Helena is featured in a topic series for the Discovery Education platform. The series features the stories of three different students, and Producer Allison Andrews believed Helena represents the character quality of empathy. Discovery Education is the worldwide EdTech leader whose state-of-the-art digital platform supports learning wherever it takes place. Through its award-winning multimedia content, instructional supports, and innovative classroom tools, Discovery Education helps educators deliver equitable learning experiences engaging all students and supporting higher academic achievement on a global scale. Discovery Education serves approximately 4.5 million educators and 45 million students worldwide, and its resources are accessed in over 100 countries and territories.
“Dear Helena,…you reminded us ‘to help educate those who hinder us’ by helping to right the systems that diminish those with disabilities, working to end ableism, and by supporting those with disabilities who are leading the way for disability rights.
On behalf of 3 million NEA members across this nation, I thank you for sharing your wisdom and superpowers with the very people who are poised to make a difference in every child’s life.
In solidarity,
Becky Pringle
President, National Education Association”
Helena often speaks of the educators in her life who understand and accommodate her multiple – and invisible – learning disabilities as her “Champions.” Becky Pringle, the President of the NEA, was so taken with Helena’s concept of champions that the NEA has partnered with Helena to do a national campaign with her to reach the NEA’s 3 million educators with important information about disability rights and inclusion. Find out more about the campaign here.
Continuing to build upon her work with the NEA, Helena was invited to address the 9,000 delegates of the NEA Representative Assembly and speak to them about disability rights and inclusion. Listen to her keynote here.
In this gallery:
NEA Leadership Summit 2023 Moscone Center, San Francisco, CA March 10-12, 2023
NEA Representative Assembly 2023 Orange County Convention Center,
Orlando, FL July 1-6, 2023
#genz #youthactivism #disabilityjustice #poetry #changemakers #july4 #keynotespeaker #keynote #keynoteaddress #disabilityadvocacy #disabilityrights #disabilityinclusion #disabilityjustice @neatoday
Mission Magazine is a global fashion magazine with a purpose-driven mission to raise awareness around global social causes such as human rights, peace and security, climate justice, STEM, gender, and youth issues. Mission Magazine is not only about giving back, it also aims to engage socially conscious people and companies through the lens of fashion to help those in need. Helena was featured in this global fashion magazine by invitation and is a part of their series on young global changemakers. She is the youngest changemaker featured in the issue. Click here to see Helena’s feature.
President Chris Gilmer honored Helena with an invitation to keynote for the Community Colleges of Appalachia Fall Conference at WVU Potomac State College in Keyser, WV. President Gilmer was the first to give Helena, at the age of 10 in 2019, her first big national platform when he named her Designated Poet of the National Institutes for Historically-Underserved Students. The conference theme was on “Exploring Inclusion and Belonging in Community Colleges” and Helena spoke about intersectionality, anti-bullying, Black girlhood, Disability Justice, and the joys and challenges of being a neurodivergent student in K-8 and High School. She concluded her talk with a poem she originally wrote in 2019 for the Institutes titled “Future Me Thanks You.”
The Global Youth Awards is a celebration of youth around the world with nominations from nearly 70 countries. Helena found out she was a finalist in the Educational Leadership category and traveled to London, UK for the awards ceremony on November 18, 2023, and was one of only 12 winners world-wide, the youngest awardee, and the only awardee from the United States.
Diversability is an international community of people with disabilities on a mission to elevate disability pride. Now in its third year, the D-30 Disability Impact List recognizes the unique accomplishments of its most impactful community members globally through a nomination and selection process. Out of almost 250 nominations from around the world, Helena has been named as one of 30 Honorees for 2022. Helena also has the distinction of being the youngest in her cohort and the youngest recipient of the honor to date. Congratulations to the D-30 Disability Impact List Honorees of 2022!! #d30dislist #Diversability
Read more… About Diversability. About D-30. About Helena’s Impact.
Helena Donato-Sapp of Long Beach, California, received the 2024 Yes I Can Award for Academics from the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC). Helena will be honored this March along with other Yes I Can recipients at the CEC Convention and Expo in San Antonio, Texas.
The Yes I Can Awards celebrate and honor the achievements of children and youth with exceptionalities while increasing public awareness of the abilities and aspirations of students with disabilities.
The Generations Award, presented annually by the National Institutes for Historically-Underserved Students, recognizes multiple generations of the same family for their brave and selfless commitment to social justice, equity, and inclusion for all people. Watch Helena accept the award on her family’s behalf here.
Named after Judy Heumann and Elijah Armstrong, the Heumann-Armstrong Education Award is awarded annually to six students with disabilities who demonstrate leadership in education. This is the third year of the Heumann-Armstrong Awards and the first award since Judy’s passing. It is awarded to students around the nation who show exceptional dedication to advancing the rights of disabled students in education and the award honors students who are carrying on the legacy of Judy Heumann.
Abolitionist Education is a teaching approach that centers on abolishing oppressive educational systems, while loving, protecting, remembering, and healing children of color and their communities.
(AbolitionistTeachingNetwork.org)
(2023-2024). Helena Lourdes Donato-Sapp is humbled to have been awarded a grant for a second year from the Abolitionist Teaching Network in recognition of her relentless, bold, and courageous work along with others across the nation as an Educator for Disability Justice. ATN also highlights Helena as a Featured Grantee on their website.
Read more… About the Abolitionist Teaching Network. About ATN Grants for Educators.
