Royal Oak Schools

This initiative supported 5th-grade social studies and history teachers across middle and high schools in Royal Oak Schools. 5th grade educators enhanced their instruction of Black history through professional development for teachers, the provision of new classroom text sets, and place-based learning at the Charles Wright Museum and the Royal Oak Historical Museum. By allowing educators to immerse themselves in local and national history, this project empowered them to better connect students with the African American experience and the Underground Railroad. Royal Oak Schools also partnered with the University of Michigan’s Detroit River Story Lab to enhance their commitment to inclusive education by integrating local African American history and place-based learning into the district's social studies curriculum. Secondary educators attended professional development workshops for history teachers across middle and high schools, equipping them with pedagogical frameworks, lesson plans, and resource collections to help students better understand the Detroit River's significance in regional Black history and social justice movements spanning the last 200 years. By aligning these resources with specific social studies standards such as the abolitionist movement, patterns of migration, and 19th/20th-century societal shifts, the district continues its broader effort to move beyond general curriculum to offer students concrete, local historical contexts that reflect diverse experiences.

Partners:

Elementary:

Elementary texts used:

The 1619 Project: Born on the Water by Nikole Hannah-Jones and Renee Watson
An American Story by Kwame Alexander
Never Caught: The Story of Ona Judge by Erica Armstrong Dunbar and Kathleen Van Cleve
F is for Freedom by Roni Schotter