- Leah and Rena Dunbar Courageous Conversations
- Jason Tracy, Churchill High School
- Daniel Gallo, Sheldon High School
Leah and Rena Dunbar share more than a last name. The two are identical twins, and, by the looks of their immaculate “Rate my Teachers” profiles, they are each beloved by their students — Leah Dunbar teaches language arts at Winston Churchill High School and Rena Dunbar taught at Early College & Career Options (ECCO) High School until resigning in August of this year. The Dunbar sisters have used their knowledge about and passion for social justice to guide their teaching styles, where they introduce important topics about identity to their students.
Eugene Weekly has written about the sisters’ “Courageous Conversations” program they introduced to the Eugene 4J School District before: The class focuses on the nuances of racial identity and oppression, and is a unique and important course to be offered at the high school level — a time for mental growth and change. And in a time when we would like our soon-to-be voters to be as socially informed as possible, this course seems particularly relevant. — Taylor Griggs