From The 74: “After an extensive and comprehensive selection process, we’re thrilled to introduce this year’s class of 16 Under 16 in STEM. The honorees range in age from 12 to 16 and have shown extraordinary achievement in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
The honorees specialize in fields from medicine to agriculture to invention. We hope that these incredible youngsters can inspire others — and offer hope that our future can be in pretty good hands.”
Read more… About The 74. About “16 Under 16.” About Helena’s award.
Donato-Sapp, H., Donato, E., and Sapp, J. (2021). New Moon Girls Magazine 2021 Beautiful Girls Awards recipient.
Helena was recognized as one of the “21 Beautiful Girls” for the magazine. This issue celebrates preteen girls who are making a difference in the world.
In celebration of June as Pride month, Senator Lena A. Gonzalez – representing Senate District 33 – asked for nominations to celebrate the wonderful accomplishments and contributions of the LGBTQ+ community in Senate District 33. Helena was awarded as an Honoree for her pride in lifting up queer families and was honored at the August 5th Brunch Celebration, which was hosted by Senator Gonzalez, Congressman Robert Garcia, Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara, and Assemblymember Josh Lowenthal.
In celebration of 2023 Women’s History Month, Assemblymember Josh Lowenthal of the 69th District recognized women who have gone above and beyond to serve the assembly district 69 community. Helena won the award in the category of Education and was the youngest recipient of this prestigious honor. March 30, 2023. View a clip of the award ceremony here.
Seena Skelton – Director, Midwest and Plains Equity Assistance Center; Director of Operations, Great Lakes Equity Center
Terah Venzant Chambers – Professor of Educational Administration and Associate Dean in the Graduate School, Michigan State University
The Donato-Sapp family – Helena Donato-Sapp, Jeff Sapp, and Sino Donato
Peter Piazza – Director of School Quality Measures, Massachusetts Consortium for Innovative Education Assessment
Different understandings and terms are used to describe similar longings. Terms such as inclusion and integration, and inclusive education are used depending on individuals’ social struggles and what kind of social group they may be discussing. In episode one, we hear from our interviewees as to how they define integration and inclusion, and how their experiences and identities impact these definitions.
In episode two, we examine even more important questions than those posed in episode one: Should we continue to strive for inclusion, school integration, or inclusive education? Is it an all or nothing approach or should we be thinking about it differently depending on the context? Is it always worth it? What are the benefits and challenges?
In episode 3, we focus on the practical aspects of integration and inclusion, focusing specifically on how to go about achieving integration and inclusion in school communities. We learn about the importance of funding, community buy-in, and the need to change mindsets if we are to experience integration. We also learn about a specific framework for integration developed by youth organizers that focuses on race and enrollment, resources, relationships, restorative justice, and representation. And perhaps most importantly, we hear about the importance of listening to students and involving them in school decisions and solutions, as well as developing relationships and caring for one another.
Invited Talk and Publication. Helena was invited to a "kitchen-table talk" by the education journal Equity & Excellence in Education (EEE). The roundtable conversation on Disability Justice entitled A Kitchen-Table Talk Against Ableism: Disability Justice for Collective Liberation was published on March 9, 2022, in an issue of EEE journal. (Recorded Virtual Conversation. January, 2022). Access the article here.
Helena was invited to be a part of this local Southern California calendar that celebrates Black women and their natural hair. This is cited here because it is congruent with Helena’s scholarly work in Black girlhood. It is of particular note that she has written about the politics of Black hair before, in New Moon Girls Magazine in 2021 when she interviewed Tamekia Swint, the founder of Styles4Kids, a non-profit that provides textured hair education, services, and resources that serve kids and families in the biracial, transracial adoptive, and foster care communities.
“Strong Black Girls is reminiscent of our foremother, Anna Julia Cooper, who declared that only the Black woman can say ‘when and where I enter,’ and of Queen Latifah, who declared, ‘Ladies first.’ Much of our scholarship has been focused on the (legitimate) plight of Black boys. However, this does not mean that our girls are not worthy of attention and care. This volume underscores that they are simultaneously strong and vulnerable—and that is something we need to consider as they navigate society and its institutions..”
— Gloria Ladson-Billings, professor emerita, University of Wisconsin
“Danielle Apugo, Lynnette Mawhinney, and Afiya Mbilishaka have gathered together the voices of several powerful Black women—and one strong Black girl—to lead the conversation about their lives in schools, and to imagine what an education that celebrated and nurtured their magic might look like. The stories collected in Strong Black Girls are unflinchingly remembered and richly narrated, spanning generational and geographic distance to bring readers to an understanding of Black girls’ experience in the classroom.”
— Isabel Nuñez, professor and director of the School of Education, College of Professional Studies, Purdue University Fort Wayne
Helena participated in a year-long Youth Poet Laureate Program through the Long Beach Public Library, the Arts Council for Long Beach, and Urban Word. She attended Saturday workshops led by local Southern California poets and artists, shared original poetry at various events, and has led a poetry workshop for the city’s teenagers during Black History Month at the library. Ten finalists were selected for the inaugural Youth Poet Laureate and Poet Ambassadors. Spectrum News highlighted Helena as an activist poet in a feature on the Youth Poet Laureate Program. See it here. Helena was honored to be selected as one of the inaugural Youth Poet Ambassadors of the City of Long Beach.
Helena presented her chapter for the book Teens on Screens in the Twenty-First Century. In the chapter, she explains how the archetype of the outsider in film and TV saved her and helped her understand and negotiate the isolation she experienced as a pre-teen in middle school.
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