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Wissahickon district outlines Black History Month activities across schools
Summary
A district staff member detailed Black History Month lessons and events at elementary, middle and high schools, including classroom research projects, music and art lessons, and Black Student Union outreach to elementary schools.
The Wissahickon School District presented an overview of Black History Month activities across its buildings at the Feb. 24 school board meeting, describing classroom projects, music and library displays and high school student outreach to elementary classrooms.
Kaziah Latour, identified in the meeting as a district staff member, told the board that elementary schools staged research projects, gallery walks and collaborative lessons tied to Black artists and historical figures, while music classes covered jazz, Motown and African folk songs. ‘‘Although this is a moment to highlight the wonderful achievements and contributions of Black Americans in our nation, ... these influential Black Americans ... be included in the curriculum all year long,’’ Latour said.
The nut graf: The district highlighted building-level projects intended to combine research, art and performance with age-appropriate lessons; the high school’s Black Student Union (BSU) coordinated visits to elementary classrooms and planned culminating events.
Latour gave examples by school: Blue Bell Elementary students completed research projects and PowerPoint presentations; Lower Gwynedd students created collage abstracts inspired by artist Alma Thomas; Shady Grove students produced a school-wide mural and pennants; Stony Creek library lessons covered Rosa Parks and the Underground Railroad; middle-school library displays showcased books by and about notable Black Americans. The high school’s BSU sent as many as 10 students to elementary schools to read and present and planned a BSU movie night and cookout as month-end events.
High-school academic departments also incorporated material for the month: English classes used texts by Black authors, health classes researched prominent Black physicians, and world-language classes studied notable Afro-Latino figures. Technology education classes produced documentary-style videos that were played on the district broadcast channel.
Board members praised the breadth of activities and said they planned building visits to see displays and student work.
The presentation emphasized curriculum integration rather than a single-day event model and encouraged continued inclusion of Black history in classroom instruction year round.
