Kip Tokuda Memorial Civil Liberties Public Education Program

Transcription

1 September 2016 Kip Tokuda Memorial Civil Liberties Public Education Program 1. Purpose: The Kip Tokuda competitive grant program is intended to do one or both of the following: o Educate the public regarding the history and the lessons of the World War II exclusion, removal, and detention of persons of Japanese ancestry through the development, coordination, and distribution of new educational materials and the development of curriculum materials to complement and augment resources currently available on this subject matter. o Develop videos, plays, presentations, speaker bureaus, and exhibitions for presentation to elementary schools, secondary schools, community colleges, and to other interested parties. 2. Description of services provided: Because of the individual and diverse nature of projects that were selected for funding, each one is listed and briefly summarized. Broadway Center for the Performing Arts The Broadway Center sought to expand its successful Civil Rights Legacy touring program with a new, original theatrical work and multi-media curricular initiative which 1) explores the fragility of civil rights over time by drawing on the experiences of Washington s Japanese Americans during World War II, and 2) connects these experiences to current civil rights struggles. Densho Funding Densho worked with Washington State teachers to support the effective teaching of the causes of the World War II incarceration of Japanese Americans through: 1) the examination of primary source materials, 2) upgrading the existing online teacher course into a five-part (five hours) online course, and 3) revising the online course and classroom activities based on assessments and feedback from participating teachers. International Examiner This program created a 16-page featured insert in a Special Issue of the International Examiner with original content including stories by International Examiner staff, historical advisors, and contributing writers. The print articles in the Featured Insert appeared permanently on The proposal also created a 5-10 minute short film comparing Japanese American experiences of injustice with racial and religious discrimination today. The short film eventually will be transcribed and permanently available to the public on the International Examiner website. The Seattle Historical Theatre Project Two educators created a play about the Japanese American Incarceration as seen through the lens of the Seattle high school experience. The script was created using primary sources, historical documents and audio clips, local archival research, and personal interviews with those who lived through the era. The play focuses on the effect of the experience on the Japanese American population, and also on those who were left behind. Wing Luke Museum Through Inspiring Future Generations, the Wing Luke Museum and the Seattle Nisei Veterans Committee (NVC) Foundation educated teachers, students and the larger community about the Japanese American incarceration and military experience during

2 World War II through teacher training, distribution of classroom curriculum and resources, and creation of an animated video short, based on the graphic novel, Fighting for America: Nisei Soldiers, the story of six Pacific Northwest Nisei soldiers who made a significant mark in American history. 3. Criteria for receiving services and/or grants: OSPI announced a Call for Applications in December, Eighteen groups from across Washington State submitted grants, requesting approximately $900,000. Applications closed on January 14, Three rounds of vetting followed. During Round I each application was read, reviewed, and scored by three individuals, working independently. During Round 2, a Selection Committee of OSPI personnel and community members reviewed all proposals and selected the top nine applications for further consideration. During Round III, a Selection Committee of OSPI personnel and community members studied the remaining nine applications and decided how best to allocate funds. Two funding cycles were established: Funding Cycle #1: February 1, 2016 June 30, 2016 Funding Cycle #2: July 1, 2016 June 30, 2017 The major criteria used at each vetting session were as follows: a. Administrative Capability, b. Content-Based Expertise, c. Relevance to Civil Rights Education, d. Sustainability, e. Scalability, and f. Variety of Exclusion and Detention Experiences Addressed. 4. Beneficiaries in School Year: # of School Districts: 00 # of Schools: 00 # of Students: 00 Other: Grantees 05 # of OSPI staff associated with this funding (FTEs): 0 # of contractors/other staff associated with this funding: 0 FY 16 Funding: State Appropriation: $125 thousand Federal Appropriation: $0 Other fund sources: $0 TOTAL (FY16) $125 thousand 5. Are federal or other funds contingent on state funding? If yes, explain. No 6. First year funded: State funding history: Fiscal Year Amount FY16 $125,000

