Blog Disclaimer: This blog is a collection of opinions of various individuals. WAESN believe in the ability to hold multiple truths; therefore, some blog posts may not reflect the beliefs of WAESN as an organization. We also believe the political nature of education is nuanced and needs to be addressed as such. We believe the goal of Ethnic Studies is to dismantle oppressive systems which requires ongoing critique of education leaders, organizations, and institutions. This website and blog are funded by our 501(c)(4) organization and WAESN is not affiliated with any political party. Questions for America Poetry by Ronnie Bwambale Bryan This month’s blog post comes from a student poet. My name is Ronnie Bwambale Bryan. I was born on April 25th, 2003, in Fort Portal, Uganda. I don’t want to write my full life story. I’m not sure if anyone will be interested in reading about this brief but significant chapter of my life. I’ve decided to share this… Keep reading August 15, 2022 Tezcatlipoca written by Andrea Malagón This past spring, our Executive Director taught a course in the Department of American Ethnic Studies called Race, Ethnicity, and Education. They invited some of their students to submit their reflections and essays. This is the first of several. Below, Andrea Malagón, reflects on their learning from a study called “Abby as an Ally” that follows a white student enrolled… Keep reading July 3, 2022July 3, 2022 CRT and School Funding Who controls education in Washington State, Part 3 In order to understand who controls education in Washington State, we must follow the money and the 50 year battle for equitable education spending “It is the paramount duty of the state to make ample provision for the education of all children residing within its borders, without distinction or preference on account of race, color, caste… Keep reading June 1, 2022May 27, 2022 Jewishness and Ethnic Studies Part 2: Zionism and “The Jewish Question” This blog post is a continuation of the dialogue between WAESN Executive Director, Tracy Castro-Gill, and Educator/Librarian, Jeff Treistman. The first installment tried to answer the question, “Are Jews white?” This installment explains Zionism and tries to answer the questions, “Are Jews indigenous to Israel?” and “What is ‘The Jewish Question’?” We enter into this dialogue because… Keep reading May 1, 2022May 1, 2022 Jewishness and Ethnic Studies A conversation between WAESN Executive Director, Tracy Castro-Gill and Educator/Librarian, Jeff Treistman My former colleague and current friend and co-conspirator, Jeff Treistman, and I sat down to discuss the tension between ethnic studies and Jewishness. What we produced is a lengthy dialogue about some of the largest points of contention. This is the first installment of three. Each installment will end with some reflection… Keep reading April 1, 2022April 1, 2022 Petition: Support RRHS BSU Students and Educators What follows is a letter drafted by the River Ridge High School (RRHS) BSU outlining their current experiences and demands. It was sent to Superintendent Reykdal who has yet to respond as of March 3, 2022, the date of this publication. You can support the BSU by signing this petition, which will send a letter in support of their below demands to Superintendent Reykdal… Keep reading March 5, 2022 Who Controls Education in Washington State? Part 2; This is not a “Culture War.” Liberals and progressives who tell you this is a Culture War are co-opting and virtue signaling for their own personal gain. In part 2 of the series we’ll be looking at who controls education by controlling the narrative around anti-CRT movements. Some have tried to change the narrative by calling it a “Republican war on teachers,” but Republicans aren’t the only antagonists. In a… Keep reading March 1, 2022March 12, 2022 Columbo and Me…oh, and Just One More Thing! Peter Falk as Lieutenant Columbo on the left, me in my thrift-sourced Columbo outfit on the right. By Alex Ng An Elder Millennial’s Journey to Ethnic Studies & Visual Arts, Part 3 This multipart journal is where I am documenting my thoughts as I embark on the journey of revising all of my classes from decent Visual Arts curriculum with some Ethnic Studies themes… Keep reading February 1, 2022January 31, 2022 A Statement from WAESN Executive Director In response to the hit piece written by Luke Rosiak in the Daily Wire: I am unsurprised that my work and my personal life have come under attack by the likes of Luke Rosiak and Ben Shapiro. It is only evidence that the work I do and the life I live are important and full of good deeds. I thank them for the affirmation.