T Is for Thriving

Kia Darling-Hammond (she/her) holds a doctorate in developmental and psychological sciences in education, is author of the Bridge to Thriving Framework (c), and co-author of The Civil Rights Road to Deeper Learning: Five Essentials for Equity. As CEO of the research and education firm Wise Chipmunk LLC, she leverages more than 25 years of experience in youth development, education, and organizational leadership to offer healing-centered research, advising, coaching, counseling, and public speaking, as well as designs for professional learning, curriculum development, and organizational growth. Darling-Hammonds work emphasizes the importance of combining the science of learning and development with healing justice and transformative justice to promote an evolution toward thriving for all. This approach is grounded in the knowledge that innovation driven by the wisdom of those furthest from power is key to improving everyones lives. In addition to her books, she has published work in Equity and Excellence in Education, Liberal Education, Nonprofit Quarterly, and the Lancet. She serves as a member of Congresswoman Bonnie Watson Colemans Black Mental Health Brain Trust, is a contributing scholar and advisor to the Sports Equity Lab at Yale, and sits on the Wild Seed Liberation Land Board of Directors.



Bre Evans-Santiago is an award-winner author, Chair, and Associate Professor in the Teacher Education Department at California State University, Bakersfield. Her research focuses on culturally-sustaining pedagogy and practices in TK-8 schools. Dr. Evans-Santiago also has research experience in improvement science as it relates to Residencies and educational programs. Her current research projects include, but are not limited to, Black, Indigenous, and People of Color issues in education as well as intersectionalities connected to Queer People of Color. Dr. Evans-Santiago is also the Co-Director for the Center for Transformational Educator Preparation Programs where she leads and supports CSU campuses to recruit, prepare and retain teachers of color across California. Her award-winning book Mistakes We Have Made: Implications for Social Justice Educators (Myers Education Press, 2020) provides a vulnerable perspective of everyday scenarios and strategies for teachers of all ages to reflect upon while teaching with a social justice framework. Her accolades include 2022-23 Faculty Leadership and Service Award, 2023 Unity Award, and the 2022 Administrator of the year award for Professor of Education.

• Acknowledgments


• Preface


• Foreword


• Introduction: Hope and Possibility for the Work of Trans* and Gender Creative Thriving


• Part One
  
  
  
  TRANSformational Lotus: A Haiku


• 1. Exploring and Reclaiming Home in Our Bodies
  
  K. Elliott


• 2. Brain Chemicals and Kindness
  
  Bre Evans-Santiago


• 3. Who Are You?: A Black Queer Journey to Selfhood and Community
  
  Danelle Adeniji and DeKeisha Smith


• 4. Annies Plaid Shirt
  
  Wendy Garay and Bethany Gonzales


• Interlude One


• 5. Be You!
  
  Ana Cornejo


• 6. Exploring Identity and Selfhood
  
  Shaylyn Marks


• Interlude Two
  
  What Are You Waiting For?: A Short Story
  
  El Chen


• Part Two


• 7. Two-Spirit People and the Impact of Colonialism in California
  
  Olivia Garrison


• Interlude Three


• 8. Female Husbands
  
  Jada Thompson, Jay Wang, and CarolJacob


• Interlude Four


• 9. Queering Counter-Narratives
  
  Benjamin C. Kennedy and AlexRosado-Torres


• 10. Yassifying Math With "The Hipson the Drag Queen"
  
  El Chen with Cathery Yeh and B. E.Waid


• 11. 2SLGBTQIA+ Community Centers:A Beacon of Hope
  
  B. E. Waid and TyroneMartinez-Black


• Conclusion


• Afterword


• Appendix A: Story ContributorBiographies


• Appendix B: Teaching Routines,Scaffolds, and Tools


• Appendix C: Editor Recommendationsfor Further Learning and Exploration


• About the Authors


• Index