Connecting the past and the present

We are excited to support the work of ELA teacher Amanda Sims at Diman Regional Vocational Technical High School in Fall River in her commitment to engage her students in meaningful conversations about racism and anti-racism. Amanda was awarded a Betty Allen-MASCD Anti-Racist Mini-Grant to purchase classroom sets of Colson Whitehead’s historical novels, The Underground Railroad and Nickel Boys. Through these powerful novels, she will engage her students in connecting the past and the present to better understand racial injustices impacting our society today. We look forward to hearing from Amanda at the end of the school year about her students’ responses to the novels, and about the kinds of conversations and learning the novels sparked. ​