The Division of Early Childhood Education’s mission is to partner with you, your colleagues, your families and communities to create the best early care and education system in the country so that every New York City child has a fair chance at living up to their potential. In order to do that, we must acknowledge the impact of long-established systemic racism on our city and its institutions, and actively work to dismantle these systems. Along with the entire NYC Department of Education, we condemn police brutality, are outraged at the police killing of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and many other Black Americans, and stand in solidarity with all who are protesting these injustices. We must struggle against the persistent racial inequities that pervade our school system, and within the implicit biases each of us carries. We want to build an anti-racist early care and education system alongside you, and ensure that you as program leaders have resources to support your own work as educators, as well as to support your families and communities.

Schools Chancellor Richard Carranza sent a message this morning to the entire DOE, and we want to echo those statements and share excerpts with you here. You can find the full message here, along with resources and guiding questions for educators.

“The past few days have been gut-wrenching and heartbreaking as another pandemic, beyond COVID-19, presents itself again on the streets of America. The murder of George Floyd at the hands of police officers last week was horrifying to me, as I am sure it was to so many of you. I feel sickened, but not surprised. We have seen this abominable disregard for Black lives so many times before, including multiple times in recent weeks. It is truly agonizing to witness.

The New York City Department of Education condemns police brutality and this brutal loss of life. My heart breaks to know that yet another Black family has lost a son, a father, a sibling. I stand in solidarity with DOE’s Black employees, and with all Black New Yorkers and Americans, who are mourning yet another senseless loss. Pain of course also resonates in the broader DOE community, and I am with all of you as we individually and collectively reckon with this tragic injustice.”

The Chancellor commits to working alongside the entire DOE community to forge a path forward through these difficult times, in a way that continues to dismantle institutional racism and advance equity. “These are difficult days of reckoning, but we have the opportunity—and a calling—to go farther in facing injustice. We must answer this calling together. It is our shared duty to reimagine an intersectional world and make a conscious, sustained commitment to build an anti-racist education system that serves all children. I commit to working with each of you in this.”

In addition to the resources on the DOE’s Striving for Justice page, here are a few resources on speaking with young children about race and racism. We will continue sharing more with you in the days and weeks to come — more of our commitments and actions, and more resources for educators, including on mental health and self-care.

• Resources (including webinars, articles, and action guides), EmbraceRace

• Talking Race with Young Children, National Public Radio (NPR)

• Talking to children after racial incidents, a conversation with Howard Stevenson, clinical psychologist at the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education