DMLK Early College, along with other local Green Valley Ranch schools, is a product of a desegregation initiative started by housing developers hoping to create an integrated neighborhood, pairing the development with Montbello (Snider, 1987). DMLK is a school where multiple communities come together, with its main demographics representing 57% Latine and 25% Black students. I chose the medium of Loteria cards for my quilt to build on the creativity that flows around the school. Much like the game of Loteria, played in family, DMLK prides itself in community, creating its own school family. DMLK commonly hosts community events and provides a platform for local businesses to offer services. In hosting these events, they build on students' funds of knowledge and familial capital. Funds of knowledge are the skills and knowledge developed to function within a culture (Moll et al, 2013). With many of their students coming from collectivist households, providing avenues to foster connections in a way that builds off their backgrounds helps make one feel valued and respected. The school is also open to criticism which started the Know Justice Know Peace podcast, where a group of young Black women addressed the need for more representation. Their work led to a district-wide policy to restructure schools' curricula to center on the stories of BIPOC communities as "once you learn your history, you learn to question rather than accept'' (PBS, 2014). The school does its best to provide a humanizing pedagogy as a college prep school in teaching students how to participate in dominant spaces contextualized to their funds of knowledge (Salazar, 2013). This is reflected in the schools' affinity groups that provide mentorship for students to feel that they have the support to fulfill their dreams. Although I am still unsure of my placement, I will regardless listen to the needs of my students and show that we are co-collaborators in the humanizing process.
References DMLK Early College. (2022, April 28). Hungry For Reading Campaign and Ribbon Cutting Video]. YouTube.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XGstIvZm7NMLinks to an external site. DMLK Early College. (n.d.). About Us. https://mlk.dpsk12.org/about/about-us/Links to an external site. Moll, L. C., Soto-Santiago, S. L., & Schwartz, L. (2013). Funds of knowledge in changing communities. In K. Hall, T. Cremin, B. Comber, & L.C. Moll (Eds.), International Handbook of Research on Children’s Literacy, Learning, and Culture (pp. 172-183). Wiley Blackwell. PBS News Hour. (2014, August 8). 50 Years On, Freedom Schools Still Teaching Most Vulnerable [Video]. YouTube.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xm519naGni4Links to an external site. Reed, B. (2022, February 25). Cool schools: Denver school helps build an inclusive environment across the district. KUSA.com. https://www.9news.com/article/news/local/9news-mornings/cool-schools-dr-martin-luther-king-jr-early-college/73-96bb51a4-721c-4ef6-9702-139ae4da603d Links to an external site. RootED. (2021, October 22). Power in Our Voices: The Know Justice, Know Peace Story. https://rooteddenver.org/powerinourvoices/ Links to an external site. Salazar, M. (2013). A humanizing pedagogy: Reinventing the principles and practice of education as a journey toward liberation. Review of Research in Education, 37, 121-148. Snider, W. (1987, May 06). 'Gentrification' poses dilemmas, opportunities for planners. Education Week. https://www.edweek.org/education/gentrification-poses-dilemmas-opportunities-for-planners/1987/05Links to an external site. Yosso, T. (2005). Whose culture has capital? A critical race theory discussion of community cultural wealth. Race, Ethnicity, and Education, 8(1) 69-91. |