E01 No Excuses! How to Increase Minority Student Achievement with the Equity Framework

What do highly diverse schools--with no achievement gaps--do? "Join" Curtis Linton as he traveled the country with the School Improvement Network documenting on video and in print highly diverse schools that have eliminated achievement disparities. See schools where all students reach grade level year-after-year, regardless of race, economics, or language. Visit these schools, learn about the Equity Framework, and see how these educators and systems use the principles of equity to lift all students to high levels of success.

Curtis Linton, Vice President, School Improvement Network, Sandy, UT.

Strand: Anti-Racist Learning and Teaching

E02 The Tragedy of "Non-ness"--How Language Damages Our Quest for Social Justice

We have a rich and devastating history of exclusionary language and attitudes that must be addressed and banished from our organizations. Learn about the forms of exclusionary language that are found in educational settings; reflect on the use of exclusionary language in your workplace, and identify where and when it takes place; and develop an action plan to take back to your workplace to interrupt the use of exclusionary language.

Nancy Dome, Director of Online Programming, Pacific Educational Group, San Francisco, CA.

Strand: Equity Leadership

E03 Transforming Culturally Responsive Teaching Knowledge into Practice One Teacher at a Time

The most critical change that must take place in our schools to end racial achievement disparities is in the classroom. Learn how guidance and individualized coaching helps teachers to implement the knowledge and skills of culturally relevant teaching they gain through training. Experience culturally relevant learning techniques, and explore strategies to support teachers' planning, implementation, and reflection of culturally relevant classroom practices.

Linda Maccagnan, Staff Developer, Cherry Creek School District, Aurora, CO.

Strand: Anti-Racist Learning and Teaching

E04 SERC's Transformational Journey to Equity and Anti-Racist Leadership

The State Educational Resource Center of Connecticut (SERC) has been on a five-year journey to develop racial consciousness, unmask systems of dominance and privilege, and collaborate with the Connecticut Department of Education to provide training, coaching, and technical assistance for schools engaged in Courageous Conversations. Explore the lessons SERC has learned on its journey to restructure and re-culture the organization around equity and anti-racist leadership. Learn how SERC's Courageous Conversations Consortium works, and about efforts to develop a statewide system to eradicate the racial predictability of achievement gaps in Connecticut.

Staff from the State Resource Center of Connecticut, Middletown, CT.

Strand: Equity Leadership

E05 Alas, Can We Have a Courageous Conversation About the Systemic Educational Destruction and Demise of Black Boys?

In his powerful research, Garrett Duncan wrote that black boys are "Beyond Love" as it relates to their experiences in schools. This unapologetic, laser-like focus on the plight of Black males in schools today will provide greater understanding of the unique circumstances facing Black males in our society; show how this societal experience plays out in schools; and explore ways in which the system institutionalizes practices that marginalize, and perhaps criminalize, Black Boys. Participants will also discover and examine ways to transform our environments into places that nurture the spirit and foster high-level engagement and achievement of our lowest performing, yet most disregarded student population.

Glenn Singleton, Will Walker, and Courtlandt Butts, Pacific Educational Group, Inc., San Francisco, CA; Willie Jett, Principal, Hopkins High School, Hopkins, MN.

Strand: Equity Leadership

SESSION CANCELLED

E07 Tools for Courageous Conversations: Protocols for Examining Equity and Engagement in Classrooms

Across the country, instructional coaches, specialists, and building leaders are eager to visit classrooms to see if all students are engaged at high and sustained levels. Learn about data-gathering protocols that enhance classroom visits and strengthen the effectiveness of "side-by-side" coaching exchanges with teachers. Observe how these tools and coaching conversations can result in a clearer understanding of neglected or disenfranchised students, and in teacher actions that engage students more respectfully and effectively. Review actual case studies of teachers who changed their classroom practice based on these protocols and understand how the tools can support equity in our schools.

Mike Murphy, Director of Education, Institute for Excellence in Urban Education, Dallas, TX.

Strand: Anti-Racist Learning and Teaching

As the service-learning field expands its reach and engages diverse communities in its practices, there is a growing need for culturally competent leaders and practitioners to design, deliver, and promote high quality service-learning. Explore community driven partnerships as a strategy for deepening service-learning practice in multicultural communities. Assess your attitudes and programs as a first step to understanding how it impacts your work with communities. Create a protocol of questions that engage community dialogue and lead to better understanding of structural inequities and institutionalized racism. Engage in dialogue with community members about how charity and social change connect with service-learning.

Mary Noble, Assistant Principal, Minneapolis Public Schools, Minneapolis, MN, and Wokie Weah, Vice President, Libby Rau, Youth and School Programs Director, and Maya Beecham, Program Assistant, National Youth Leadership Council, St. Paul, MN.

Strand: Community Empowerment