The purpose of NCOE’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Learning Community is to address systemic racism and its outcomes to ensure an equitable, inclusive and safe workplace that celebrates children, families, and staff of NCOE.
Resolution Proclaiming LGBTQ+ Pride Month June 2021 Napa County Board of Education
Tribal Consultation Toolkit CA Department of Education
Partner Equity Statement re: Federal Indian Boarding School Initiative U.S. Department of Health & Human Services
- Establish a process that is bigger than “training” and holds us all accountable to acting on our shared values.
- Provide opportunities for students and community members to be educated in issues of equity, cultural diversity and understanding.
- Create resources/ strategies to assist departments in learning about and implementing practices that support diversity, inclusion, and equity.
- Engage in a sustainable improvement plan that includes data driven assessment of our gaps and inequities, and provides recommendations for the ongoing process(es) that ensures that change continues over time.
- Have staff, including leadership, that are reflective and representative of the communities we serve.
The work of the DEI Learning Community is conducted by the following four DEI workgroups:
Training, Resources and Accountability: Create resources/strategies to assist departments in learning about and implementing practices that support diversity, inclusion, and equity. Establish a process that holds us all accountable to acting on our values. Contact: Susan Stewart
Student and Community Opportunities: Provide opportunities for students and community members to be educated in issues of equity, cultural diversity and understanding. Contact: Barbara Thorsen
Assessment, Evaluation and Sustainability: Create an improvement plan that includes data driven assessment of our gaps and provides recommendations for the ongoing process(es) that ensures that change continues over time. Contact: Ginny Ariaz
NCOE Recruitment and Hiring: Address having staff, including leadership, that are reflective and representative of the communities we serve. Contact: Lucy Edwards
NCOE Ambassadors Program: The Ambassadors Program engages all staff in Courageous Conversations on issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion to foster learning and growth and to build a culture of equity in a safe space. These Ambassadors, volunteers drawn from NCOE managers, received training on cultural equity to prepare them to co-facilitate these thoughtful, small group conversations. Contact: Connie Silva
Conversations For Change
“Discussing Discrimination“, American Psychological Association.
“Let’s Talk About Race: Conversations That Build Bridges, Strengthen Relationships, and Set Clear Boundaries“, Nancy A. Dome.
“Opening a Dialogue with Youth About Racism“, USC Rossier School of Education.
“Courageous Conversations About Race: A Field Guide for Achieving Equity in Schools and Beyond“, Glenn E. Singleton.
“Talking to Kids About Discrimination“, American Psychological Association.
Cultural Recognition at NCOE
The purpose of NCOE’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Learning Community is to address systemic racism and its outcomes to ensure an equitable, inclusive and safe workplace that celebrates children, families, and staff of NCOE.
Black History Month Celebration
Recording of the February 8 event
Connect with Dr. Charles Cole III
“Beyond Grit & Resilience: How Black Men Impacted by the Crack Epidemic Succeeded Against the Odds and Obtained Doctoral Degrees”, By Dr. Charles Cole III (Amazon)
Napa County Data for African American Students SLIDES | REPORT
2024 Oratorical Contest Photos (external website, new window)
Recording of the 2024 Oratorical Contest
Disability Awareness
Coming soon!
Jewish American Heritage Month
Lunch and Learn
May 18, 2023
Jewish American Heritage Resources
https://www.jewishheritagemonth.gov/for-teachers/
https://news.jrn.msu.edu/culturalcompetence/faith/american-jews/
Superintendent, Barb Nemko, shared information about her Jewish history, as well as some favorite traditional Jewish foods.
Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month Celebration
Lunch and Learn
May 22, 2023
Asian/Pacific American heritage Resources
Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month
AAPI Heritage Month K-12 Resources
Anti-Racism Resources for the AAPI Community
NCOE staff, Jaina Sebastian and Kee-An Louser, with staff from Napa Valley College.
Pride Month Celebrations
🏳️🌈Raising of the Pride Flag and Rainbow Potluck Lunch and Learn
June 1, 2023
🏳️🌈Pride Snack & Learn
June 28, 2023
Pride Month Resources
“June is LGBTQ+ Pride Month“, youth.gov.
“LGBTQ+ Voices: Learning from Lived Experiences“, McKinsey Quarterly.
“It Gets Better Project“, It Gets Better Project.
“Understanding the context and history behind LGBTQ+“, Fast Company.
NCOE staff kicked off Pride Month with a flag raising celebration and rainbow potluck.
Juneteenth Celebration
Juneteenth Lunch and LearnJune 22, 2023
Juneteenth Resources
“Celebrate Juneteenth: Historical and Contemporary Resources“, University of California, Davis, Library.
“What is Juneteenth?“, ABC7 News Bay Area.
