 2021

• MS Civil Rights Team prepared presentation to school board re: mascot
• MS Civil Rights Team organized Term 5 Advisory Activities around Civil Rights Topics

2019 - 2020

January 2020

Faculty training on bias and harassment by Brandon Baldwin from the Attorney General’s Office/Civil Rights Team Project
Many staff attended two day trainings by the Racial Equity Institute (REI).

2016 - 2017

September 2016
The FMS Best Buddies club, begun in 2016, helps make FMS more inclusive to people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. This group continues to be active and participates in the international Spread the Word: Inclusion campaign each year.  A similar group is being developed at FHS.

2021 - 2022

Ongoing
 

• HS CRT will be highlighting major religious holidays throughout the year
• August 2021
• HS CRT: in-service presentation for all staff about personal gender pronouns
• November 2021
• HS CRT: Day of Welcome was held on November 2nd. On this day, students were encouraged to reflect on what makes FHS a more welcoming place. In advisory, students made a poster welcoming people into their advisory space/classroom. While students worked on a poster, they also had the opportunity for discussion. They were invited to discuss some things that FHS is doing well with being welcoming, what some things that can be improved with being welcoming, and how the curriculum at the HS is with representing all identities. Feedback from the discussions was sent to the CRT.  

2020 - 2021

September 2020

• FHS English Teachers have diversified their instructional selections to include titles that represent a broader range of the human experience 
• FHS Social Studies Teachers continue to review and redesign instructional units to ensure broader inclusion of diverse voices and perspectives
• FHS Civil Rights Team (CRT) makes a media/book recommendation each month to the community

October 2020

• HS CRT: Day of Welcome; video sharing of welcome/unwelcome to celebrate and promote the idea that school communities are for everyone and all the parts of their identities protected under the Maine Civil Rights Act: race and skin color, national origin and ancestry, religion, disabilities, gender (including gender identity and expression), and sexual orientation.
• Discussion in advisory was positive, felt heard, and felt more welcome 
• HS CRT: Wrote a letter re: gender neutral bathrooms to Peter; Peter working on it

November 2020

• HS CRT: Monthly media recommendations coming for November: Crazy Brave for indigenous people’s month along with quotes & a short film; 

December 2020

• HS CRT: Monthly media recommendations for December: George book recommendation and video from Australian trans youth about pronouns and misgendering with the focus on gender identity
• HS CRT: organized Advisory activity to discuss the mascot where students discussed their thoughts on the mascot and took a survey. 

January 2021

• HS CRT: monthly media recommendations on disabilities: Out of My Mind and short videos about autism & use of the R word

February 2021

• HS CRT: prepares presentation to school board re: mascot,
• HS CRT: monthly media recommendations about Black history: The Hate U Give and “The Hill We Climb”
• HS CRT: gave all staff and students valentines celebrating diversity for Valentine’s Day. 

March 2021
HS CRT: monthly media recommendations about women’s history/women’s rights: I am Malala and “On the Basis of Sex”

April 2021
HS CRT: monthly media recommendations about awareness on Muslim and religious based hate crimes (religion).
HS CRT: organized an advisory activity for Women’s History Month (bumped to April from last week in March due to spontaneous remote learning days). Surveyed students on gender-based discrimination and presented results in the advisory activity along with interesting facts about policies in women’s history.

 

May 2021

• HS CRT: monthly media recommendations about awareness on Muslim and religious based hate crimes (religion).
• HS CRT: advocates for the creation of all gender bathrooms in the cafe. Progress towards changing the most centrally located bathrooms is underway. 
• HS CRT: prepares for staff training during the PD days in August 2021 around pronouns including the importance of and resources staff members can use at the beginning of the school year when getting to know new students. 

June 2021
FHS CRT: monthly media recommendations about LGBTQ+ with The 57 Bus and Love, Simon. 

2019 - 2020

September 2019

• HS started a Best Buddies chapter
• The members of the FHS School Gay Straight Transgendered Alliance (GSTA) work to educate the school community about homophobia. The goal of this group is to establish an environment where everyone, including gay, bisexual, or transgender, is respected regardless of their sexual orientation. 

October 2019

• Faculty training on bias and harassment by Brandon Baldwin from the Attorney General’s Office/Civil Rights Team Project,

December 2019
Caroline: students are feeling a bit more stressed due to covid

January 2020
Civil Rights Team: Recognized Dr Martin Luther King Jr Day with facts around the school and a Kahoot quiz in advisory groups
Displayed new civil rights-related vocabulary words each week on the screens in common areas

2018 - 2019

April 2019
Our FHS School Advisory Program, beginning in the spring of 2019, has embedded specific lessons and discussions related to understanding diversity.  These lessons have been developed in collaboration with the Civil Rights Team. 

2017 - 2018

June 2018
Graduation no longer featured gender-oriented attire
 

2021 - 2022

• September 2021

  • The Town of Falmouth wishes to develop a Town Vision and Values statement through a robust community engagement process, prior to embarking on the update of its 2013 Comprehensive Plan. The resulting Vision and Values statement will summarize the community’s desired future community character. The Vision & Values Process is well under way with a variety of opportunities to get involved right now. Project Portal can be found here.

2020 - 2021

• April 2021

  • Town Resolution: Town Council published a draft resolution “On the Commitment to Racial Equity and Social Justice”

Press Herald/Forecaster covered April 12, 2021 meeting that introduced the draft resolution and involved public comment