… Keep reading January 19, 2022January 19, 2022 Ethnic Studies in K-5 with Concord International Elementary School This post is a follow up to Puma Poetry Slam. WAESN’s Executive Director, Tracy Castro-Gill, sat down with 5 K-5 educators from Concord International Elementary School in Seattle, WA, to discuss what it takes to create culturally sustaining, liberatory spaces where students value their identities, cultures, and languages. You can find the transcript of this recording and a copy of the self-assessment rubric used… Keep reading January 4, 2022January 4, 2022 OSPI Exploitation – Erasure, Whitewashing, and Fakequity A guest blog by Dr. Verónica N. Vélez As a facilitator of and contributor to the OSPI Ethnic Studies framework that was released in October 2021, I was shocked and deeply disappointed to receive the news that WAESN had been removed from the list of professional development providers for educators. As someone who was invited to co-facilitate OSPI’s Ethnic Studies Advisory Committee (ESAC) and… Keep reading December 17, 2021 ACTION NEEDED: OSPI Retaliates Against WAESN The Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) recently removed WAESN from a list of ethnic studies professional development (PD) resources published in their new ethnic studies framework. WAESN and several members of WAESN are cited as authors and contributors of this framework, yet when some fragile people filed complaints about the political nature of WAESN, OSPI listened and removed WAESN. Above is… Keep reading December 7, 2021December 7, 2021 Puma Poetry Slam – fruits of Ethnic Studies in elementary school Concord International Elementary School (CIES) is situated in the South Park neighborhood of Seattle, WA. South Park is home to the largest group of Spanish speaking people in the city, which is one reason CIES was chosen as a dual language immersion school. Students have the opportunity to learn core subjects like math and literacy in Spanish. Over the summer, the entire staff of… Keep reading December 2, 2021December 2, 2021 Anonymous Survey Reveals Educator Despair, Poor District Communication by Tracy Castro-Gill and Ari Robin McKenna On Tuesday Nov. 9, Seattle Public Schools (SPS) Human Resources Department (HR) sent an email to parents, and then 39 minutes later to educators — almost as an afterthought — announcing the unexpected closure of schools just three days later on November 12th, sending parents without work flexibility scrambling for childcare. The HR email author might have… Keep reading November 15, 2021November 15, 2021 Load more posts Loading… Something went wrong. Please refresh the page and/or try again.
Questions for America Poetry by Ronnie Bwambale Bryan This month’s blog post comes from a student poet. My name is Ronnie Bwambale Bryan. I was born on April 25th, 2003, in Fort Portal, Uganda. I don’t want to write my full life story. I’m not sure if anyone will be interested in reading about this brief but significant chapter of my life. I’ve decided to share this… Keep reading August 15, 2022
Tezcatlipoca written by Andrea Malagón This past spring, our Executive Director taught a course in the Department of American Ethnic Studies called Race, Ethnicity, and Education. They invited some of their students to submit their reflections and essays. This is the first of several. Below, Andrea Malagón, reflects on their learning from a study called “Abby as an Ally” that follows a white student enrolled… Keep reading July 3, 2022July 3, 2022
CRT and School Funding Who controls education in Washington State, Part 3 In order to understand who controls education in Washington State, we must follow the money and the 50 year battle for equitable education spending “It is the paramount duty of the state to make ample provision for the education of all children residing within its borders, without distinction or preference on account of race, color, caste… Keep reading June 1, 2022May 27, 2022
Jewishness and Ethnic Studies Part 2: Zionism and “The Jewish Question” This blog post is a continuation of the dialogue between WAESN Executive Director, Tracy Castro-Gill, and Educator/Librarian, Jeff Treistman. The first installment tried to answer the question, “Are Jews white?” This installment explains Zionism and tries to answer the questions, “Are Jews indigenous to Israel?” and “What is ‘The Jewish Question’?” We enter into this dialogue because… Keep reading May 1, 2022May 1, 2022
