Erika Rusley

2025 Yale & Slavery Teachers Institute Cohort Member

I teach at the Jewish Community Day School of Rhode Island, a progressive, pluralistic Jewish day school for children ages 3-12, located in Providence. Currently I am the 4th and 5th grade General Studies teacher and the Social Justice (Tzedek) Coordinator. I am the curriculum lead for our Social Justice curriculum, which spans Judaic Studies and Social Studies as well as our Social-Emotional Learning. My project is a unit plan about the contributions of Black and Indigenous people in New England to the Revolutionary War, with an emphasis on the 1st Rhode Island Regiment. It is designed for students in Grade 5.