WORKSHOP SCHEDULE (ALL WORKSHOPS TAKE PLACE ON OCTOBER 20TH)
10:35AM-12:05PM
Workshops I (first 15 min icebreakers led by NCSD)
- Creating Sanctuary Campuses from a Legal and Pedagogical/School Climate Perspective
- Engaging Corporate Partners in Your Diversity, Inclusion, and Equity Strategy
- Equity in Early Education: Understanding Inequities in Access to Early Educational Opportunities
- Co-Creating Equity: Critical Shifts
- Engaging Families in Diverse Schools: Innovative Approaches to Community Building
- Making the Case for Activating Parents
- From Segregation to Intentionally Diverse-by-Design: A Commitment to Cultural Competency and Implementation of Culturally Responsive Teaching – Lessons from Blackstone Valley Prep
- School-University Partnerships For Integration: Different Models; Different Relationships
- School Choice, Student Diversity, and Segregation: Examining the Evidence
1:50PM-3:05PM
Workshops II
- Race and Revolution: Challenging Historical Narratives through Art
- Using Faith Messaging to Win
- The Citizen Artist Curriculum: Ripped from the Headlines
- Step 1 in School Integration: The Theory of Change
- Policy Through Play: Using Theatre to Translate Impact and Mobilize Communities
- Dialogue for Equity and Integration
- Undesigning Educational Segregation and Disparities
- Cultivating Cross-Group Solidarity within Social Movements
- Sitting at the Seat of Change
3:15PM-4:30PM
Workshops III
- Separate and Equitable? The Struggle and Expansion of Community Schools and Other Community-based School Models and Continued Discussion on Integration vs. Resourcing
- Diversifying Neighborhood Schools: New Ideas to Reduce Segregation 50 Years After the Fair Housing Act
- The Role of Trauma-Informed Schools in Advancing Integration
- Methods and Definitions of Voluntary Integration in the United States
- A New Table: Cultivating a Racial Equity Lens in School District Decision-Making
- Organizing for School Integration: Lessons Learned from Suburban Experiences
- Kickstarting Integration: An Equity-based Framework for Pursuing Racially Diverse Schools
- Pioneering School Integration Through Magnet Programs
- Trump, Post-Racialism, and New Frames of Racial Integration
- The PROSE Program: Supporting Integration Through Empowering School-Level Educators
Workshop descriptions:
A New Table: Cultivating a Racial Equity Lens in School District Decision-Making
The Boston Public Schools (BPS) is engaged in a far-reaching partnership with the Government Alliance on Race and Equity, and the associated Center for Social Inclusion. The BPS Office of Equity and Office of the Opportunity and Achievement Gap are rolling out the use of a racial equity tool to bring to every table where decisions are made, from curriculum selection to program design to policy making.
To succeed, integrated schools must deliberately, skillfully, and unwaveringly advance racial equity. This session will introduce the BPS organizational change model: how we are normalizing racial equity as a fundamental value; operationalizing racial equity by shifting policies and practices; and organizing internally, with our external partners, and across the broader community.
This workshop will explore the role, challenges, responsibilities, and opportunities for school districts to advance racial equity in every aspect of our work, and introduce the BPS racial equity tool that has begun to transform who is at the table and our resulting strategies as educators.
Presenters:
- Becky Shuster, Assistant Superintendent of Equity, Boston Public Schools
- Ceronne Daly, Managing Director of Recruitment, Cultivation, and Diversity Programs, Boston Public Schools
- Rachael DeCruz, Vice President of Policy, Race Forward/Center for Social Inclusion
Co-Creating Equity: Critical Shifts
The Discovery Center has been in a co-creating equity process for several years. These 5 Critical Shifts have emerged as the anchors to which we tie our framework for educational equity. They have been developed in collaboration with students, educators and administrators across Central CT. These shifts are both ideological and practical. This workshop will be inquiry-based and harness the knowledge of group participants while challenging them to expand their understanding of systemic inequity and our role in transforming the policies, practices, and procedures that harm students with marginalized identities.
