-Community Empowerment Strand -Open Space Strand
Set H: Tuesday, September 30 3:05 PM to 4:35 PM
Select one session from Set H:
MOVED TO SESSION I08
In this roundtable discussion, learn with and from anti-racist leaders who are engaged in examining the policies, practices, programs, and procedures where institutionalized racism may exist. Challenge and support one another to develop and accelerate the will, skill, and capacity needed to eliminate barriers that contribute to racial achievement disparities and the diminished capacity of ALL children. Acquire strategies for engaging others in leveraging leadership and networks of practice to bring about systemic equity transformation.
Cynthia Hays, Director of Leadership, Organizational and Strategic Development, Pacific Educational Group, San Francisco, CA
Strand: Equity Leadership
H02 What Happens When You Let Go? A Story About Approaching School Turf Differently
Join us in using the Four Agreements of Courageous Conversation to explore parental involvement in schools. Uncover strategies to let go of the power of the school to allow families to truly have a place within the school that is their own. Learn from our first year's experience how to navigate the successes and challenges of giving parents the lead to set priorities and build their own center. Participate in group discussions and activities to apply research on parent involvement to impact your school culture.
Sandy Nobles, Principal; Monica Arellano and Claudia Carrillo, Parent Center Coordinators; and a parent (TBN), J. Erik Jonsson Community School, Dallas, TX.
Strand: Community Empowerment
H03 Q & A With Rosa Smith (30 minutes only)
Doing and leading work that improves the lives and education of children, especially poor children and children of color, are the core purposes of Rosa's work and life.
Dr. Rosa A. Smith served as president and CEO of the Schott Foundation for Public Education from 2001-2007. Prior to joining Schott, Smith served as a school superintendent in Columbus, Ohio, and Beloit, Wisconsin. She also served as assistant superintendent, high school principal, and teacher in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, and South Bend, Indiana. She is currently the Regional Educational Manager for New Leaders for New Schools, working to help rebuild the New Orleans public school system.
Smith has made numerous presentations and published several articles regarding the intersection of race, class, and gender in public education. In the forward to the 2006 Schott Foundation Report Card on Public Education and Black Male Students, Dr. Smith wrote that we must continue "to focus on the issue of how well our public schools meet their responsibilities in regard to Black male students because history tells us that this is the group least likely to be the focus of such efforts, the group most likely to be blamed for their own neglect by those responsible for the education of all of our children. We know that when it is normal for Black male students to graduate on time and college-ready, it will be normal for all students to do so."
Strand: Anti-Racist Learning and Teaching
MOVED TO SESSION I07
Can professional development drive the development of equity in schools? Examine how school systems must succeed in changing actual teaching and administrative practices in order to eliminate racial achievement disparities; and see how this requires constant and rapid professional development that is tied to the immediate needs of educators--not the management and schedule of the central office. Discover the benefits of on-demand professional development that allows teachers and administrators alike to access the knowledge and practices they most need, when they actually need it. Learn new ways of delivering equity-based professional development through the use of technology, classroom observation, and action research.
John Linton, Founder and Director, School Improvement Network, Sandy, UT.
Strand: Anti-Racist Learning and Teaching
H05 Moving From Random Acts of Anti-Racist Leadership to District-Wide Systemic Equity Reform
San Leandro Unified School District is creating a learning community focused on anti-racism that improves educational instruction for all students. Learn about the district's 5-year Equity Framework and how Courageous Conversations about race have helped to close the racial predictability of the achievement gap. Explore how the District's use of race-based, data-driven walkthroughs; culturally responsive teaching strategies; relationship-building; inclusion of student voice; and the strategic training and engagement of under-represented parents has contributed to significant gains on state tests, especially for African American and Latino students.
Christine Lim, Superintendent; Lori Watson, Vice Principal, John Muir Middle School; Mary Ann Valles, Principal, Bancroft Middle School; and Amy Furtado, Principal, San Leandro High School; and Judith Cameron, Director of Curriculum and Instruction; San Leandro Unified School District, San Leandro, CA..
Strand: Equity Leadership
H06 Excellence Without Equity is Privilege: Building Instructional Leadership that Eliminates Racial Disparities in Education
Eliminating racial achievement disparities is a reality at the FAIR School in Crystal, Minnesota. Experience a capacity-building model for school change. Learn how the FAIR School has used integration policy, an extensive equity plan, culturally responsive classroom training, and a community commitment to achievement for all students to transform learning and teaching.
Patrick Exner, Director of Teaching and Learning, West Metro Education Program, Edina, MN; and Kevin Bennett, Principal, FAIR School, Crystal, MN.
Strand: Anti-Racist Learning and Teaching
H07 Organizing Parents for Equitable and Systemic Change in Schools: A Roundtable Discussion
Organizing parents for equitable change requires space and a vigorous commitment to the cause. Explore the anti-racist efforts made by the St. Louis Park School District to engage and ensure a significant voice for its PASS (Partnerships for Academically Successful Students) group in school policy development and programming. Interact with parent leaders and school staff as we discuss the challenges and opportunities that come with equity work.
Stacy Collins, Integration Specialist, Minnesota Department of Education; Sylvia and Ken Gilbert, PASS Team parents; and Courtlandt Butts, Regional Director for Family and Community Empowerment, Pacific Educational Group, Inc., San Francisco, CA.
