Social Sciences for a Better World Deepens Commitment in Year Two
We’re thrilled to share that Social Science for a Better World (SS4BW) is going strong in its second year. This program began as a partnership with Multnomah ESD and MCREN in the 2024-25 school year as a year-long professional development series centered on recent Oregon legislation mandated by ODE.
This new legislation includes Integrated Ethnic Studies (HB2845), Tribal History Shared History (SB13), Holocaust & Genocide education (SB664), and Civics education (SB513). These “Big 4” shifts in Social Science were born from student, youth, and tribal activism as advocates expressed the need to see themselves, their cultures and identities, and their histories reflected in social science classrooms.
The first year of the program was heavily focused on supporting individual teachers and their classrooms with resources and tools to help expand the narrative. Local guest speakers with lived experience from each of the Big 4 shifts shared their stories, providing a deep emotional connection for participants.
Now in its second year of programming, SS4BW has shifted its focus from supporting individual teachers to inviting participants to think through the lens of their entire district from a K-12 perspective. This shift from the individual to the collective student experience allows participants to show up as representatives of their district.
“We invited people to realize the power and potential in the district perspective,” shared Brad Parker, MESD. “The massive difference this year is that participants have more district structured time to collaborate with social sciences teachers from K through 12 in their own district. People said they had never been in a space with so many people from other districts focused on the same thing.”
All eight MESD districts are participating with teams of 7-8 individuals, including classroom teachers and district administration or instructional coaches. This year, nearly 130 participants engage in each session, 100 of whom are classroom teachers.
“We are trying to humanize history education and realize its proximity and importance to us right now in the real world as well as within our diverse communities,” shared Brad Parker, K-12 Social Science Specialist with MESD.
Because instructional materials matter and teachers deserve access to high quality materials, Brad Parker requested physical samples of all state examples of curriculum from ODE. He shared more than 100 boxes of brand new state approved social science instructional materials to SS4BW participants to review and discuss among their district teams.
MCREN is proud to continue its support to Social Sciences for a Better World in year two and looks forward to the progress these district teams will make within their K-12 systems.
