Members from the Michigan Department of Education (MDE) visited our district, including stops at Upton, Oakland, Royal Oak Middle School, and Royal Oak High School.
District DEI Coordinator Ashley Phillips organized the tour, which started out at the administrative offices. MDE guests included Dr. Rané Garcia, Director of the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion and Jennifer Saylor, Assistant Director of the Office of Educational Supports. Their tour guides were Ms. Phillips and Communications Specialist Amy Murphy.
The tour's purpose was to showcase and highlight DEI in Royal Oak Schools and deepen the connection initiated through the MDE Black History Month project.
Upton's visit included a presentation from district administration and a visit to Mrs. Van Every's class, as her MDE Black History Month Calendar Project submission was selected and featured in Week 3 of the MDE's Black History Month Calendar this year.
The next stop was Royal Oak High School, which included going through the line for lunch and eating with student members of the diversity club before stopping into a couple of classrooms.
At Royal Oak Middle School, the tour watched a video about Neur0diversity with ROMS students as they kicked off Inclusion Week. After the video, we visited Kristina Ellenberger's classroom, followed by a chat with Assistant Principal Dan Colligan regarding scheduling and flex time.
The last stop of the tour was Oakland Elementary. We visited Vikki Kasparek's classroom, along with drop-ins to a couple of others. Principal Jason Taylor showed off Oakland and talked about its rich history and the original part of the school, which is now 100 years old.