Strand: Community Empowerment
H08 Using the Critical Friends Protocol Toward Disrupting Systemic Racism
Anti-racist leaders reveal the forces within systems that have created racial inequities in education and they exercise leadership to disrupt those systems. Witness an actual case consultation that uses techniques adapted from the Annenberg Institute and Harvard's Ronald Heifetz. Make connections to your own experience as our superintendent presents a dilemma he currently is facing and our team shares observations about his case, interprets what we observed, and offers suggestions for action steps. Join the analysis by sharing your own observations and reflecting on both the content and process of the session.
Steve Price, Superintendent, Kee Edwards, Principal, and Lisa Lowery, Human Resources Director, Middletown City School District, Middletown, OH; Circe Stumbo, President, and Bonnie McIntosh, Chief Operating Officer, West Wind Educational Policy, Inc., Iowa City, IA
Strand: Equity Leadership
NO LONGER AVAILABLE
How do districts with a majority White population begin to transform their culture from tolerating or celebrating the "diversity" of the "other" to ensuring that Black, Brown, and Asian students and their families are engaged members of the school community? What happens when a high-achieving, affluent, suburban district tackles race and systemic racism? Learn how the Mason City School District (southwest Ohio) uses Courageous Conversations to launch a district-wide racial equity movement of grassroots, grasstops, and everything in between! Learn and share strategies for building a sense of urgency and keeping students' voices at the center of the conversation.
Tracey Carson, Public Information Officer; George Coates, High School Assistant Principal; Tonya McCall, Middle School Principal; and Amy Spicher, Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum and Instruction; Mason City School District, Mason, OH.
Strand: Equity Leadership
H10 Race to Freedom! Student Anti-Racist Leadership Development
A multi-racial group of adults and students will share a collaborative model for developing anti-racist student leaders in suburban school districts. Discover the essential ingredients for implementing successful student leadership programs in your district, and understand the lessons learned through piloting such programs at the high school, middle school, and elementary school levels. Hear from student leaders about their program experiences, and explore models and curriculum for student leadership retreats and activities focused on racial equity, including Underground Railroad simulations and mentorship activities that build culturally competent student leaders.
Anthony Galloway, "Choice Is Yours" and Student Programs Coordinator, West Metro Education Program, Edina, MN; Patrick Duffy, Equity Coordinator, Hopkins High School, Hopkins, MN; and students from Hopkins High School.
Strand: Equity Leadership/Student Leadership Development
H11 Broken English or English Broken: The Intersections of Race and Language Acquisition in the Development of Culturally Relevant Instruction
Attacking racial disparities in schooling takes "Ganas." Learn to apply skills and knowledge to the complex intersections of racial identity development, institutional racism, and language. Use the tenets of Courageous Conversation in a compassionate strategy to explore how districts and schools often focus on serving low performing English Learners, and yet do not eliminate racial disparities. Examine how the study of language acquisition is often used as both a proxy for race and a way to maintain the current oppressive racial hierarchy. Learn ways to challenge racism and how it manifests today in our understanding of language, culture, and pedagogy.
Jamie Almanzan, Director of Learning and Teaching, Pacific Educational Group, Inc., San Francisco, CA.
Strand: Anti-Racist Learning and Teaching
NO LONGER AVAILABLE
Student voice is one of the most effective tools for transforming learning environments and addressing critical issues of educational equity. Learn how Voices of Color, a 17-minute film, offered one school district the rare and unique opportunity to view the world through the eyes of its students. Discover how, by tapping into the hearts and minds of young people, Kyrene School District teachers and administrators were able to recognize and understand the devastating impact of institutionalized racism. Examine how your district/organization can use the power of student voice as a springboard for Courageous Conversation and the identification and elimination of racial inequities.
Cheryl S. Greene, Principal, Kyrene de la Esperanza, Kyrene School District, Phoenix, AZ; Executive Director, Voices of Color, L.L.C.
Strand: Anti-Racist Learning and Teaching
NO LONGER AVAILABLE
With the recent call for immigration reform, the concern of providing Latino students with high quality education in the American southwest has become a social issue of enormous concern. Participate in a vigorous discussion around our moral responsibility as leaders to create sustained conversation focused on the following essential question: How do education leaders engage contemporary leadership theory and principles to foster systemic Anti-Racist and equitable schooling? Explore this leadership challenge through discussion of effective high school reform efforts taking shape in central New Mexico.
Mario Zuniga, Zuniga Performance Systems, Los Lunas, NM
Strand: Equity Leadership
When it comes to equity initiatives, everyone matters – including non-licensed staff such as bus drivers, custodians, food service workers, playground supervisors, paraprofessionals, and technology workers. Review real school experiences to learn how non-licensed staff can help or hurt our efforts to eliminate racial disparities in education. Discover important adaptations to the Courageous Conversation framework for effectively engaging non-licensed staff in equity efforts. Examine a model for including non-licensed staff as essential equity partners who help accelerate the work and make a meaningful difference in students’ school and classroom experiences.
Derrick Agate, Sr., Director of Transportation, Eden Prairie Schools, Eden Prairie, MN.
Strand: Equity Leadership
H15 Parents Making a Difference: How People of Color Can Change the System
Learn how an outreach program to involve African American and Latino parents made a difference in changing the culture of the Oak Grove School District. Examine parent involvement from a systems approach to doing equity work.
Manny Barbara, Superintendent; Amelia Hill, Community Liaison; and Joyce Miller, Educational Services Coordinator; Oak Grove School District, San Jose, CA
Strand: Community Empowerment
