News from BHS 21st Century Fund

The BHS 21st Century Fund supports faculty-led pilot programs focused on curriculum innovation, fostering academic success and inspiration for all students.

School Year 2015-2016 VOLUME III

Race & Community

Seeing the World through Different Lenses

Please join us on Thursday, March 17, 2016 for the first of three events that comprise this year's "What's the Big Idea?" forum:
Courageous Conversations - Student Voices at BHS

Hear student stories in this parent-oriented take on the Day of Courage. This series is a collaboration among the BHS 21st Century Fund, BHS PTO, Steps to Success, Brookline METCO, BIG, and members of the BHS Faculty and Staff.

7:00-9:00 p.m. at the BHS Auditorium, 115 Greenough Street

Registration is appreciated, but not required.
There is no cost to attend this event.

What's the Big Idea?

Let's not be shy about it. Nationally and locally, the big issue this year is Race. Too often, school-based talk about race is met with reluctance, but at BHS we are committed to encouraging Courageous Conversations.

The 21st Century Fund has taken a leadership role in responding to our community's desire for a frank discussion about race and racism at BHS. This year's "What's the Big Idea?" forum will give parents, teachers and other adults an opportunity to reflect on and respond to student stories, shared via video, about their experiences at BHS and their perception of real-world events that directly impact our learning community.

Several of the students you'll hear from are involved in other 21st Century Fund programs that reflect the diversity of our student population and give students a chance to explore issues of race and racism at school. Some are enrolled in the African American and Latino Scholarship Program, which was launched in 2003 as a means to help students of color achieve high-level academic success. Two of the evening's featured speakers are exploring issues of racial identity and inequality in the 21st Century Fund's EPIC program, a senior-year alternative course that allows students to design and direct their own education. One EPIC student is conducting original, quantitative research about racial disparities at BHS. Another is exploring the link between activism and the role of social media, which led her to compose the powerful speech you'll hear at the forum. You'll also meet a student in the Racial Awareness Seminar, which is currently awaiting final approval for Fund support next year and was featured in the Boston Globe Education Issue. This 10th-grade elective explores the complexities of race within our national, local and high school communities, asking students to "look both inward and outward to explore multiple perspectives on the experience of race in America."

Please join us on March 17 as we seek a deeper understanding of race, identity, and diversity at BHS. Information will follow soon on the next two installments of What's the Big Idea?: Race and Community.

INNOVATION. INSPIRATION.

EXCELLENCE.