Presenters:
- Jason Fredlund, Program Director, The Discovery Center
- Derek Hall, Program Director, The Discovery Center
Creating Sanctuary Campuses from a Legal and Pedagogical/School Climate Perspective
A lawyer and educator from SPLC will look at immigration-related issues from both a policy and practice perspective. They’ll provide a brief overview of the law about what schools can actually do to create sanctuary spaces and then talk about the effect of immigration issues on school climate, student safety and school-community relations.
Presenters:
- Monita Bell, Senior Editor, Teaching Tolerance, Southern Poverty Law Center
- Michelle Lapointe, Senior Staff Attorney, Immigrant Justice Project, Southern Poverty Law Center
Cultivating Cross-Group Solidarity within Social Movements
We invite you to join in a discussion on the challenges of cultivating diversity and cross-group understanding within social movements. This workshop will provide attendees with an opportunity to learn about and reflect on survey research indicating (a) the ways in which people from different racial and ethnic backgrounds become mobilized to take action for racial justice, and (b) how people of different backgrounds experience and respond to cross-race solidarity in protests for racial justice. Following a brief presentation of research findings, attendees will engage in small group and broader group discussions to share perspectives regarding their own experiences in protests for racial justice, how we might effectively engage in solidarity across racial lines, and how efforts to bridge racial differences in the context of social movements might inform strategies for school integration movement building.
Presenters:
- Linda Tropp, Professor, University of Massachusetts Amherst (Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences)
Dialogue for Equity and Integration
Public discourse at the local and national level around issues of equity and integration is often framed as debate rather than dialogue, leading to contentious interactions and stagnant progress. Determined to be right or focused on the evidence for our position, we may be unable to see others with different points of view or experiences as partners in collaborative solutions. As participants in dialogue, we listen deeply to each other, acknowledging and healing divisions that have separated us and opening the possibility of forming creative and inclusive agendas for action. In this session, we will practice framing and engaging in dialogue around current issues in equity and integration and explore some of the implications of intercultural and intergenerational dialogue. Participants will leave with resources for building on this practice in their own work.
Presenters:
- Patricia O’Rourke, Doctoral Student, University of Connecticut
Diversifying Neighborhood Schools: New Ideas to Reduce Segregation 50 Years After the Fair Housing Act
Skyrocketing levels of income segregation in housing, in tandem with pervasive racial segregation, are largely manufactured and sustained through discriminatory practices surrounding marketing, zoning, and affordable housing investment. Researchers recognize the many benefits of living in high-opportunity areas, not least of which is the ability of residents to send their children to high-opportunity schools. This dual neighborhood and school-level segregation of children by socioeconomic status is leading to a society that is less connected, less democratic, and more at risk of passing inequities to future generations. As we approach the fifty-year anniversary of the landmark Fair Housing Act, this panel will discuss the intersections of housing policy and school policy, focusing on policy ideas that will reduce segregation and ensure justice and opportunity in the housing market for families of all incomes and races. For example, it will explore the potential of legislation that offers protections against class-based injustices such as exclusionary zoning, and ways to facilitate greater coordination between education and housing actors.
Presenters:
- Kimberly Quick, Policy Associate, The Century Foundation
- Rick Kahlenberg, Senior Fellow, The Century Foundation
- Philip Tegeler, President/Executive Director, Poverty & Race Research Action Council
- Angelica Infante-Green, Deputy Commissioner Office of Instructional Support, New York Department of Education
- Dawn O’Keeffe, Board Member, Pasadena Educational Foundation
Engaging Corporate Partners in Your Diversity, Inclusion, and Equity Strategy
What role can corporate partners play in advancing your school community’s anti-bias work? During this session, we’ll hear from two community groups who leverage corporate partners in their diversity, equity, and inclusion work. Cultural Leadership trains integrated cohorts of high school students to be the next civil rights leaders. Throughout the program, students learn to facilitate anti-bias and anti-discrimination workshops. Cultural Leadership supports program alumni with corporate internships focused on developing internal diversity, inclusion, and equity targets. Give Respect Get Respect is a program at Diversity Awareness Partnership that brings together corporate associates and secondary students through a joint anti-bias training series. Each program director will share their model, lessons learned, and strategy for recruiting and retaining corporate partners.