Jewishness and Ethnic Studies A conversation between WAESN Executive Director, Tracy Castro-Gill and Educator/Librarian, Jeff Treistman My former colleague and current friend and co-conspirator, Jeff Treistman, and I sat down to discuss the tension between ethnic studies and Jewishness. What we produced is a lengthy dialogue about some of the largest points of contention. This is the first installment of three. Each installment will end with some reflection… Keep reading April 1, 2022April 1, 2022
Petition: Support RRHS BSU Students and Educators What follows is a letter drafted by the River Ridge High School (RRHS) BSU outlining their current experiences and demands. It was sent to Superintendent Reykdal who has yet to respond as of March 3, 2022, the date of this publication. You can support the BSU by signing this petition, which will send a letter in support of their below demands to Superintendent Reykdal… Keep reading March 5, 2022
Who Controls Education in Washington State? Part 2; This is not a “Culture War.” Liberals and progressives who tell you this is a Culture War are co-opting and virtue signaling for their own personal gain. In part 2 of the series we’ll be looking at who controls education by controlling the narrative around anti-CRT movements. Some have tried to change the narrative by calling it a “Republican war on teachers,” but Republicans aren’t the only antagonists. In a… Keep reading March 1, 2022March 12, 2022
Columbo and Me…oh, and Just One More Thing! Peter Falk as Lieutenant Columbo on the left, me in my thrift-sourced Columbo outfit on the right. By Alex Ng An Elder Millennial’s Journey to Ethnic Studies & Visual Arts, Part 3 This multipart journal is where I am documenting my thoughts as I embark on the journey of revising all of my classes from decent Visual Arts curriculum with some Ethnic Studies themes… Keep reading February 1, 2022January 31, 2022
A Statement from WAESN Executive Director In response to the hit piece written by Luke Rosiak in the Daily Wire: I am unsurprised that my work and my personal life have come under attack by the likes of Luke Rosiak and Ben Shapiro. It is only evidence that the work I do and the life I live are important and full of good deeds. I thank them for the affirmation.… Keep reading January 19, 2022January 19, 2022
Ethnic Studies in K-5 with Concord International Elementary School This post is a follow up to Puma Poetry Slam. WAESN’s Executive Director, Tracy Castro-Gill, sat down with 5 K-5 educators from Concord International Elementary School in Seattle, WA, to discuss what it takes to create culturally sustaining, liberatory spaces where students value their identities, cultures, and languages. You can find the transcript of this recording and a copy of the self-assessment rubric used… Keep reading January 4, 2022January 4, 2022
OSPI Exploitation – Erasure, Whitewashing, and Fakequity A guest blog by Dr. Verónica N. Vélez As a facilitator of and contributor to the OSPI Ethnic Studies framework that was released in October 2021, I was shocked and deeply disappointed to receive the news that WAESN had been removed from the list of professional development providers for educators. As someone who was invited to co-facilitate OSPI’s Ethnic Studies Advisory Committee (ESAC) and… Keep reading December 17, 2021
ACTION NEEDED: OSPI Retaliates Against WAESN The Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) recently removed WAESN from a list of ethnic studies professional development (PD) resources published in their new ethnic studies framework. WAESN and several members of WAESN are cited as authors and contributors of this framework, yet when some fragile people filed complaints about the political nature of WAESN, OSPI listened and removed WAESN. Above is… Keep reading December 7, 2021December 7, 2021
Puma Poetry Slam – fruits of Ethnic Studies in elementary school Concord International Elementary School (CIES) is situated in the South Park neighborhood of Seattle, WA. South Park is home to the largest group of Spanish speaking people in the city, which is one reason CIES was chosen as a dual language immersion school. Students have the opportunity to learn core subjects like math and literacy in Spanish. Over the summer, the entire staff of… Keep reading December 2, 2021December 2, 2021
Anonymous Survey Reveals Educator Despair, Poor District Communication by Tracy Castro-Gill and Ari Robin McKenna On Tuesday Nov. 9, Seattle Public Schools (SPS) Human Resources Department (HR) sent an email to parents, and then 39 minutes later to educators — almost as an afterthought — announcing the unexpected closure of schools just three days later on November 12th, sending parents without work flexibility scrambling for childcare. The HR email author might have… Keep reading November 15, 2021November 15, 2021