Addressing our DEI goals with daily agenda slides

I co-chair the diversity, equity, and inclusion committee for my building (but don't confuse me for an expert—I still have so much to learn). As a school librarian, this work feels like a natural fit, as so many tenets of our profession parallel traditional D.E.I. goals. 

In my building, one of our current goals is to increase the diversity and range of viewpoints and voices in classrooms and curriculum, especially those that are historically marginalized. We've done some big work in this area—for example, we overhauled the novels and some short stories students read in 9th grade ELA. 

Sometimes, though, we move towards our D.E.I. goals with baby steps—small changes that send us in the right direction, but on a smaller scale. An example? We're using daily agenda slides to highlight Hispanic voices during National Hispanic Heritage Month, celebrated from September 15th—October 15th. 


Almost every teacher in my junior high starts class with an agenda slide. Agenda slides are typically created in Google Slides and displayed on the SmartBoard/Cleartouch board when students enter the classroom. They might contain the day's agenda, reminders about homework or upcoming quizzes, a list of materials students need for the day, a bell-ringer and learning goals. 

By creating agenda slide templates specific to National Hispanic Heritage Month, teachers are able to introduce these voices without a lot of additional prep or time. Don't get me wrong--these voices DESERVE lots of prep and time—and that's happening too—but small steps get us moving in the right direction while we've got bigger things in the works. Also, we want to ensure we aren't limiting our celebration of Hispanic voices to September 15 - October 15, so we're very intentional about incorporating Hispanic authors in the library program and ELA readings all year round.


This agenda slides deck features 24 different Hispanic Americans, and includes a photograph and brief biography. Teachers can edit the rest of the text on the slide, customizing the agenda and reminders section to meet each day's needs. 

I used Canva to design the slides. By utilizing resources like Wikimedia Commons and Flickr, I was able to select photographs with appropriate CC licenses. After designing the image in Canva, I download them as .jpg files and added them as backgrounds in Google Slides. After that, it was easy to add text boxes on top of the background to create customizable fields for agenda items and reminders.  

I chose to feature these individuals:

  • Ted Williams
  • Jean-Michel Basquiat
  • Lin-Manuel Miranda
  • Celia Cruz
  • Sonia Sotomayor
  • Dolores Huerta
  • Ellen Ochoa
  • Selena Gomez
  • Cesar Chavez
  • Rita Moreno
  • Gloria Estefan
  • Richard E. Cavazos
  • Roberto Clemente
  • Carlos Santana
  • Oscar De La Hoya
  • Severo Ochoa
  • Jennifer Lopez
  • Joseph A. Unanue
  • Jovita Idar
  • Guy Gabaldon
  • Sylvia Mendez
  • José Andrés
  • Antonia Novello
  • Oscar de la Renta

If you'd like to utilize daily agenda slides for National Hispanic Heritage Month, but don't want to create your own, they're available on TPT here.


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