Presenters:
- Rhonda Broussard, Founder, Beloved Community
- Holly Ingraham, Executive Director, Cultural Leadership
- Steve Parks, Director of Programs, Diversity Awareness Partnership
Engaging Families in Diverse Schools: Innovative Approaches to Community Building
One of the most important stakeholders in a diverse school community are the families. In this workshop, we’ll share a new approach to family programming, that pushes us to think beyond the “multicultural potluck” and towards authentic relationship building. We will discuss the key elements needed for successful community programming and elements of careful program planning, particularly in diverse school environments. Participants will leave with an opportunity to think about how this presentation has direct impact on their practice and will consider next steps in continuing to build their vibrant school communities.
Presenters:
- Sahba Rohani, Director of Community Development/Diversity Working Group Member, Community Roots
- Allison Keil, Co-Director and Co-Founder/Diversity Working Group Member, Community Roots
Equity in Early Education: Understanding Inequities in Access to Early Educational Opportunities
For many children, their first “schools,” i.e. educational settings, are their child care centers and preschools. Emerging evidence shows that children are racially and economically segregated starting in their child care centers and preschools. At the same time, evidence is building showing that racial/ethnic disparities exist in access to federally-sponsored early childhood programs (including Head Start and Child Care assistance), an important contributing factor to segregation amongst early learners and related educational inequities. This workshop presents research by leading organizations shaping the national research and policy agenda on issues of equity in early education. Erica Frankenberg (Penn State) will present research on racial and ethnic segregation amongst preschool students. Erin Hardy (Brandeis) and Amy Claessens (University of Chicago) will present applied research that examines how patterns of local access to Head Start and subsidized child care could contribute to patterns of disparate access and segregation in early education settings. Federal, state and local policy implications and strategies will be discussed. Stephanie Curenton, Associate Professor and Director of the Ecology of School Readiness Lab at Boston University School of Education, will serve as panel discussant and facilitator.
Presenters:
- Stephanie Curenton, Associate Professor and Director of the Ecology of School Readiness Lab, Boston University School of Education
- Erica Frankenberg, Associate Professor of Education (Educational Leadership), Penn State College of Education
- Erin Hardy, Fellow, Institute for Child, Youth, Family Policy, Brandeis University and Research Director of diversitydatakids.org
- Amy Claessens, Assistant Professor, University of Chicago and Co-Investigator, Illinois-New York Child Care Research Partnership
From Segregation to Intentionally Diverse-by-Design: A Commitment to Cultural Competency and Implementation of Culturally Responsive Teaching – Lessons from Blackstone Valley Prep
BVP will present an overview of their development and implementation of a cultural competency model used to support and evaluate all staff and its adoption of network-wide Culturally Responsive Teaching practices in an effort to better engage its diverse scholar population. BVP will provide ideas for how other schools and networks can replicate this work while also engaging in an honest dialogue with audience members to discuss how BVP and others can further improve on the work done to date.
Presenters:
- Michael DeMatteo, Chief Operations Officer, Blackstone Valley Prep
- Sarah Anderson, Chief Academic Officer, Blackstone Valley Prep
- Osvaldo Jose Marti, Head of School, Blackstone Valley Prep (MS2)
- Jonathon Acosta, PhD Candidate, Brown University
- Connie Yankus, First Grade Teacher (ES2), Blackstone Valley Prep
Kickstarting Integration: An Equity-based Framework for Pursuing Racially Diverse Schools
The need for racially and socioeconomically diverse schools and classrooms is at its greatest height in decades. However, the complexity of student assignment plans, a lack of awareness about the legal options to integrating schools, and the politically charged decision-making process present great barriers for many communities interested in pursuing integration. The four federally-funded regional equity assistance centers (EACs) have been collaborating on a joint project to pursue racial integration through the use of socioeconomic factors. This work will culminate in an equity-based framework that will help simplify the issue and empower local advocates. Participants will learn the essential elements of inclusive strategies and how communities can adapt and use the framework to better implement certain SES strategies in achieving racially integrated schools AND classrooms. Each EAC has collaborated with the NCSD on school integration and each has partnered with NCSD organizational and individual researchers in developing the framework.
