Dear Oyster-Adams Community,

In the early days of the Black Lives Matter movement, I reread one of Dr. King's sermons with my history students, and discovered a radical, prophetic challenge. Every year since, this day serves to discover a different text, attempting to have dialogue with Dr. King about our nation through space and time. Today, I revisited a "Letter from Birmingham Jail," Dr. King's ingenious defense of civil disobedience and non-violent action. I offer this passage in light of our nation's present wounds:

Moreover, I am cognizant of interrelatedness of all communities and states. I cannot sit idly by in Atlanta and not be concerned about what happens in Birmingham. Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly affects all indirectly. Never again can we afford to live with the narrow, provincial "outsided agitator" idea. Anyone who lives inside the United States can never be considered an outsider.

Adams Cafeteria preparing for MLK Celebrations in 2009.

Dr. King's letter has pedagogical repercussions, namely how do we teach our children to believe that we are caught in an 'escapable network of mutuality'?" Or as Luis Valdez's poem goes: "Tu eres mi otro yo, si te hago daño a ti, me hago daño a mi mismo..."It is my belief that in order to live global empathy, and deep investment in our nation--we need to be raised in solidarity with local community first. Love in the abstract is just ideology. We want love in action.

Given that commitment, over the last month, we have been working on solidifying student to student bonds, practicing the skills that it requires to listen deeply, and recognize that each person's presence changes our community. In 4th Grade, that looks like students madly cheering for each other during a Spelling Bee with Ms. Haese. More specifically, it looks like one student saying to another: "I didn't get that one right, but I'm so glad that you did!" In Ms. Aguilar's 6th grade classroom, it looks like Francesca saying, "Group work is hard because everyone brings different, competing perspectives and that makes tasks take longer. But that's also precisely why we need to do this--because how else will you see something new?"

It's a humble, simple step forward in our world, but I'm proud of Oyster-Adams's teachers for committing to this vision of interdependence. We want students to encourage each other to speak, to raise voices that they haven't heard from yet, and make that a habit they take outside our walls. We also want to explicitly celebrate and build spaces where student identities are affirmed and necessary for our collective growth. Among these is our Black Student Union. Following their learning about the first black teacher at Oyster, Ms. Brooks, at the DCPS Archives, students were giving their feedback on what they want to see in the new Adams Mural at the modernized entry. This mural will celebrate the history of Salvadorean communities who built Oyster-Adams, the history of racial desegregation in Adams Morgan, and our students now. Luis del Valle, our commissioned muralist, celebrated their suggestions and thought through how to integrate them. 

I am struck by how naturally our students understand what Dr. King labored to teach a nation: that justice, belonging, and responsibility are not abstractions, but daily practices.  Our task, as educators and families, is to make that hope tangible for our children: to keep teaching them that their words matter, that their care for one another is consequential, and that the health of our democracy begins in homes and classrooms like these.

In hope,

Carolina Brito, Directora

Spirit Week is Next Week!

Get ready to show your OA spirit all week long! Each day has a special theme so join the fun and dress up!

• Tuesday, Jan 20: Pajama Day – Roll out of bed and come cozy in your most school-appropriate pajamas!

• Wednesday, Jan 21: Wacky Wednesday- Wear the wackiest outfit!

• Thursday, Jan 22: Dynamic Duos- Dress up as famous duos!

• Friday, Jan 23: OA Pride Day – Wear your OA colors and gear!