September 2016
Kip Tokuda Memorial Civil Liberties Public Education Program
1.
Purpose: The Kip Tokuda competitive grant program is intended to do one or both of the
following:
o Educate the public regarding the history and the lessons of the World War II exclusion,
removal, and detention of persons of Japanese ancestry through the development,
coordination, and distribution of new educational materials and the development of
curriculum materials to complement and augment resources currently available on this
subject matter.
o Develop videos, plays, presentations, speaker bureaus, and exhibitions for presentation
to elementary schools, secondary schools, community colleges, and to other interested
parties.
2.
Description of services provided: Because of the individual and diverse nature of projects
that were selected for funding, each one is listed and briefly summarized.
 Broadway Center for the Performing Arts
The Broadway Center sought to expand its successful Civil Rights Legacy touring
program with a new, original theatrical work and multi-media curricular initiative which
1) explores the fragility of civil rights over time by drawing on the experiences of
Washington’s Japanese Americans during World War II, and 2) connects these
experiences to current civil rights struggles.
 Densho Funding Densho worked with Washington State teachers to support the
effective teaching of the causes of the World War II incarceration of Japanese Americans
through: 1) the examination of primary source materials, 2) upgrading the existing
online teacher course into a five-part (five hours) online course, and 3) revising the
online course and classroom activities based on assessments and feedback from
participating teachers.
 International Examiner
This program created a 16-page featured insert in a Special Issue of the International
Examiner with original content including stories by International Examiner staff,
historical advisors, and contributing writers. The print articles in the Featured Insert
appeared permanently on www.iexaminer.org. The proposal also created a 5-10 minute
short film comparing Japanese American experiences of injustice with racial and
religious discrimination today. The short film eventually will be transcribed and
permanently available to the public on the International Examiner website.
 The Seattle Historical Theatre Project
Two educators created a play about the Japanese American Incarceration as seen
through the lens of the Seattle high school experience. The script was created using
primary sources, historical documents and audio clips, local archival research, and
personal interviews with those who lived through the era. The play focuses on the effect
of the experience on the Japanese American population, and also on those who were
left behind.
 Wing Luke Museum
Through Inspiring Future Generations, the Wing Luke Museum and the Seattle Nisei
Veterans Committee (NVC) Foundation educated teachers, students and the larger
community about the Japanese American incarceration and military experience during
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World War II through teacher training, distribution of classroom curriculum and
resources, and creation of an animated video short, based on the graphic novel,
“Fighting for America: Nisei Soldiers,” the story of six Pacific Northwest Nisei soldiers
who made a significant mark in American history.
3.
Criteria for receiving services and/or grants: OSPI announced a Call for Applications in
December, 2015. Eighteen groups from across Washington State submitted grants,
requesting approximately $900,000. Applications closed on January 14, 2016. Three rounds
of vetting followed. During Round I each application was read, reviewed, and scored by
three individuals, working independently. During Round 2, a Selection Committee of OSPI
personnel and community members reviewed all proposals and selected the top nine
applications for further consideration. During Round III, a Selection Committee of OSPI
personnel and community members studied the remaining nine applications and decided
how best to allocate funds. Two funding cycles were established:
Funding Cycle #1: February 1, 2016—June 30, 2016
Funding Cycle #2: July 1, 2016—June 30, 2017
The major criteria used at each vetting session were as follows:
a. Administrative Capability,
b. Content-Based Expertise,
c. Relevance to Civil Rights Education,
d. Sustainability,
e. Scalability, and
f. Variety of Exclusion and Detention Experiences Addressed.
4.
Beneficiaries in 2015-16 School Year:
# of School Districts:
# of Schools:
# of Students:
Other: Grantees
00
00
00
05
# of OSPI staff associated with this funding (FTEs):
# of contractors/other staff associated with this funding:
FY 16 Funding: State Appropriation:
Federal Appropriation:
Other fund sources:
TOTAL (FY16)
0
0
$125 thousand
$0
$0
$125 thousand
5.
Are federal or other funds contingent on state funding? If yes, explain. No
6.
First year funded: 2016
7.
State funding history:
Fiscal Year
FY16
Amount
$125,000
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8.
Number of beneficiaries (e.g., schools, students, districts) history:
Fiscal Year
FY16
# of Grantees
5 organizations
9.
Average and range of funding per beneficiary, 2015-16 school year: The average amount
of funding received per grantee organization was $25,000. However, that average may be
misleading, especially in light of the fact that the awards went to organizations rather than
schools or districts. A more exact accounting is provided with the following list:
$20,000
Broadway Center for the Performing Arts
$35,000
Densho: Japanese American Legacy Project
$30,000
International Examiner
$20,000
Seattle Historical Theatre Project
$20,000
Wing Luke Asian Museum
10.
