Cowles Montessori Crier

“Human flourishing, as Maria Montessori put it, means becoming a person of one’s time and place with the means and wherewithal not only to function within but to shape society (NCMPS, 2019).”

“All humans (CHILDREN and ADULTS) flourish in society (ENVIRONMENT).” - Cowles Montessori Vision

We welcome back Sara Downing, who has accepted the position of PrePrimary teacher at Cowles this coming school year! Sara will replace Darcy Wold, who is now our Instructional Coach. Sara brings back a wealth of knowledge and experience as a Cowles Montessori teacher. Congratulations, Sara, and welcome back!

Cowles Montessori has significantly benefited from the support of the Des Moines Arts Festival. Several parents and community members have volunteered to raise money for our Cowles Montessori Parent Group during the Des Moines Arts Festival.

This year, the DMAF will be conducted virtually on June 25-27th. To show support, please consider purchasing art from the Artist Gallery, where you will find hundreds of artists and links to their personal web pages and online stores.

• https://www.desmoinesartsfestival.org/gallery

Cowles Families,

I am currently in my second of four courses for Montessori Administrator certification. One significant learning I've made in my journey is understanding that Dr. Maria Montessori created the map for social reform and social justice through education. Therefore, to be a Montessorian (parent, educator, student) means to be a social reformer and to engage in social justice. She outlined that possessing empathy and demonstrating active listening are proactive, timeless ways to achieving social reform as they are relationship-based. As I continue to grow in the area of being actively anti-racist, I am engaging in the following:

• 1-on-1 conversations with our families with diverse racial backgrounds
• Embracing my cultural background and determining how it can support social reform
• Attending webinars through the American Montessori Society on Anti-Bias and Anti-Racism
• Viewing videos, listening to podcasts, reading books on race in America
• Reviewing systems within my control through the lens of equity for all

I encourage anyone interested in anti-racism to check out the following:

- Explore and participate with the hashtag #AntiBiasMontessori to speak out against racism actively

- Check out the news coverage of the Roosevelt High School Baseball Team:

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kC6QmNaxaIs

- Read How To Be An Anti-Racist by Ibram X. Kendi

- Listen to the NPR Interview: "Raising White Kids" with Dr. Jennifer Harvey

• https://www.npr.org/2020/05/31/866426170/raising-white-kids-author-on-how-white-parents-can-talk-about-race

- View the Twitter Video: "Dear White People" with Emmanuel Acho

• https://twitter.com/themanacho/status/1267609472589090816?s=21

As members of the Des Moines Public School District and Cowles Montessori School, we will collectively think, learn, and grow as an organization in equity. Our members at the American Montessori Society (AMS) will guide our development:

"When we speak of peace, we do not mean a partial truce between separate nations, but a permanent way of life for all [mankind]." —Maria Montessori

To fully understand peace, we must first be willing to embrace social justice. We will embark on understanding ourselves and our students through the lens of Anti-Bias and Anti-Racist Education: an active approach to maintaining a culturally responsive environment for all learners.

Outcomes for Montessori Anti-Bias and Anti-Racist Education

• Understand the goals of an Anti-Bias and Anti-Racist Education for children (students).
• Understand the goals of an Anti-Bias and Anti-Racist Education for adults (educators).
• Gain tools for self-reflection and learn how to begin to take action.
• Begin to create an action plan for implementing an Anti-Bias and Anti-Racist program within a Montessori program.
• A basic understanding of the Montessori Social Justice movement.

We look forward to working with all stakeholders on our journey of becoming an equitable and culturally responsive community for all.

- Todd Johnson, Principal, Cowles Montessori School

As anti-racism protests continue here at home and across the country, DMPS stands with the call for systemic change, for greater equity, and for all of us to be anti-racist in word and deed. Superintendent Ahart has sent the message below to all DMPS families and staff.

Dear Friends,

I am a white man and will never truly know the terror that the death of George Floyd and too many others stirs in the hearts of every black mother, father, sister and brother. I can only say my heart breaks to see another black man die while the people he should expect most to protect him ignored his cries for help. And as a white man with many black and brown family members, my fear has been reignited.

People in central Iowa, including the team at Des Moines Public Schools, have been working hard on issues of equity, but it is not enough. I stand with our students of color and the black community who peacefully protest for systemic change; to be accepted as individual persons with the same expectations of the community that I have; not as a threat to it, but as members of it. I certainly have that expectation for my black and brown nieces and nephews as well for the 20,600 students of color that I serve as an educator.

I stand with you not just in word, but in deed. If there is something that our school system is not doing – where I’m missing the mark – please talk to me. You can email me at superintendent@dmschools.org.

