🌿 Rewired: Where Tech, Equity, and Education Merge
A biweekly newsletter from Collaborative Roots LLCIssue #2 | June 17, 2025
Welcome Laboratory Leaders,
Last issue, we celebrated your incredible dedication as the school year wound down, acknowledging your tireless efforts in showing up for students, especially those often overlooked. We designed Rewired as your space to recharge and reimagine, offering practical insights for building more inclusive and sustainable practices.
This issue, we're diving deep into a theme that feels more urgent than ever: "Tech for Liberation: Defending Education and Dignity in Uncertain Times." In a world that often feels unpredictable, educators like you are on the front lines, navigating complex challenges while striving to create safe, inclusive, and empowering learning environments.
We know you're not just teaching; you're actively resisting harm and building systems that uphold the dignity of every student. This issue will equip you with tools and strategies to do just that. We'll explore how technology can be a powerful force for good, helping you protect educational spaces and foster community resiliency.
What's Inside
Just like before, you can expect:
A tech tip to protect & empower students and families facing immigration challenges.
A team insight to help you reflect on what “safety” means for your team and your community.
A resource or tool designed to support our fight against injustice for our immigrant community and our First Amendment rights!
Rewired will help you cultivate sustainable, transformative change within your educational 'laboratory'. Let's continue to make our community more collaborative, connected, and deeply rooted in collectivism.
With roots and resilience,Dr. Diana TranaudeFounder, Collaborative Roots LLCTagline: Rooted in collectivism. Powered by tech. Built to last.
🛠️ Tech Tip
Digital Tools to Protect & Empower Students and Families Facing Immigration Uncertainties
Understanding how to leverage technology for safety is crucial. This tip will explore practical digital tools and strategies that educators can use to facilitate secure communication with families and provide essential resources to those facing heightened vulnerabilities.
Information and Resource Sharing: Curated Resource Hub on School WebsiteCreate a dedicated section on the school's website or learning management system (LMS) with links to trusted, up-to-date resources for immigrant families. This could include:
Legal Aid Hotlines & Organizations: Provide contact information for local and national organizations offering free or low-cost immigration legal services (e.g., CLINIC, Immigrant Advocates Network, local bar associations).
"Know Your Rights" Materials: Links to downloadable PDFs or web pages from reputable organizations (ACLU, NILC, ILRC).
Mental Health Support Resources: Information on culturally competent mental health services.
Community Support Networks: Links to local rapid response networks or community organizations that assist immigrant families during times of heightened activity.
Digital Storytelling Platforms: Encourage students and families (if they are comfortable and safe doing so) to use simple tools (like smartphone cameras, Google Slides, or free video editors) to share their experiences or family histories in a positive and empowering way within the school community. This can foster empathy and understanding.
Accessibility (including translation): Ensure all digital tools and resources are accessible to families with varying levels of tech literacy and internet access (e.g., mobile-friendly, low-bandwidth options, printable versions).
Google Translate (with caveats): While not perfect, Google Translate can be a quick tool for immediate understanding of basic text. However, stress that for formal communications or sensitive information, professional translation services should always be used to avoid misinterpretations.
👥 Team Insight
What Does “Safety” Really Mean with the Increase in I.C.E. Activity?
The presence of heightened immigration enforcement activity profoundly impacts school communities, especially when Black, brown, immigrant, and undocumented students are often the targets of state violence. To create liberated communities, we must understand that "safety" in these times moves beyond physical security to encompass emotional well-being, trust, and the assurance that schools remain sanctuaries for all learners, regardless of immigration status.
As individuals dedicated to equity, we must critically examine our practices and policies. Ask yourself or your team:
“Who is this policy keeping safe and from what?”
“What technology or systems are we using that might cause harm or fear for marginalized families?”
📚 Resource List: Anti-Racist, Pro-Immigrant Tools
To support your efforts in building truly inclusive and equitable systems, we'll highlight valuable anti-racist and pro-immigrant resources. These tools offer practical guidance, learning ideas, and frameworks for fostering a team culture that champions equity, challenges bias, and actively supports the rights and dignity of all community members.
National Immigration Law Center (NILC): NILC is a leading organization dedicated to defending and advancing the rights of low-income immigrants. They offer extensive "Know Your Rights" materials, policy analysis, and legal resources that are highly accurate and regularly updated.
ImmSchools Toolkit: This toolkit is fantastic for practical, system-specific guidance. . ImmSchools’ Vision is simple: to support more educators in creating safe and welcoming spaces in schools that we and our families wished we had when we were students.
Learning for Justice (a project of the Southern Poverty Law Center): Learning for Justice provides free resources for K-12 educators to teach tolerance and promote social justice. They have many anti-bias education materials, including lesson plans, student texts, and professional development opportunities covering identity, diversity, justice, and action. Their social justice standards resource is linked here.
💬 We’re Building This Together
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