Diversity & Inclusion Action Team (DIAT) includes everyone - adults & children, teachers & staff

Families at Sunset Ridge represent a wide range of identities. This team needs YOU to share information, holidays, recipes, books, videos, lessons, and stories about your unique heritage with our community. Please email talyakbrass@gmail.com to submit ideas for posts. Then come to this website often to learn about the different cultures, religious celebrations, languages, and ideas in our community. Thank you!

NOTE: If you see anything here that doesn’t feel right, please reach out. We want to know how to fix it and have a discussion.

Las familias de Sunset Ridge representan una amplia gama de identidades. Este equipo necesita que USTED comparta información, vacaciones, recetas, libros, videos, lecciones e historias sobre su herencia única con nuestra comunidad. Envíe un correo electrónico a talyakbrass@gmail.com para enviar ideas para publicaciones. Entonces visite este sitio web con frecuencia para conocer las diferentes culturas, celebraciones religiosas, idiomas e ideas de nuestra comunidad. ¡Gracias! NOTA: Si ve algo aquí que no se siente bien, comuníquese con nosotros. Queremos saber cómo solucionarlo y tener una discusión.

Reading Resources

Book of the Month Bookshelf
Children’s books to share and enjoy. Principal Ellie Cundiff reads these aloud by video and in classrooms. Please submit suggestions for the Book of the Month! Check out our local shop, Florey’s Book Co, to order your own copy.

Community Adult Reading list
Title suggestions from parents, teachers, staff, aunts, uncles, and grandparents. Read together and talk about them.

Social Justice Book Suggestions
From the wide world of reading resources, spend some time perusing titles here. Select books to read alone, in groups, with your children, and with friends and family.

Listening Resources

  1. All My Relations is a podcast hosted by Matika Wilbur (Swinomish and Tulalip) and Adrienne Keene (Cherokee Nation) to explore our relationships— relationships to land, to our creatural relatives, and to one another.

  2. How Black Creators Are Changing Hollywood New Yorker Radio Hour 2022. (54 minutes)

  3. They Call Us Bruce Potluck Podcast Collective 2017-2022.

  4. Revisiting How We Save Ourselves No One Is Coming To Save Us 2022 (63 minutes)

  5. Tribes and Traitors: What Happens When You Empathize With The Enemy NPR Hidden Brain 2017 (30 minutes)

  6. Anxiety In Children: Overlooked Signs & Effective Supports ADDitude Magazine Podcast 2022 (62 minutes)

  7. Race Radiolab 2008 (21 minutes)

Lessons From Our Community

In honor of Filipino American History Month in October, learn about immigrant social justice pioneer Larry Itliong through AJ Rafael’s catchy tribute song.

Gender inclusivity by using pronouns

You may have noticed that people are sharing their pronouns in introductions, name tags, and Zooms. This is happening to make spaces more inclusive of transgender, gender nonconforming, and gender non-binary people. Including pronouns is a first step toward respecting people’s gender identity, working against cisnormativity, and creating a more welcoming space for people of all genders.

Neurodiversity is a concept that’s been around for a while. In a nutshell, it means that brain differences are just that: differences. So conditions like ADHD and autism aren’t “abnormal.” They’re simply variations of the human brain. Scientists are realizing that these conditions emerge through a combination of genetic predisposition and environmental interaction; they are not the result of disease or injury.

After a long time away from the regular school routine, students with ADHD and autism may have turbulent transitions back to in-person school. Social Stories is a strategy to help and support children improve social schools and reduce anxiety.

East Asian Mid-Autumn Festival: In ancient China, the Mid-Autumn Festival was first celebrated to give thanks for a bountiful harvest and the gifts of family. It’s one of the three big annual festivals designated for the living — the others are Chinese New Year and the Dragon Boat Festival.

The 2020 Netflix movie, Over the Moon, is inspired by the Mid-Autumn Festival.

Anti-Racism Tools

As parents, caregivers, and community members, we have a responsibility to ensure everyone is safe from racism and has equitable opportunities to thrive. In order to do this, we must begin with ourselves.

Click the photo link to see a huge list of articles, action items, activities, bias tests, and resources for both adults and kids. Trying Together is an organization in Pittsburgh, PA, that works with the mission of justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion in their community.

Learning about Islam

Click on the image and HERE for videos describing some of the meanings and how Muslims observe the holy month of Ramadan. Also learn about Eid, which means “festival” in Arabic. There are two Eids each year. Special thanks to the Hamdallah family for the information and videos!

Want to know how you can support our Muslim friends during Ramadan? CLICK HERE.