The tools available on this page can help schools and districts recognize students, parents and families who come from diverse cultures and learn how to listen to what they have to say. Additional resources will be added as they are reviewed and approved.

Minnesota Humanities Center Resources

The Absent Narratives Resource Collection
This collection is a searchable database of ready-to-use videos, teacher guides and readings that support efforts to include Absent Narratives in your classroom and workplace. http://www.minnesotahumanities.org/resources

Increasing Parent Engagement Through Absent Narratives: Documentary
The Minnesota Humanities Center, in collaboration with Northwest Suburban Integration School District and St. Paul Neighborhood Network, developed this documentary which highlights families' experiences with family engagement. Using Epstein’s model as inspiration, the documentary explores how these parents intersect with schools and provides context for educators on the experiences families bring to the partnership. This video will inspire teachers toward new opportunities, ideas and approaches to involving families.

Increasing Parent Engagement Through Absent Narratives, by Superintendent of NWSISD Mark Robertson. (Run Time 60:00 min). The second half of this video includes “Engaging Parents in Decision Making“, “Meaningful Engagement”, “Healthy Communities”, “An Invitation …”  (This part begins at the 28-minute mark).

Increasing Parent Engagement Through Absent Narratives: Guide for Facilitators
This professional development guide, designed for use with the documentary, Increasing Parent Engagement through Absent Narratives, provides numerous facilitation resources such discussion questions, self-reflection activities, and goal-setting exercises.

Increase Family Engagement Through Absent Narratives: Online Course
This course introduces educators to the four themes of the Absent Narratives approach and explores how to apply them to family engagement. The course can be taken as an online self-study course, used as part of a professional development session, or used in a group setting with the guide for facilitators. Select the link above to register. There is no registration fee for this three-CEU course.

Teaching Tolerance
Teaching Tolerance is a project of the Southern Poverty Law Center that works to reduce prejudice, improve intergroup relations and support equitable school experiences for our nation’s children. Educational materials are free to teachers, school staff and parents in the U.S. and Canada. Materials are categorized for easy search and include magazines, reflective teaching, classroom strategies, school climate, and teaching diverse students.

Restorative Measures is a discipline intervention to hold students accountable for harm, and address the needs of students or staff harmed as well as the school community.

Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) is a comprehensive, data-driven and educational set of practices ensuring all students, staff and families are working from the same playbook when it comes to supporting positive behavior and academic achievement.

Behavior Assessment and Intervention provides knowledge about quality services for individualized assessment and intervention to help ensure all children get needed support for healthy development and life-long learning.

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• Action Plan Template - 9/26/14
  Use this template to develop specific, measurable, attainable, relevant and time-bound (SMART) goals for your action plan