Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

PTSA Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI)

Read the PTSA Newsletter Equity Corner

See an interesting event that celebrates Diversity, Equity, or Inclusion and you’d like to see it highlighted here? Please send it our way to DEIatBHS@gmail.com Thank you!

Current Meeting Details

Please reach out with any questions and meeting dates and times to: DEIatBHS@gmail.com 

Roosevelt High School:
Beyond Black & White Film Screening Follow Up & Resources

To all the panelists and attendees at the film screening and discussion Friday, thank you so much for taking time to participate in this important event! We were very happy to see such a great turnout for our first in-person event, and we hope to keep the momentum going. 

Attendees, please take this super quick survey (just 4 questions): Survey for Film

If you’d like to get involved or have thoughts about other events you’d like to see Ballard DEI committee host in the future, please reach out to us at this email address. We’d love to hear from you, and love to have you involved! Thank you, Ballard High School PTSA DEI Committee (Brian Duncan, Ellen Butzel, Jinoo Mattila, Shelley Bolser)

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Rhapsody Project Workshops April 18 – May 23

Drop In Virtual Learning & Strategy Sessions, adapted from Rhapsody’s Face the Music Curriculum (FREE online)

Join Lady A and Joe Seamons of The Rhapsody Project for a series of virtual classes and strategy sessions to establish a culture of equity and accountability in the North End public school community, hosted by Lincoln High School! Open to students, parents, administrators, and teachers, these weekly sessions will celebrate Black American musical history while grounding participants in the history and evolution of racism in our country, drawing on stories from the era of Minstrelsy all the way through the golden era of Hip Hop. Learn more about the Rhapsody Project Workshops and register for the Zoom Link. Free. Drop ins are welcome–you don’t have to commit to each weeks. You can get a taste of this work by looking at their other workshops. The Rhapsody Project run by Lady A (a Lincoln HS alumni) and her colleague (both musicians). Learn more on the Rhapsody Project website about how we can support equity in our schools. Please email DEIatBHS@gmail.com for more information. 

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News Resources

SPS Black Indians, African American History

• Read more A place of belonging. A true sense of home

• Up & Back: Outdoor solace for Seattle’s queer people of color
• Seeing and Being Seen in the work of Dawoud Bey and Carrie Mae Weems. At the SAM
• Cham Refugee Community article in the South Seattle Emerald
• Black Well-Being Report Seeks Societal Solutions from Black Washingtonians in the South Seattle Emerald.
• Native and Strong Lifeline 988 Crisis Line Support for Native Communities.
• Opinion South Seattle Emerald: We Must Listen to the Students
  • Many Ballard students supported Ingraham students in the protest on November 14 with demands for
    • Mental health counselors in every school that is representative of the diverse backgrounds of the students, at least 1 per every 200 students. 
    • Updated Safe Storage Laws nationally. 
    • Increased de-escalating and anti-racism trainings for Seattle Public School security guards. 
    • Ban assault rifles. 
    • Ingraham HS Students Protest at Seattle City Hall to Bring Awareness to Gun Violence

• UW: Get to Know the UW campus with Indigenous Walking Tour
• Rainer Beach: RB Action Coalition Looks Towards a New Future of Fundraising
• Read the Article: Native American Restaurants
• Article: Set Us Free From Fear
• Seattle Histories: My Grandfather’s Queue – Front Porch  

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Meet the DEI Committee

We are excited to kick off the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion efforts (or DEI) at Ballard High School! We want everyone to link arms towards creating a more welcoming, diversity-rich safe space here in our school community where everyone feels a greater sense of belonging, where everyone has a seat at the table, and where students’ and families’ unique cultural perspectives are valued.

See an interesting event that celebrates Diversity, Equity, or Inclusion and you’d like to see it highlighted here? Please send it our way! DEIatBHS@gmail.com  

Ballard HS DEI Committee Meetings  

This year the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) committee will be meeting with our fellow parent DEI committee at Lincoln High School twice a month (1st and 3rd Tuesday of each month at 7 p.m., online).  We look forward to working with Lincoln HS to collaborate on events and activities! Everyone is welcome! Please reach out if you would like to join any of the meetings, or if you have ideas or suggestions: DEIatBHS@gmail.com. We’d love for you to be involved! ~ Co-Chairs: Naida Boyer and Shelley Bolser

Goals of DEI Committee

• Create a safe space for students and families in our BHS to discuss experiences and resources
• Provide and promote activities and enrichment experiences that elevate students and school families in our community, focusing on the information and skills necessary to improve equity
• Facilitate direct access to school administration, allowing better communication between families and school administration
• Advocate for and amplify diverse voices in the school community

At the January 2022 PTSA meeting, the Ballard PTSA adopted a resolution affirming the information in WSPTA Resolution 2.26, “Dismantling Institutional and Systemic Racism”. To view, open the Child Safety and Protection tab. This will guide the work and inform the DEI Committee’s future goals.

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