Follow up: Resources for Parents on topics of race and racism

Dear Lucas Elementary Community:

Lucas parents received an email from Kingsley Botchway II, ICCSD director of equity and engagement, on May 11, alerting us to recent racist comments made by students at Lucas Elementary. At the May 14 Lucas PTO meeting, we discussed the incidents and learned from Mr. Botchway and Principal Turnis the ICCSD processes for responding to racist expressions  in school. Today, we are writing to our school community to invite further discussion, and to provide some thoughts and resources as the school year nears the end.

The primary goal of Lucas PTO is “to provide Lucas students with the best educational experience possible” (https://www.iowacityschools.org/domain/922). Racism makes this goal unachievable. As Lucas parents and teachers, we are deeply concerned about the ways children of color and their families experience racism in their daily lives.

It is common for we as parents to feel overwhelmed or uncomfortable when talking to our kids about race and racism. Yet often, our greatest learning opportunities exist in discomfort. Parents present at the May PTO meeting discussed our desire to learn more and better understand racism so that we can begin taking action to eliminate it. We do not hold the naive belief that we can make all racism disappear; but if we can work to make Lucas Elementary a school where all children can get the best educational experience possible, we will be making a difference.

In this spirit, we invite the Lucas community to use the many resources at our fingertips to learn and to engage in ongoing dialogue about race and racism - especially with our children. As a starting point, we include below a list of links to “Resources for Parents” provided by our school district.

Please contact Rebekah Tilley at rtilley@gmail.com or text 319-512-9137 if you are interested in joining other Lucas parents in a PTO subcommittee to continue our discussion of race and racism, and begin identifying steps we can take as parents to improve the learning experience of all students in our school. We look forward to announcing additional learning opportunities in the coming weeks and months.  

Resources for Parents:

Raising Race Conscious Children http://www.raceconscious.org

Resources for Talking to Kids about Racism https://bouncebackparenting.com/resources-for-talking-to-kids-about-race-and-racism/

Talking to Kids About Racism and Justice: a list for parents, caregivers & educators https://docs.google.com/document/d/1s0lCA3FlulVhK6DFE2d3uYCipc6ApY8Gn2rMwm6fYqw/mobilebasic?pli=1

Race Conscious Kids http://www.theparentingjunkie.com/race-conscious-kids-some-ideas/

Families for Racial Justice and Collective Liberation http://www.creatingdemocracy.org/parenting-for-c

Tips for Raising “Woke” Children http://phddreams.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/RaisingWokeChildren_TipsResources_TCruz-2.pdf

Children Are Not Colorblind: How Young Children Learn Race http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.621.9728&rep=rep1&type=pdf

How to Talk to Kids About Race: Books and Resources That Can Help http://www.readbrightly.com/how-to-talk-to-kids-about-race-books-and-resources-that-can-help/

Children’s Books to Support Conversations on Race, Racism & Resistance https://medium.com/embrace-race/26-childrens-books-to-support-conversations-on-raceracism-resistance-15b189c1bab9

Resources for Talking to Kids about Racism https://bouncebackparenting.com/resources-for-talking-to-kids-about-race-and-racism/

Music performances

Here are some recent music performances by our Mighty Hawk band members.

Hedwig's Theme (6th grade)

Ramp it Up (6th grade)

Turbo Rock (5th grade)

Crunch Time (6th grade)

May newsletter

The May newsletter is available.

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Goodbye Mr. Turnis

Ken Turnis, the Lucas principal for the last three years, has accepted the position of principal at the newly-established Christine Grant Elementary in North Liberty.   The Mighty Hawk Messenger had the chance to talk to Mr. Turnis about this change.

The Mighty Hawk Messenger:  How long were you principal at Lucas, and what did you do prior to working here?

Mr. Turnis:  This is my 3^rdyear at Lucas. My career in education started as a daycare owner/director for 2 years before moving to the San Francisco bay area and teaching middle school for 3 years.  A return to Iowa brought me into Johnston and a 4^thgrade position. 3 years later, I moved into an assistant principal role.  I was in this role until we had all our children in school.  The principal job search led to Iowa City, and we have just loved being in this community!

The Mighty Hawk Messenger: Tell us about this exciting new opportunity at Christine Grant Elementary.  What are you most looking forward to there?

Mr. Turnis:  The opportunity to open a new building extends well beyond the structure.  I am most excited to take the many steps involved in bringing students, families, staff and community together in the creation of a positive culture of learning.

The Mighty Hawk Messenger: What will you miss most about Lucas?

Mr. Turnis:  Relationships.  Becoming a colleague and friend to so many individuals will be the most missed item by far…

The Mighty Hawk Messenger:  What advice do you have for students, staff, and families as we welcome our new principal?

Mr. Turnis:  Just to welcome her in the same way that I experienced!    

The Mighty Hawk Messenger:  What advice do you have for the new principal as she begins work at Lucas?

Mr. Turnis:  To always be you.  Listening to others, appreciating differing perspectives and ideas, and offering time and support to any needs that arise.  Smiling and laughing while celebrating the many positives that occur each and every day is a necessity!  

The Mighty Hawk Messenger:  What is your favorite memory or funny story about your time at Lucas?

Mr. Turnis:  Too many to count!  A few minutes ago, I paused my typing as three primary-aged students came in to tell me about their awesome day!  The positive energy, smiles and act of jumping up and down with excitement….those are the best moments!!

Spotlight on Orff Club

Fourth graders Jacob Turnquist and Carly Drake prepare for rehearsal

What's an Orff, anyway?  Is it an acronym?  Is it an instrument?  Is it something you say when you stub your toe?  Music teacher Nathan Kelley explains that Orff Club, a group of Lucas students who play xylophones and similar instruments, was named after Carl Orff.  Orff was a German composer who believed that children should be their own composers.  This philosophy is the foundation of the teaching approach Mr. Kelley uses in Orff Club.  Carl Orff also inspired the development of children's xylophones like the ones used in school.

Mr. Kelley was the first general music teacher in the district to start a percussion ensemble.  He started Orff Club in 2007 at Lucas and has been leading it ever since.  Orff Club is open to fourth, fifth, and sixth grade students who earn their membership through hard work in class and teacher recommendations.  Mr. Kelley says the goal of Orff Club is to give students the opportunity to play and perform more challenging music than they do in general music class, as well as giving children who love music a chance to learn and work with other music lovers.

Fourth graders Liz Degner, Elizabeth Gugliuzza, and Lukas Schoen prepare for rehearsal.

Orff Club members will soon have some opportunities to demonstrate their skills.  The fourth grade Orff Club will give a demonstration at the music informance on May 9, as well as performing their full show on the last day of school, May 30, at 1:00 p.m.

The fifth and sixth grade Orff Club will perform at the Tiffin Elementary Music Festival, which features elementary music performance groups from the area.  It will take place at Clear Creek Amana High School Auditorium from 6:30-8:30 on May 17th.

Mr. Kelley is proud of the work Orff Club members do, and one of his favorite memories is of the time Orff Club performed at the Iowa Music Educators Conference in Ames.  It is a gathering of music educators from around the state to collaborate and learn.  "It was an honor to showcase Lucas work to so many music educators in Iowa," he says.

Students in fourth, fifth, or sixth grade who are interested in joining Orff Club should keep an eye out for announcements from Mr. Kelley in the upcoming school year.  We're lucky to have this exciting program for our students and Mr. Kelley's leadership!