District 88 celebrates Black History Month

District 88 is proud to have a diverse school community – the district has 51 languages and more than 30 countries represented among its families, and almost half of the nearly 4,000 students at District 88 speak a language other than English at home. District 88’s core values include ensuring all students, staff and community members feel safe, valued, respected and welcome.

As part of this effort, the district continues to enhance its focus on excellence for all and culturally responsive/trauma-informed teaching to meet the needs of students. Each February, District 88 hosts events/activities to recognize Black History Month, and the district is offering many opportunities again this year to honor this important month.

Students from Willowbrook’s Black Organization for Student Success (BOSS) and Addison Trail’s BEYOND club (which provides mentorship and academic support for black students to enable them to thrive holistically in high school and BEYOND) are collaborating this year, and below are the events they’ve hosted/will host. This innovative initiative seeks to amplify the voices and experiences of black students, while fostering a sense of community and pride within the schools.

• A cultural experience in Chicago
  
  
• A districtwide HBCU door decoration competition, where teachers are encouraged to adorn their classroom doors with representations of one of the 107 Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs)
  
  
• A spirit week from Feb. 26 to 29 for students to embrace their heritage/identity and to unite students and educators in a shared commitment to honor Black History Month (click on the image above for details)
  

As BEYOND BOSS continues to inspire and empower students and educators, it serves as a testament to the transformative power of collaboration, education and celebration in fostering a more just and inclusive society.

Be sure to look for a recap of Black History Month in next week’s newsletter.