3 8. Number of beneficiaries (e.g., schools, students, districts) history: Fiscal Year FY16 # of Grantees 5 organizations 9. Average and range of funding per beneficiary, school year: The average amount of funding received per grantee organization was $25,000. However, that average may be misleading, especially in light of the fact that the awards went to organizations rather than schools or districts. A more exact accounting is provided with the following list: $20,000 Broadway Center for the Performing Arts $35,000 Densho: Japanese American Legacy Project $30,000 International Examiner $20,000 Seattle Historical Theatre Project $20,000 Wing Luke Asian Museum 10. Programmatic changes since inception (if any): None 11. Evaluations of program/major findings: All five grantee programs completed their project on time and within budget. The impact on schools and districts varied in scope, with some projects being able to measure immediate impacts because of the nature of their work. Others programs were creating a resource for future use by teachers, equally important, but not yet able to assess the impact on student learning. Please see a more specific explanation in item # Major challenges faced by the program: Eighteen groups from across Washington State submitted grant applications, requesting approximately $900,000. All of the applications were worthy, but only the top five could be funded due to financial constraints. Only $125,000 could be awarded. 13. Future opportunities: The future holds an opportunity for deepening and expanding this work. New and returning grantee organizations will be supported in FY 2017 by an allocation of $125, Statutory and/or Budget language: Budget Proviso: ESSB (38) $125,000 of the general fund state appropriation for fiscal year 2016 and $125,000 of the general fund state appropriation for fiscal year 2017 are provided solely for the Kip Tokuda memorial Washington civil liberties public education program. The superintendent of public instruction shall award grants consistent with RCW 28A Other relevant information: Because each of the five grantee organizations had unique approaches to meeting the goals of this program, the outcomes for each organization, while different in scale and scope, were met. Additionally, the impact of the work will continue long

4 into the future because the materials produced are now openly available to all teachers in Washington State and beyond. 16. List of schools/districts receiving assistance: This information is available upon request from each of the grantee groups. However, some grantees provide online services and support to schools and districts. Others created materials (a play, a newspaper, a production) that will be available in print or in live productions. Therefore, it is virtually impossible to identify all the schools or districts that avail themselves of these materials. However, to indicate the impact of this work, this report concludes with a letter that was sent to Representative Sharon Tomiko Santos from Tom Ikeda, Executive Director of Densho, one of the five grantee organizations in Excerpts from his letter follow: The classroom results from Densho s Kip Tokuda Memorial Civil Liberties Public Education Fund grant project are the most promising and exciting I ve seen in the 20 years of working at Densho. With the $35,000 in state grant funds provided, we upgraded a Densho course previously developed with National Park Service funds. Then, 55 teachers from across the state took the five hour course and applied learning activities from the course in the classroom with students. Teachers rated the online course and classroom experiences as excellent and provided an abundance of glowing and meaningful comments like the following: This is one of the FINEST pieces of continuing education I've used. As an online course it is unsurpassed in ease of use, quality of resources, and technical reliability. This is a great example of the democratic process... from fear, to prejudice, to media presenting conflicting stories and finally redress of wrongs. This is one of the best online courses I have ever had, and I have earned two Masters on line. In addition, 18 or a third of the participating teachers had their students (over 1,000 student activities completed) use Densho s online student activities which not only give students a rich, interactive history lesson but also give us incredible insight into the knowledge and understanding that students have about racism, civil liberties, and the Constitution. These insights provide powerful information we will use to refine the course and materials to improve understanding around these important topics. Furthermore, a breakthrough with this project was the high percentage of teachers who indicated that this online course positively impacted their classroom practice. Of the 69 teachers who started this program, 55 teachers (80%) completed the professional development training, and immediately used what they learned in the classroom. As you know, one of the most challenging aspects to any professional development for teachers is to get teachers to try the new things they ve learned and to determine the impact on their teaching and the learning of students. This project succeeded with teachers using their new knowledge and skills to reach at least 2,000 students and providing assessment data indicating increased learning by both teachers and students.

5 The results from the Kip Tokuda Memorial grant project were so positive, one of Densho s board members immediately donated $10,000 so that we could further refine the online course and do another cohort of 40 Washington State teachers over the summer and fall ($250/teacher cost for this project.) Available upon request: The list of 55 teachers who completed the course and used the activities in the classroom (including their school, legislative district, and experience level), A state map showing the schools (33 Middle Schools, 22 High Schools) where these teachers were located, Comments from the teachers about the course and the classroom implementation, and Link to the teacher online course: We greatly appreciate the funding from the Kip Tokuda Memorial Civil Liberties Public Education Fund program. Your support of this program is having an immediate, positive impact with Washington State teachers and students! Tom Ikeda