This has been a really challenging year- COVID, racial injustice, uncertainty about the school year, etc. However, this has also been a year of reflection for me personally, for NCSS as an organization and for the country.

In reflecting on my year as NCSS President, I went back to the goals I outlined for the year:

• Elevate advocacy for social studies, 
• Ensure we listen and lead on issues of racial justice, equity, and inclusion,
• A continued focus on high-quality teaching and learning in social studies 

Advocacy, whether formal or informal, has been a huge focus for us this year. We devoted the 2020 Summer Leadership Institute to training council leaders on advocacy for social studies and continued this training throughout the year. NCSS launched an official Advocacy Toolkit in January 2021.  The toolkit includes six modules to support our members in learning more about advocacy and unpacks some of the following questions:

• Module 1: What are the basics of advocacy 101?
• Module 2: How do you build your advocacy message?
• Module 3: How do you build an advocacy plan?
• Module 4: What does it look like to advocate at the state level?
• Module 5: What does it look like to advocate at the federal level?
• Module 6: How do you sustain your advocacy plan?

Each module includes several resources (templates, background information, etc.) to build on your advocacy knowledge and put a plan into place. In addition to the toolkit, our Government and Publications Committee as well as our Advocacy Task Force have been working hard to ensure a continued focus on advocacy. It is empowering to witness so many examples of our members using the toolkit and advocating for social studies across the country. 
 
Another goal was an increased focus on addressing racial justice, equity, and inclusion. Although we have a long way to go, we made good strides in this area. Our first ever virtual conference, Advancing Social Justice, focused extensively on hearing from speakers who addressed how we, as social studies teachers, can address racial justice, equity, and inclusion within our own classrooms and schools. 
 
In the past year, we have also released countless statements condemning the discrimination and racial injustice we are witnessing. These include:

• Killing of George Floyd and countless other Black people 
• Anti-Asian Harassment
• Teaching about Slavery Using the 1619 Project and Other Resources
• “Saving” American History? Start by Teaching American History
• Statement Opposing “Divisive Concepts” Legislation (National Coalition for History letter)

Earlier this year the NCSS Board of Directors approved a standing committee on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in the Social Studies. This committee will make recommendations to the Board of Directors on ways we can promote equitable and inclusive practices in the social studies, review existing NCSS resources and publications to ensure our publications reflect inclusive practices, work on the creation of position statements, support the creation of professional development and more. 

Although these are baby steps, we will continue to reflect and make changes to ensure we are doing all we can to advance justice. This James Baldwin quote rings in my ears: “Ignorance allied with power is the most ferocious enemy justice can have.” This year has shown how true this quote is and how we must individually and collectively work to ensure justice is at the core of what we do. 
 
This work can be particularly impactful in social studies. Last summer, NCSS member and social studies teacher, Adina Goldstein said:

“Until social studies is a protected learning period for students, until the state decides it must update and develop thoughtful standards for teaching and learning social studies, until the School District of Philadelphia invests more in its Office of Social Studies, and until professional training in teaching social studies is recognized and adequately valued, we will not be able to truly participate in dismantling systems of oppression in schools.”

-"To fight systemic racism, social studies must be a central part of school curriculum."

Adina is so right, but my third goal of a continued focus on high-quality social studies comes into play here. Social studies can be an area of the curriculum to advance justice, but it can also be traumatic for our students- particularly our students of color. It is hard to go more than a month without seeing a story of inappropriate simulations or assignments in which students are being asked to weigh in on whether slavery was good or bad. (News flash: It was bad and we shouldn’t be asking students to debate this.) So much of what we do is modeling high-quality social studies. We do this through our conferences, webinar series, publications, and more. 
 
I recently read an article titled: Can patriotism and criticism coexist in social studies? It’s a fascinating question, but we must get back to a place (or perhaps we were never there) in which we see criticism as central to patriotism. A place where we see it possible to both love our country and very much critique it. This idea is central to quality social studies instruction and a central tenant in healthy democratic societies. 
 
Throughout the year I’ve shared stories about how the marginalization of social studies has impacted my own children. These stories are just a microcosm of what so many of our own students experience. To use the opening words from the Educating for American Democracy Roadmap, “we stand at the crossroads of peril and possibility.” This is why it is imperative we advocate for social studies like never before! 
 
It’s been such a privilege to hear about the wonderful things happening in our associated groups, communities, affiliated councils and committees. NCSS members are the bedrock of the social studies field. You matter! Thank you for a wonderful year.
 
In closing, I want to recognize outgoing board members- Tina Heafner (NC), Joe Feinberg (GA), Tracy Middleton (NC), and David Kendrick (GA). Board members play a vital role in our organization. They serve to elevate your voice and address critical issues in our field.  These outgoing board members have devoted countless hours to our organization and deserve major kudos for all the work they have done to advance social studies.