Programmatic changes since inception (if any): None
11.
Evaluations of program/major findings: All five grantee programs completed their project
on time and within budget. The impact on schools and districts varied in scope, with some
projects being able to measure immediate impacts because of the nature of their work.
Others programs were creating a resource for future use by teachers, equally important,
but not yet able to assess the impact on student learning. Please see a more specific
explanation in item #16.
12.
Major challenges faced by the program: Eighteen groups from across Washington State
submitted grant applications, requesting approximately $900,000. All of the applications
were worthy, but only the top five could be funded due to financial constraints. Only
$125,000 could be awarded.
13.
Future opportunities: The future holds an opportunity for deepening and expanding this
work. New and returning grantee organizations will be supported in FY 2017 by an
allocation of $125,000.
14.
Statutory and/or Budget language:
Budget Proviso: ESSB 6052 – 501 (38) $125,000 of the general fund – state appropriation
for fiscal year 2016 and $125,000 of the general fund – state appropriation for fiscal year
2017 are provided solely for the Kip Tokuda memorial Washington civil liberties public
education program. The superintendent of public instruction shall award grants consistent
with RCW 28A.300.410
15. Other relevant information: Because each of the five grantee organizations had unique
approaches to meeting the goals of this program, the outcomes for each organization, while
different in scale and scope, were met. Additionally, the impact of the work will continue long
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into the future because the materials produced are now openly available to all teachers in
Washington State and beyond.
16. List of schools/districts receiving assistance: This information is available upon request from
each of the grantee groups. However, some grantees provide online services and support to
schools and districts. Others created materials (a play, a newspaper, a production) that will be
available in print or in live productions. Therefore, it is virtually impossible to identify all the
schools or districts that avail themselves of these materials. However, to indicate the impact
of this work, this report concludes with a letter that was sent to Representative Sharon
Tomiko Santos from Tom Ikeda, Executive Director of Densho, one of the five grantee
organizations in 2016. Excerpts from his letter follow:
The classroom results from Densho’s Kip Tokuda Memorial Civil Liberties Public Education
Fund grant project are the most promising and exciting I’ve seen in the 20 years of working at
Densho. With the $35,000 in state grant funds provided, we upgraded a Densho course
previously developed with National Park Service funds. Then, 55 teachers from across the
state took the five hour course and applied learning activities from the course in the classroom
with students. Teachers rated the online course and classroom experiences as excellent and
provided an abundance of glowing and meaningful comments like the following:
“This is one of the FINEST pieces of continuing education I've used. As an online course it
is unsurpassed in ease of use, quality of resources, and technical reliability.”
“This is a great example of the democratic process . . . from fear, to prejudice, to media
presenting conflicting stories and finally redress of wrongs.”
“This is one of the best online courses I have ever had, and I have earned two Masters on
line.”
In addition, 18 or a third of the participating teachers had their students (over 1,000 student
activities completed) use Densho’s online student activities which not only give students a rich,
interactive history lesson but also give us incredible insight into the knowledge and
understanding that students have about racism, civil liberties, and the Constitution. These
insights provide powerful information we will use to refine the course and materials to improve
understanding around these important topics.
Furthermore, a breakthrough with this project was the high percentage of teachers who
indicated that this online course positively impacted their classroom practice. Of the 69 teachers
who started this program, 55 teachers (80%) completed the professional development training,
and immediately used what they learned in the classroom. As you know, one of the most
challenging aspects to any professional development for teachers is to get teachers to try the
new things they’ve learned and to determine the impact on their teaching and the learning of
students. This project succeeded with teachers using their new knowledge and skills to reach at
least 2,000 students and providing assessment data indicating increased learning by both
teachers and students.
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The results from the Kip Tokuda Memorial grant project were so positive, one of Densho’s board
members immediately donated $10,000 so that we could further refine the online course and do
another cohort of 40 Washington State teachers over the summer and fall ($250/teacher cost
for this project.)
Available upon request:
The list of 55 teachers who completed the course and used the activities in the classroom
(including their school, legislative district, and experience level),
A state map showing the schools (33 Middle Schools, 22 High Schools) where these
teachers were located,
Comments from the teachers about the course and the classroom implementation, and
Link to the teacher online course: https://versal.com/c/omlzst/teaching-wwii-japaneseamerican-incarceration-with-primary-sources
We greatly appreciate the funding from the Kip Tokuda Memorial Civil Liberties Public Education
Fund program. Your support of this program is having an immediate, positive impact with
Washington State teachers and students!
Tom Ikeda