Presenters:
- Hector Bojorquez, Assistant Director, EAC-South, Intercultural Development Research Association (Region 2)
- Susan Schaffer, President, Mid-Atlantic Equity Consortium (Region 1)
- Seena Skelton, Director, Region III Midwest and Plains Equity Assistance Center, Indiana University (Region 3)
- Marilyn Chipman, Educational Equity Coordinator, Western Educational Equity Assistance Center at Metropolitan State University of Denver (Region 4)
Making the Case for Activating Parents
Recent advocacy work around school integration (and desegregation) has largely taken place within policy and research circles. EmbraceRace and Integrated Schools argue that such efforts, while necessary, must be complemented with much more vigorous and purposive collaborations with, for, and by parents if our goal is to achieve robustly integrated, community-supported schools. Parents/guardians are primary decision-makers for their children’s education (especially in this era of increasing rhetoric around ‘choice’); it is past time to take seriously the role(s) that parents must play to support intentional school integration. We offer a set of arguments for building this wing of advocacy as well as tools to begin this work. Drawing from research-based practices as well as experiential results, we will conceptualize ways to build a community of intentional integration parent-advocates.
Presenters:
- Courtney Everts Mykytyn, Founder, Integrated Schools
- Andrew Grant Thomas, Co-Founder, Embrace Race
Methods and Definitions of Voluntary Integration in the United States
This workshop seeks to enhance understanding of the current state of school districts’ voluntary integration policies in the United States. It utilizes an ongoing study that evaluates policies from 65 school districts in 25 states and the District of Columbia. The study examines the design of these policies and the measurement of both racial and socioeconomic segregation in the included school districts. Two main themes will be at the center of the workshop. First, the way in which a school district chooses to define “diversity” has implications for the way in which it designs a policy to increase diversity. We will explore a) the ways in which districts are defining diversity b) how census data can be used to increase diversity and c) the benefits of defining diversity beyond free and reduced lunch status. Second, the actual methods by which districts are voluntarily integrating will be discussed.
Presenters:
- Jeremy Anderson, PhD Candidate, Penn State University
- Kendra Taylor, PhD Candidate, Penn State University
- Dr. Erica Frankenberg, Associate Professor, Penn State University
Organizing for School Integration: Lessons Learned from Suburban Experiences
ERASE Racism’s workshop focuses on how civil rights, grassroots or other types of nonprofit organizations can maximize their capacity to drive school integration efforts. Using our Education Equity Initiative as an example, we will demonstrate how powerful a dedicated few can be in spearheading change. We will spotlight key strategies that are vital in changing practices and policies that segregate students, in addition to addressing structural impediments to school integration, especially in suburban settings. For example, we utilize research that is both impactful and accessible to a variety of audiences, to educate allies and the public. We organize diverse coalitions to advocate for local, state and national policy change, especially by engaging educators and students. Participants will receive concrete strategies from our lessons learned regarding organizing school integration efforts, particularly in suburban settings.
Presenters:
- V. Elaine Gross, President, ERASE Racism
- Nyah Berg, Education Equity Organizer, ERASE Racism
-
Wesley Jean-Pierre, Student, Amityville High School
Pioneering School Integration Through Magnet Programs
Magnet schools are an effective tool used to promote school diversity. Utilizing specialized theme-based curriculum and instruction, school districts can offer families attractive public school choice options that will encourage them to participate in voluntary school integration efforts. Since their inception in the early 1970s, magnet schools have evolved and continue to flourish in many different ways. As the American legal landscape has changed over time, school districts have had to adapt their magnet school policies and practices to withstand stricter legal scrutiny.
