Hello Arlington Families, Caregivers, and Community Members,
On behalf of the entire History & Social Studies Department, we want to say how wonderful it has been to see students back in classrooms this month! We are excitedly focusing on helping students build a sense of community with their peers, tackle interesting topics in history and social studies, and flex their critical thinking skills. We had a number of interesting first-day activities, including this American flag (shown in included image) created by Mr. Eric Bakke’s class at Ottoson. The prompt asked students to name two things they loved or appreciated about the United States.
New Staff
We are pleased to welcome new staff members into the department.
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Kaitlin Moran (she/her) is the new Director of History and Social Studies. She comes to Arlington after many years as a public school History teacher, a business owner, and an education consultant. She is excited to continue the work started by her predecessor and expand the department’s capacity to incorporate diverse perspectives, highlight voices that have been historically underrepresented, and center students’ identities in all classrooms.
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Emily Tessier (she/her) joins the AHS staff after many years of teaching in Nantucket. Ms. Tessier is teaching US History 1 and Modern World History.
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Alexis Daggett (she/her) joins the AHS staff after completing her student teaching here last year and completing her Masters in Education at Harvard University. Ms. Daggett is teaching Modern World History and US History 1.
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Alvaro Quintero (he/him) joins the AHS staff after teaching in Boston. Mr. Quintero teaches US History 1 and US History 2.
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Noah Cabral (he/him) joins the OMS staff after teaching at Gibbs. Mr. Cabral is excited to be teaching Civics and working with the 8th-grade team.
New Website
The department launched a new website this month. Please use the website to learn more about what we are up to each month!
Latino/Hispanic Heritage Month
Latino/Hispanic Heritage Month runs from September 15 - October 15! Here in the History/Social Studies Department, we are working to uplift voices from this community throughout all classes all year long! Here are some ideas for your own learning at home this month.
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Learn the difference between Latino and Hispanic.
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Learn about the Zapatistas and the struggle for indigenous autonomy and the struggle against capitalism.
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Learn about the changing racial classifications on the US census and how that impacts Latino categorization over time.
We look forward to sharing updates with you about the department each month!