Cleveland, OH
Cuyahoga County Universal Pre-Kindergarten – Starting Points
Jerricka Scott, Assistant Teacher
Briana Cannada, Teacher
LaKeisha Mays, Parent
Carol Gwin, Administrative Assistant
Ieasha Parker, Parent
Jeannette Adams, Family Service Worker
Nicole Hawthorne, Site Administrator
Karen Smith, Assistant Site Administrator
Shi Ann Gurko, Teacher
Venetta McDonald, Parent Chairperson not in photo
Nicole Hawthorne, Site Administrator
NHawthorne@stepforwardtoday.org
Black History Month Celebration
The Action Team for Partnership (ATP) brainstormed ideas for a program for Black History Month. Using Zoom to meet COVID-19 conditions, the ATP and school leaders wanted to engage children and their families in active learning and enjoyable interactions. Parents on the ATP took the lead and designed a strong, exciting, and memorable series of activities focused on famous African Americans, whom many people did not know about. Parents clicked a flyer on the school website to register to attend.
In one session, the leader guided children and families to create a traffic light to learn about safety on the street. An African American inventor, Garrett Morgan, developed the 3-position traffic light in 1923 in Ohio to improve the older red/green light and to prevent many accidents. The inventor, the son of freed slaves, used profits from the sale of his invention to start the Cleveland Call, which was one of the most important African American newspapers in the country.
The children of the parent leader created an interactive YouTube video to make a traffic light. All children and parents attending the session cut and pasted red, yellow, and green circles for traffic lights, and practiced how to cross the street safely.
Another activity introduced the work of Alma Woodsy-Thomas, a teacher and acclaimed African American artist. She is known for her abstract paintings in bright colors of space and the natural world. The Zoom session leader guided children to create their own art on these themes. The children’s artwork was matted for an art auction slide show, with proceeds donated to the Head Start Dollar Per Child Campaign.
Children and parents also exercised their large and small motor skills with a favorite Tooty Ta video. They had more exercise with a Black Panther Workout video and talked about the song and the theme of Black History Month.
The program offered children and parents a balanced mix of active learning, listening, participation, and exercise. The activities strengthened children’s cognitive, social-emotional, and motor skills. The chat box and comments were unanimous: Amazing! Loved it! Fantastic!
Read more about Black History Month Celebration in Promising Partnership Practices 2021.
