Interview with Kristen Jensen
Kirsten Jensen (she, her, ella)
Instructional Coach / IB Coordinator
Happy Valley and Alderwood Elementary Schools
Bellingham, Washington School District
While attending the NAEYC Diversity Working Group, Dr. Megan Pamela Ruth Madison offered to introduce me to a colleague who is doing anti racism work in the Bellingham public schools. Kirsten and I had a wonderful Zoom conversation. She shared so openly many of the resources and materials that she uses and has developed for professional development as well as teacher materials for the classroom.
I reviewed the lessons, videos, and resources and realized that I had a lot to learn from her and to share with EPCC and those we teach. The focus of the work that she has developed is both preventative and intervention. The structure of the program is that every school has a coach who conducts the professional development as well as the one-on-one coaching. Kirsten shared that the professional development is meaningful and the real work happens during the coaching with individual teachers. The coach may meet with a teacher to discuss issues and strategies, go into the classroom and co-teach lessons, or teach a lesson as a role model for the teacher.
There is a community component as well. This is where Kirsten thinks there is more work to do to bring families together around the material that the children are learning in school. They have had a community read of a book that is being used for professional development. The book is being used to present foundational material for children, such as discussions on the scientific foundations of melanin, and the production of skin color. In addition, the book presents the history of humankind, beginning in Africa..
Kirsten is continuing to work to have this program in every school in Bellingham. She shared that it is a slow process and that funding and gathering community support is hard work and WORTH IT!
I look forward to sharing the resources Kirsten has shared with EPCC Workshop and Training Committee and being able to offer the information to programs as we grow our catalog of workshops and consulting materials in the area of anti-bias. Attached are some wonderful resources from Kirsten, enjoy!
● Website: Embrace Race
● Our Skin video with the Author
● Embrace Race Article: Never Too Early to Learn
● Embrace Race PDF Handout:
● The Awesome Kids Guide to Race Video Read by the author: The Awesome Kid's Guide to Race
● Parenting Book: Raising Anti-Racist Children
● Website focused on Native American Culture: Setting Sun Circle
● Washington State Professional Educator Standards: Cultural Competency Standards
● Whatcom Website: Whatcom Coalition for Anti-Racist Education
● Book, En Comunidad, Lessons for Centering the Voices and Experiences of Bilingual Latinx Students: En-Comunidad
This article is part of our Newsletter 2026 Issue 3. See all articles.