We must speak the silent part out loud. Every day many of our neighbors, coworkers and students wake up knowing their day will be different than mine because of the color of their skin. This has always been unacceptable, and yet as a society we’ve allowed it to continue, content to simply be “not racist.”

Many protest signs over the past few days have noted: Silence is Violence. I’m calling on our white community to be actively ANTI-racist. Call it out when you see a person of color being mistreated. Call it out when you’re with a group of friends and someone makes a racist joke. Call it out in our businesses, neighborhoods, schools and even in our homes when it makes extended family dinners uncomfortable. Being an ally isn’t just sharing memes and outrage on social media; it’s taking action, listening to our brothers and sisters of color, and standing beside them.

We must all be a part of active change if we are to see any lasting change. Goodness knows we need it.

Dr. Thomas Ahart, Superintendent
Des Moines Public Schools

Published on Tuesday, June 2nd, 2020

On June 8, Des Moines Public Schools posted the words "Black Lives Matter" on signs in front of schools throughout the city. At this week's School Board meeting, vice chair Dwana Bradley talked about the significance of this gesture. "The question isn't, why does Des Moines Public Schools say 'Black Lives Matter.' The question is, why doesn't everybody say it?" Take a few minutes and click here to read her entire statement.

DMPS Families,

Thank you to our families who completed the DMPS Return to Learn Family Survey in the past few weeks. Our Return to Learn team is using the valuable data you provided to help determine how we can safely move into next fall.

The Iowa Department of Education is also collecting information this summer regarding technology access to determine how to allocate the Federal CARES Act funding. The linked survey below will help the Iowa Department of Education understand technology needs across the state that may arise due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Please complete this short survey, as your completion may help Des Moines Public Schools receive federal funding for technology expenses.

About the survey:
• The survey only needs to be taken one time for your entire household.
• In your responses, only include students who will be in grades preschool through twelfth grade, or participating in post-secondary education, during the 2020-21 school year.
• There is a drop-down in the upper left corner of the survey to change the survey language from English to Spanish.

Please click this link ( http://bit.ly/iowatechsurvey) to take the short survey about the learners in your household for the Iowa Department of Education. After you click the link, you will need to select Des Moines Independent Comm School District from the drop down list.

If you have any issues, you can contact support_iowa@panoramaed.com for additional support on this survey.

The survey will be available through June 24th.

Thank you for your time,

Des Moines Public Schools

DMPS food and nutrition staff distributed more than 500,000 no-cost meals this Spring as the school year came to an end in a way none of us expected. However, we all know the need does not end when summer begins. The district will once again offer a Summer Meals Program for children ages 18 years old and younger. Beginning on Monday, grab and go meals will be available at 22 locations through the end of July. (NOTE: please visit our web site for a current list of meal sites; you may need to select a different location.) DMPS will evaluate sites for August based on the volume of meals served and the district's Return to Learn plan. Physical distancing rules continue to be in place at all DMPS meal sites. Meals sites are open from 11:30 AM to 12:30 PM each weekday.

The 2020 legislative session has adjourned. Below are bills that passed and are on their way to the Governor:

• SF 2261 - Telehealth in Schools
• SF 2356 - Dyslexia Provisions
• SF 2360 - Classroom Management/Classroom Clears
• HF 2340 - Iowa 529 Plans
• HF 2359 - Teacher Preparation Reports
• HF 2418 - Basic Education Data Survey (BEDS) Corrections
• HF 2443 - Senior Year Plus Proficiency Requirements for Concurrent Enrollment
• HF 2585 - Deaf/Hard of Hearing
• HF 2629 - Future Ready Iowa
• HF 2643 - Appropriations

During this time of distance, we are still connected as a Cowles community. Though we are unable to be together physically, we can still come together in spirit. The garden committee invites our Cowles families to grow our rock garden.

We are dedicating this garden to the joy and community that the late Deb Rock-Schroeder helped foster during her 8 years at Cowles.

How to grow our garden:

1. Gather some rocks- there is a small supply of river rocks under the tree in the garden, if needed.
2. Paint your rocks any way you would like: Cowles Spirit, in honor of Deb Rock-Schroeder, peace, encouragements, and more.
3. Bring your rocks to our Cowles Community Rock Garden in front of the school under the tree.
4. Snap picture of your contribution to the garden and send it to: savannah.calaway@dmschools.org

- The Cowles Montessori Garden Committee

#WeAreCowles #AntiBiasMontessori

Email: todd.johnson@dmschools.org
Website: cowles.dmschools.org
Location: 6401 College Avenue, Windsor Heights, IA, USA
Phone: 515-242-7818
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CowlesMontessori/
Twitter: @CowlesDMPS