Dear Morningside Center Friends,

Just two weeks into the new year, we know how much our communities are handling now. With our eyes, ears, hearts and minds always set on community, care, inclusion and learning, this week we offer first steps for moving through the critical moments already upon us with our children.

As always, we invite you to visit our TeachableMoment classroom lessons to find what you need, and reach out to let us know what you need—you can always reply to this newsletter or reach us at [email protected].

Teaching about Claudette Colvin

An integral icon we at Morningside seek to emulate, join us with a few TeachableMoment lessons about Claudette Colvin to honor, celebrate and extend her legacy. As Black History Month approaches, we have much to share with you, your classes and families. Stay tuned!

3 Women Civil Rights Activists Who Changed History

Through reading, discussion, and small group activities, students learn about three relatively unknown women in the civil rights movement: Diane Nash, Virginia Durr, and Claudette Colvin. 

Black History Month: Everyday Hero

This brief activity focuses on the African American girl who refused to give up her seat on the bus, months before Rosa Parks touched off the 1955 Montgomery Bus Boycott. Please also see the segment about Colvin in this Teachable Moment lesson.  

Featured on TeachableMoment

2026 has only just begun, yet already tragedies are underway, across lands. Morningside is here to hold space with you and your classrooms. For a deep dive of many and varied ways to move in this moment, visit our Crisis Support Bundle.

And below we offer accessible guidance for leading time with learners, followed by prompts, activities and strategies for our young hearts and minds of all ages. Our next newsletter will share calm and care activities you and your students may need after these activities, which can always be found at TeachableMoment.

Discussing Tragic Events in the News

Here are some basic questions to help students share thoughts and feelings about an upsetting event, and additional guidance.  

Suggestions for Discussing Violent Events in the News

General guidelines for talking sensitively with students who may be upset about recent acts of violence in the news.  

Exploring and Discussing Current Events with Younger Students

A collection of activities and strategies designed for exploring and discussing current events with elementary-age children.

What We're Reading

Hochul plans to fund first 2 years of universal child care for NYC 2-year-olds

"The program, known as 2-Care, was central to Mamdani’s campaign promise of creating universal child care for families in the five boroughs. However, many were skeptical that the mayor would succeed in convincing state officials to invest in a major child care expansion." By Abigail Kramer at Chalkbeat NY

OPINION: Colleges must start treating immigration-based targeting as a serious threat to student safety and belonging  

"When belonging erodes, colleges begin to function like small border zones, where everyone is quietly assessing who might turn them in. It is nearly impossible for any campus community to thrive under that kind of pressure." By Madison Forde at the Hechinger Report

Denver schools blocking students’ access to ChatGPT over concerns about group chats, adult content

"Safety is another top concern. Smith said district officials have read about the ways in which AI can affect children’s mental health. Families in Colorado and other states have sued AI companies, alleging that their children committed suicide after developing relationships with chatbots." By Melanie Asmar at Chalkbeat Colorado

"Let’s not forget the lessons that so many of us learned in the early days of the pandemic about the impact of community in our lives. We learned, painfully and preciously, from singing on balconies, impromptu concerts, birthday parties from cars, and ritualized applause for health care workers, that we are at our best when we take care of each other." 

—Dionne Grayman & Nicole LaVonne Smith-Johnson, How to Create a Culture of Care in Schools – and Why