NCOE staff, Asha McDowell, shared the artwork of Virginia Jourdan and Xochitl Lopez presented her website that features information about the Reconstruction Era.
Hispanic Heritage Month Celebration
Lunch and Learn
September 19, 2023
Staff presented information and historical perspective of the progress and contributions of the Hispanic community in America. Family recipes were shared and enjoyed by all!
Hispanic Heritage Month Resources
¡Presente! A Latino History of the United States
Hispanic Heritage Month
What Is Hispanic Heritage Month and Why Is It Celebrated?
Latino Americans
Timeline of Hispanic History Milestones
Dancers from Grupo Folklorico Mariposa performed for attendees.
DEI Staff Picks
The NCOE Recruitment and Hiring and Assessment, Evaluation & Sustainability Sub-Committees have a few suggestions of stories to read or view about some amazing people.
A Ballerina’s Tale
Suzy Morris – Technology Training and Support Services
“A Ballerina’s Tale” shows the struggles and successes of Misty Copeland, the first Black principal dancer of the American Ballet Theatre. The film explores themes around race as well as body image.
Misty started ballet lessons at 13 – which is considered old by traditional standards. I think that is what shines in Misty, she’s not a traditional ballerina – her home life was economically unstable at times, she’s African American, she has a curvy muscular body, she doesn’t fit the ballerina mold…but along the way she had amazing mentors lift her up and she herself had the determination to follow her dream. At a young age, Misty had to learn to navigate stereotypes, micro aggressions, and self-doubt. She not only became the first Black principal dancer of the American Balley Theatre in New York but she has also written two books as well as founded The Misty Copeland Foundation, which provides afterschool programs for children, ages 8 to 10, that combine affordable ballet training, in the communities where they live, alongside health and wellness, musicianship, mentoring and general tutoring components.
Available on YouTube.
The Imitation Game
Movie based on the book ‘The Enigma’ by Andrew Hodges
Ginny Ariaz, Continuous Improvement and Academic Support
This movie is set during WW2 and focuses on the team who crack the Enigma machine that the Nazi’s used to encode messages. The movie focuses on Alan Turning who is gay and the head mathematician on the project. He recruits Joan Clarke to his team, but has to assign her to the female clerk team in order to satisfy her parents. Both Turning and Clarke face hardships and work together to find a mutually beneficial solution and continue their work.
The movie really depicts the discrimination faced by the LGBTQ+ community and women in the 1950s. Despite their brilliant minds and the incredible work they were capable of, society wanted to limit and ostracize Turning and Clarke. I was fascinated by the story and highly recommend it. Not to mention it was nominated for 8 Academy Awards and won Best Adapted Screenplay.
Available on Netflix, Amazon Prime, and Apple TV
Uncomfortable Conversations with Emmanuel AchoSeana Wagner – Director, Communications & Special Projects
In the past few years, we have been learning together as a country that knowing how to have difficult conversations from opposite sides of issues is vital to the strength of our community. Emmanuel Acho’s videos are a valuable part of that discourse. Emmanuel Acho is the host of the groundbreaking video series “Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black Man” (now “Uncomfortable Conversations with Emmanuel Acho”). He is also a New York Times bestselling author, an Emmy-winning television broadcaster and a former linebacker for the NFL. Acho has a voice of compassion and understanding that he uses to talk about a wide variety of difficult topics.
Available on YouTube.
The First, the Few, the Only: How Women of Color Can Redefine Power in Corporate America
Author, Deepa Purushothaman
Yuliana Moreno, Continuous Improvement and Academic Support
A deeply personal call to action for women of color to find power from within and to join together in community, advocating for a new corporate environment where we all belong—and are accepted.
Innocent Voices
Author, Luis Mandoki
Manuel Pineda, Early Childhood Services
A young boy, in an effort to have a normal childhood in 1980’s El Salvador, is caught up in a dramatic fight for his life as he desperately tries to avoid the war which is raging all around him.
I wanted to share to show what we lived in my country through the Civil War.
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Resources
A key component of NCOE’s commitment to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion is providing our staff, students and community with access to quality resources. The database below is provided as a starting point for your own personal learning and growth. The resources were reviewed and selected using this rubric. However, the information is provided by external organizations and NCOE is not responsible for the content on these linked resources.
Techniques for revealing and circumventing unconscious bias; tools for eliminating or mitigating conscious bias.
Lessons learned from personal experiences with prejudice or from interventions to address it (includes small group surveys and case studies); cultural heritage and contributions.
Tools and techniques to improve educational outcomes for diverse students.
Tools, guidelines, and examples for creating DEI policies and procedures and for measuring their effectiveness.
Tools and services to help individuals experiencing discrimination with improving resilience against such discrimination and addressing its source.
Information and practices with the potential to encourage DEI mindsets and to normalize inclusionary behaviors.