2023 Summit on Teachers of Color Breakout Sessions

Participants will learn how community school models prioritize strategic structures for how students and educators of color respond to trauma. Building resilience and attending to educator and student healing can be a community approach to benefit all in our school communities. During our time together, we will move through adult learning theory exercises that promote healing. Participants will understand how healing is central to teaching and learning in community schools and the core practices of a healing community school.

The purpose of this workshop is for the participants to work on their equity audits to improve equitable conditions in our schools. By digging deeper into the issues and root causes of inequities, leaders will be able to facilitate conversations that push past surface level excuses that are sometimes made and that hinder the progress of just and equitable schools. Participants will engage in material that will help them see how they can establish a classroom where all students feel safe and valued, and empowered. Activities will draw from the collective expertise in the room and will allow educators to enhance what they are already doing in their education environments.

White educators often struggle to address race and culture in their classrooms. They may have diverse literature and lesson plans, but do they tackle differences head-on? How can educators practice cultural humility with students? Together we will explore classroom scenarios where the topic of race was avoided. We will form action plans to work in solidarity through difficult conversations. Presenters will also share resources to help attendees increase their knowledge base of systemic oppression in our public school systems.

Join NEA Fellows from Iowa and Indiana as they share their journey. Learn about their work in creating pathways to the classroom and to leadership as well as retention strategies for educators of color, which include mentorship programs and more.

To achieve “visible inclusion,” we must humanize members within our communities of practice in ways that respect and acceptance become the norm, not just another cliche. We must demonstrate respect by seeking to understand others and treating them as they desire, not as we desire.

Outcomes:
Tools for practicing self-reflection to shape philosophy policies/ practices
Tools to assist in advocating for students’ lived experiences to be apart of the curriculum
Tools for creating schools and community that demonstrate visible inclusion

The impact of establishing a division level office of engagement and community hub model have been instrumental in supporting families, students and educators throughout Richmond Public Schools. Our office utilizes several strategies that increase capacity for educators to improve relationships with their students, families and colleagues. In this session, participants will learn best practices for community, parent and student engagement that elevate the educational experience and are empowering for all.

This session will share practical culturally relevant strategies to increase engagement & academic performance in the classrooms with African American boys. Improving multicultural recruitment and retention, using the 3 R’s and technology that allows academic success for African American boys.

Anti-racist teaching practices in a white supremacist culture require reflection, research, advocacy, and reimagining of our classroom practices. Our student populations are increasingly diverse, it is time to take steps to decenter whiteness as the norm. Learn about some of the tenants of anti-racist teaching, the reflection and work it requires, and strategies you can use in the classroom.

This workshop session will do the following…

1. Remind teachers of color of their way (teachers will create a make it/take it foldable)
2. Real life experiences with teachers of color
3. Empower teachers of color to recruit other individuals to the profession through their passion
4. Teachers will complete a self-reflection activity of how they have or will be impacting lives
5. Empower teachers to keep going…

Intersectionality brings our understanding of systemic injustice and social inequality to the next level by attempting to untangle the lines that create the complex web of inequalities. This workshop will look at how a person’s race, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, etc. intersect.

This workshop will discuss the current literature on the ninth-grade transition and how ninth-grade teams can support low-income families of color to increase student achievement. This discussion will discuss elementary school through middle school family engagement strategies and teacher/administrator beliefs that create barriers to strengthening ties between home and school. This session will work on how schools can support families of color through social networks between home and school to increase student achievement.

Workshop participants will learn about the availability of ARPA funds and other federal funding, and how these funds can be utilized to create more equitable classrooms, schools, workplaces, and communities. The workshop will explore effective organizing strategies for building a campaign to secure these resources. Participants will identify opportunities within their schools and outline some preliminary plans for engaging other members of their locals around those issues. Participants may schedule a follow-up meeting to further develop these campaigns.

This workshop will explore how white people in schools who are committed to an anti-racist praxis become and put into tangible practices what Dr. Bettina Love coined as being a “co-conspirator” to dismantle the systematically oppressive structures that have negatively impacted students and teachers of color since the beginning of schooling in America. This workshop will give teachers and administrators strategies on how to implement anti-racist practices in how they address instruction, staffing, and the culture within their schools.

The presentation will explore the ideas and concepts relating to teacher leaders of color. Participants will gain the capacity to better understand what it takes to be a teacher leader of color, as well as their personal impact on students, and the community.

For current leaders, participants will gain a deeper understanding through reflection and self-evaluation to better evolve their practice.

“BIPOC Families in Transition: Aligning the Heart and the Head,” seeks to provide the perspective of BIPOC communities on the issue of Gender Transition. This workshop will enable parents, caregivers, school staff and other stakeholders to better navigate relationships, emotions and other practical issues associated with transgender and gender expansive youth.

From the lens of a former High School Assistant Principal in a division that held blended suburban and rural communities, participants will hear how being a leader of color was an honor and a challenge. Leaders of color will see themselves and know that they are not alone. Leaders who are not of color will get a glimpse of what their peers may be experiencing and learn how to be supportive of peers, staff, and students of color.

The session will provide support to educators and administrators who face challenges with the student/students who seemingly get into trouble often. The session will be interactive by showing teachers how to leverage the power of “That One Kid” that disrupts the learning environment. The session will consider the ways in which community building, culturally sustaining pedagogy and culturally relevant leadership intersect to create teacher care to be able to foster strong student teacher relationships.

Participants will learn and explore strategies to support Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPI) educators and students. Participants will explore: Who are AAPI educators? What are their needs and challenges? How do we create systems and structures to support AAPI educators and students so they can navigate their worksites and schools to be successful? We will share strategies and resources for creating professional learning spaces for AAPI members. Participants will apply learnings to their context and identify action steps.

The way we do teacher education must change. Reimagining the preparation of educational practitioners, includes inviting them to be teacher-researchers who will advocate for equity. This presentation, led by Teacher Educator Candidates, provides initial focus-group data obtained from interviews with veteran and current teachers of color. Findings have provided presenters with ways to build engaging classrooms. Participants will gain tips on how to create a space where teachers will feel free to share their lived experiences and build inclusive schools.

This presentation seeks to increase educator awareness of terms such as “Cultural Competence, “Culturally Responsive Education,” and “Hip-Hop Pedagogy.” Attendees will be exposed to the latest research on hip-hop pedagogical approaches as an effective means to engage diverse students in literacy instruction in secondary schools. Also, attendees will receive practical tips for implementing hip-hop pedagogical approaches in the learning environment to engage students of color.