In this presentation, representatives from Magnet Schools of America will share new national research created in conjunction with the UNC-Charlotte Urban Institute. It details the current national magnet school landscape and highlights what policies school districts are implementing to promote diverse classrooms and ensure equitable access to these high-quality programs.
Presenters:
- Todd Mann, Executive Director, Magnet Schools of America
- John Laughner, Legislative Manager, Magnet Schools of America
- Doreen Marvin, Immediate Past President, Magnet Schools of America
Policy Through Play: Using Theatre to Translate Impact and Mobilize Communities
This interactive workshop is focused on turning policy jargon into theatre. The lack of accessible language is one of the largest barriers to communities organizing around harmful practices. Policy Through Play is a means of translating words into action to make the ideas, intent, and impact of a policy visible to all. Through a process adapted by Via Arts Founding Partner Kristianna Smith, this workshop utilizes civic engagement theatre, arts integrations, and FUN to facilitate participants into transforming written policy into a lively performance without changing a word! For this workshop, our source material will be a collection of housing policies that have contributed to the current racial and economic divide of Connecticut. Participants will gain artistic strategies for translating and engaging the community at large in meaningful political dialogue.
Presenters:
- Kristianna Smith, Founding Partner, Via Arts LLC
Race and Revolution: Challenging Historical Narratives through Art
Participants will critically examine artworks and excerpts from historical documents from the exhibition Race and Revolution: Still Separate – Still Unequal, which explores school segregation. We will confront what we thought we knew about the historical narrative of segregation and discuss how we can re-introduce historical content through the critical lens of dominant power structures and how those power structures are maintained.
By acting as educators and students simultaneously, how can we empower ourselves to learn and disseminate a more equitable historical narrative?
How does this art make me feel?
How does this art represent a specific point of view?
What experiences am I drawing from to make meaning from this art?
How does this point of view challenge the dominant point of view?
How can art shape and expand our understanding of historical narratives?
How can we become active participants in how history is documented and remembered?
Presenters:
- Kathryn Fuller, Curator/Researcher/Educator, Race and Revolution
- Larry Ossei-Mensah, Independent Curator/Writer/Educator; Founder, ArtNoir
- Indu Viswanathan, Doctoral Student, Teachers College, Columbia University
- Rachel Knight, Doctoral Student, Teachers College, Columbia University
School Choice, Student Diversity, and Segregation: Examining the Evidence
Segregated schools are often the product of segregated housing patterns. In many jurisdictions, a zip code determines a child’s educational options, with the concentrated poverty and racial isolation that is endemic in our neighborhoods resulting in schools that are in many places more segregated, along lines of race and class, than at any point since Brown. Many in the school integration movement see school choice, in which school assignment is decoupled from residential addresses, as a logical and powerful solution to de facto segregation. Others view voucher programs, which allow some students to choose to attend a private or parochial school using public dollars, as an immediate and effective alternative to failing schools. But these approaches often exacerbate aspects of inequality – asymmetric access to information, for example – that can perpetuate segregation. This workshop examines the effect of choice systems on school integration efforts. We will review research on publicly funded private school vouchers, looking at issues such as (1) how voucher statutes address matters of discrimination; (2) the segregative effects of voucher and voucher programs; and (3) research comparing the achievement and attainment of voucher students with similar students in traditional public schools. We also will look at issues such as school-level enrollment requirements, lottery preferences, and access to transportation, and how these issues can hinder the efficacy of choice systems designed to increase school quality and diversity.
Presenters:
- Ramin Taheri, Office of the Deputy Mayor for Education, Washington DC
- Julie Mead, Professor (Department of Educational Leadership & Policy Analysis), University of Wisconsin-Madison
School-University Partnerships For Integration: Different Models; Different Relationships
This workshop will highlight and profile school-university partnership work between three universities and dozens of schools related to issues of race, class, and integration. This session will emphasize the unique approaches taken by each of four university-based projects – The Public Good Project at Teachers College, Columbia University; Reimagining Integration: The Diverse and Equitable Schools Project (RIDES) at Harvard University, and Community Engagement in School Integration: A Rights-based Approach at the University of Connecticut. After presenters provide overviews of these partnerships, including their foci, mission, and approach, workshop participants will be able to engage in deeper discussion about what this work looks like at the school and community level. A central goal of this interactive workshop is for participants to leave with specific ideas about what meaningful partnership can do to support equitable integration work in public schools.
