(Eureka)—The Humboldt County Office of Education (HCOE) in partnership with the Redwood Writing Project (RWP) will hold a series online conferences to help local educators in their quest to teach with a focus on culture and historically responsive literacy. The book, “Cultivating Genius: An Equity Framework for Culturally and Historically Responsive Literacy” will be made available free to all participants.

The book discussion group will meet on Zoom, with pre-registration available on the HCOE website. It will be held Thursdays, 4/7, 4/21, 4/28, 5/5 and 5/12 from 3:45-4:45 p.m. Interested members of the education community, or the general community are encouraged to visit the link to register for the discussion series.

Presenters in the series represent a variety of educational settings. From elementary and middle school teachers, to a special education student teacher and director of a local charter school, the discussion will focus on strengthening cultural identity as a framework for teachers. The intention is to provide teachers with the skills to grow students’ awareness of their cultural importance and to those around them.

Elements of culturally and responsive literacy will be discussed among participants in order to incorporate those elements into their classrooms. Positive outcomes for students to better understand themselves and their fellow students is another goal of the discussions. Development of skills for teachers to enhance students’ ability to understand equity and identity standards will also be addressed.

About HCOE’s Equity Series & the Redwood Writing Project

The book discussion group is a part of HCOE’s Equity Series, focused on developing educators’ equity awareness and sharpening skills to teach wellness and equity in our community. Equity recognizes that each person has different circumstances and allocates the exact resources and opportunities need to reach an equal outcome.

The Redwood Writing Project (RWP) is a network of professionals collaborating to promote literacy skills that sustain life-long learning by providing research-based, teacher-centered professional development; community writing opportunities; and youth writing programs.