The Resources team of ING MidWest includes diverse Muslim professionals, educators and K-12 parents. We have used valuable input from various schools in addition to the expertise of a nationally recognized K-14 resources consultant from Georgetown University, Dr. Susan Douglass, to link young people, educators, and organizers with curricular and other resources that will promote safe spaces, mutual understanding, and inclusive communities. Local religious and academic scholars ensure that our resources are religiously accurate and broadly representative. Along with parents and other local schools’ members, we have come together with the goal of providing school communities with trusted and credible resources about Islam and Muslims. In addition to providing resources about Islam that complement the classes of social studies and world religions, we aim to provide K-12 resources that address issues related to diversity, inclusion, stereotypes, discrimination, identity, and Islamophobia. Our hope is to make these resources available to public and private schools to assist in addressing critical issues which impact our communities within the school population.
Our Mission
To promote an inclusive academic environment by providing teachers and students with credible, culturally relevant, and holistic resources hence improving academic experiences that will impact a positive change in the world.
Our Vision
We envision a future where students in K-12 school environments feel safe, included, and proud of their beliefs and identities. We aim to promote learning environments that are inclusive to all backgrounds, and eliminate the impact of misconceptions and prejudice.
Resources Consultant
Susan Douglass
Dr. Susan Douglass is the main resources expert and consultant for RING MidWest team. She received her PhD in history from George Mason University in 2016. Susan holds an M.A. in Arab Studies from the Georgetown University Center for Contemporary Arab Studies, and a B.A. in History from the University of Rochester. She currently serves as K-14 Education Outreach Coordinator at Georgetown University’s Center for Contemporary Arab Studies, where she develops an annual series of teacher workshops and seminars, a summer institute, and direct outreach to schools and other institutions. She conducted teacher workshops nationwide for over a decade before developing the education outreach program at the Center for Muslim Christian Understanding, which has held workshops in 25 states since 2007.During 2006, she served as Senior Researcher for the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations initiative, and served as an Affiliated Scholar with the Council on Islamic Education for a decade, reviewing more than a dozen commercial textbooks in development, reviewing state curricula and standards, and developing instructional resources.Major publications include World Eras: Rise and Spread of Islam, 622-1500 (Thompson/Gale, 2002), teaching resources for the Council on Islamic Education and the National Center for History in the Schools, a children’s book, Ramadan (Carolrhoda Books, 2002), and many articles and book chapters. She is a contributor to online teaching resources such as the IslamProject.org, the website and teaching resources for the documentary film Cities of Light ( islamicspain.tv ) and other Unity Productions Foundation documentaries. She contributed to the Smithsonian Freer Gallery teaching guide Arts of Islam, Children and Youth in History at the Center for History and New Media at George Mason University, and the San Diego State University curriculum project World History for Us All. She designed and developed the online resource The Indian Ocean in World History. As researcher and author of the study teaching About Religion in National and State Social Studies Standards (Freedom Forum First Amendment Center and Council on Islamic Education, 2000), she has continued to study national and state world history and geography standards since 1995. Recent curriculum projects include Our Shared Past in the Mediterranean, funded by the British Council and the Social Science Research Council.