Presenters:
- Lee Teitel, Lecturer on Education, Harvard Graduate School of Education; Faculty Director, Reimagining Integration: The Diverse and Equitable Schools Project
- Mary Antón, Principal, Bowman Elementary School (Lexington, MA)
- Abbey Keener, Doctoral Student, Sociology and Education Program, Teachers College; Graduate Research Assistant, Public Good Project
- Glenn Mitoma, Assistant Professor of Human Rights and Education, University of Connecticut; Director, Thomas J. Dodd Research Center
- Patricia O’Rourke, Doctoral Student, University of Connecticut
Separate and Equitable? The Struggle and Expansion of Community Schools and Other Community-based School Models and Continued Discussion on Integration vs. Resourcing
The renewed interest in community schools is in part due to the organizing efforts of Black and Latino parents who want quality public schools in their neighborhoods. This is raising questions about the possibilities and limitations of school reform that eschews integration, in favor of creating high quality schools in neighborhoods of color. Such schools seek to be both accessible and responsive to the needs of the community by creating mechanisms for community control and increased resources. This hearkens back to DuBois’ 1935 question about Black people needing separate schools and points to core differences in approaches to racial equity in education. In this session researchers discuss these questions with community organizers from the perspectives of evidence and political realities consider the implications for equitable education for students of color in the current political and economic context. Attendees will also engage actively, bringing their diverse backgrounds and professional experience to bear on these questions.
Presenters:
- Jeannie Oakes, Senior Fellow in Residence, Learning Policy Institute, National Education Policy Center
- Michael Dumas, Researcher, University of California, Berkeley
- Zakiyah Ansari, Community Organizer, Alliance for Quality Education
- Natasha Capers, Community Organizer, Coalition for Education Justice
- Julia Daniel, Researcher, National Education Policy Center, University of Colorado, Boulder
Sitting at the Seat of Change
This 60 minute workshop introduces participants to five (5) iterative techniques of design. The workshop emphasizes empathy as the foundation of problem-solving. Participants will practice abductive reasoning in a creative and engaging way. Followed by a short presentation and Q&A.
Presenters:
- Ilya Benjamin
- Marisol Cantu
Step 1 in School Integration: The Theory of Change
Developing a detailed and actionable Theory of Change (TOC) should be the first step in any program or policy designed to promote school integration through activism and youth voice. The TOC provides a clear and concise explanation of assumptions, context, and need for the change or outcome, and why and how the change or outcome is expected to be achieved under the specified conditions. A well-crafted TOC is critical to informing the development of a program or policy logic model, which serves as a road map for specific planning and implementation activities, outputs, and outcomes. In this session, Metis and IntegrateNYC will model effective strategies for developing a theory of change for the IntegrateUS network. In this process, Metis will guide IntegrateNYC through a series of essential questions to engage stakeholder and youth voice in constructing and refining a TOC. Session participants will then be encouraged to continue TOC conversations within the context of their own work in breakout groups with consultation from either IntegrateNYC or Metis.
Presenters:
- Marilyn Zlotnik, Vice President for Strategy, Metis Associates
- Claire Aulicino, Senior Associate for Research and Evaluation, Metis Associates
- Sarah Camiscoli, Co-Founder and Co-Director, IntegrateNYC4me
- Matthew Diaz, Youth Director of National Outreach, IntegrateNYC4me
The Citizen Artist Curriculum: Ripped from the Headlines
Epic Theatre Ensemble Co-Founder and Associate Artistic Director, Jim Wallert leads this interactive workshop in creative writing techniques from Epic’s Citizen Artist Curriculum. Participants will explore civic questions using current newspaper articles as the catalyst to create new original scenes and monologues on the theme of social justice.
Presenters:
- Jim Wallert, Founder/Associate Artistic Director, Epic Theatre Ensemble
The PROSE Program: Supporting Integration Through Empowering School-Level Educators
During this workshop, participants will learn how the Progressive Redesign Opportunity Schools for Excellence (PROSE) program allows educators at collaborative schools in NYC to explore innovative ways of re-shaping their schools, including through designing and developing integration plans tailored to the needs of their students and their communities. Topics covered will include how PROSE schools have used admissions flexibilities, recruitment efforts, professional development opportunities, and other strategies to increase and support diversity and integration.
Presenters:
- Dr. Christina Collins, Lead Researcher and Policy Analyst/Member of the PROSE Panel, United Federation of Teachers
The Role of Trauma-Informed Schools in Advancing Integration
Nationally, the trauma-informed schools movement is helping educators apply the science behind the impact of trauma to an organizational and cultural transformation. St. Louis, Missouri has emerged as a leader in advancing the work of trauma-informed communities through an effort called Alive and Well STL. As a part of this effort, schools from across the region have come together to share learning and advance their journeys to becoming trauma-informed. The School District of University City, under the direction of Dr. Sharonica Hardin, has been a leader amongst its peers, particularly in exploring the intersections of trauma-informed care and integration, intersectionality, and racial equity. This presentation will explore the ways in which the trauma-informed approach allows schools to find commonality amongst its stakeholders through the shared experiences of stress and trauma, while also acknowledging the unique role that historical trauma and systemic oppression play in their lives of students and staff.
Presenters:
- Emily Luft, Program Director, Alive and Well; Lead, Trauma-Informed Schools Learning Collaborative
- Sharonica Hardin, Superintendent, University City School District
Trump, Post-Racialism, and New Frames of Racial Integration
The election of Donald Trump, with his explicit appeals to racist discourse and policies that can be described as “normalizing racism,” compels scholars to re-articulate strategies and tactics to promote voluntary integration in public education as well as related efforts in neighborhoods and communities dedicated to the project of achieving multi-racial democracy. Trump policies, throughout his administration, have confirmed the dominance of previous decades of color-blind ideology and the advent of its even more dangerous ideological formation of “post–racialism,” which poses new critical challenges to established studies of color-blind framing and the need to develop a “new language of integration” adequate to respond to this transformation. Key points of discussion here will include: (1) An analysis of post–racialism and its new formations in the age of Trump; (2) A discussion of central frames of post–racialism; (3) A dialogue on the development of a “new language of integration” that can effectively respond to the adverse impacts of post–racialism and be practically applied in multidisciplinary fields of education.
Presenters:
- Josh Bassett, Director, Institute for Social Progress, Wayne County Community College District
- Andrew Grant Thomas, Co-Founder, Embrace Race
Undesigning Educational Segregation and Disparities
What if the vast disparities we see in education, income, housing and health are all by design? Instead of being resigned about fighting a losing battle, get rejuvenated by re-framing our work in the context of ‘Undesign’. We will start with a crash course in how the explicit racism of the Jim Crow era was designed into cities and places all across the country during the New Deal and subsequent decades in policies like Redlining, Urban Renewal, Planned Shrinkage, and the structuralization of the racial wealth gap. What does it mean that the current crises we face are by design? Through both small and large group workshop activities, we will co-design what an ‘Undesign’ approach could look like with education and across sectors. Is ‘School Diversity’ the goal or a means to something else? What type of process will be required to achieve what we seek?
Presenters:
- Gregory Jost, Partner, Designing the WE
Using Faith Messaging to Win
The facilitator and presenters will deliver an interactive workshop on the power of faith messaging to combat harmful narratives. Attendees will have an opportunity to develop effective messaging while deconstructing the hidden meaning behind words and language. We’ll also discuss ways to amplify one’s message using digital media.
Presenters:
- Rev. JaNae Bates, Communications Director, ISAIAH
- Beulah Osueke, Communications Director, Philadelphians Organized to Witness, Empower and Rebuild (POWER)