The Diverse Charter Schools Coalition’s (DCSC) Annual Convening brings together 200 leaders from member schools and networks as well as partners from across the nation. With this year’s theme of Intentional Integration, you will deepen the practice of leading your school or network by learning from experts in the movement, examining real-world experiences, data and strategies, and sharing best practices through networking.
Académie Lafayette
Académie Lafayette
Citizens of the World, Kansas City
Citizens of the World, Kansas City
Académie Lafayette
Académie Lafayette
Citizens of the World, Kansas City
Who should come to the 2021 Convening?
Influencers from DCSC member schools and networks, partners from the field and prospective members should attend the DCSC 2021 Convening.
We are intentionally using the term “influencer” to be inclusive to both formal titles (Principal, ED, CEO) and additional key leaders across school sites and network teams who may lead Diversity, Equity and Inclusive (DEI) school and network-wide efforts in your context. We suggest more than one representative from each school (and/or network) because there will be moments in the convening when attendees will be asked to develop next steps to bring back to their schools/orgs and believe this is best done in teams.
True to our name, we aim to welcome a diverse group of participants in January. Thank you for including all dimensions of this term when considering attending.
Activist, educator, writer, and leader at the intersection of culture and justice
Brittany is a former elementary teacher, education executive and former Fellow at Harvard’s Institute of Politics. She was member of President Obama’s 21st Century Policing Task Force and the Ferguson Commission. Brittany’s forthcoming book, We Are Like Those Who Dream, is due to hit shelves in 2021.Brittany has graced the cover of Essence Magazine, been listed as one of Time’s 12 New Faces of Black Leadership, and has been honored by BET, Politico Magazine, Marie Claire, The Trayvon Martin Foundation and more. She serves on the Gucci Changemakers Council, the Sephora Equity Advisors board, and the board of Rise To Run.
There are three distinct types of breakouts this year: 1) Workshops, 2) School Visits and 3) Racial Affinity Spaces.
They are all 75 minute learning opportunities for attendees led by members and key partners. with the goal of the workshops is to learn new skills, gain awareness about tools and resources related to leading intentionally diverse school communities.
Please review your options before you begin registration. All breakout options are capped to ensure small group discussion and deep engagement. They will fill up so act fast!
Workshop Sessions
Content and strategy sessions focused on providing attendees access to specific tools and resources to improve their practice.
Academics
Teach and learn with all students while rejecting traditional, oppressive frameworks.
Educational equity is about interrupting oppressive frameworks and ensuring that each child gets what they need. Do your current grading policies reflect these principles or uphold them? In this session, school leaders will develop grading practices that lead to liberation. School leaders will also learn specific strategies on how to build investment, and ensuring the potential policy changes are implemented with fidelity.
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Expanding AP Courses and De-tracking
Expanding AP Courses and De-tracking - Noha Elmohands & Sarah Morland (Boston Collegiate)
Increasing enrollment in AP courses showed social disparities, racially, socio-economically, and with students IEPs. We changed the gatekeepers and our process into AP courses. By doing this, we closed or cut gaps in disparities.
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Removing Barriers that Perpetuate Inequitable Outcomes Through Universal Design for Learning
Removing Barriers that Perpetuate Inequitable Outcomes Through Universal Design for Learning - Megan Ohlssen (National Center for Special Education in Charter Schools)
It took a global pandemic to disrupt the status quo in education, and now there is a spotlight on practices that have perpetuated systemic inequities – especially for students with disabilities. UDL actively breaks down barriers to learning and honors the individual by creating the conditions, systems, and practices required to ensure equitable outcomes for all. If we are committing to interrupting inequities in education, we need to move past knowledge and into action with UDL.
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Community
Foster sustaining relationships with external stakeholders and uplift grassroots expertise.
Disrupting the Opportunity Gap in Diverse Public Charter School
Disrupting the Opportunity Gap in Diverse Public Charter School - Maquita Alexander & Amy Quinn (Washington Yu Ying PCS)
Four years ago Yu Ying took intentional steps to interrupt the opportunity gap that existed between students in our school community. By working with parents in the community we were able to deconstruct the traditional structure of our parents association which often perpetuated division within the community across race and socioeconomics.
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Diversity Defined
Diversity Defined: Comparing Communities Around DCSC Members - Amy Jiravisitcul (DCSC)
Our Coalition has wrestled with concretely defining diversity in the context of diverse-by-design schools and educational opportunities. This session shares some insights and additional tools to discuss the nuances in community demographics and historical patterns of segregation. Given DCSC’s concentration of members in New York state, we conducted a deeper dive into patterns observed in the cities of New York, Rochester, and Buffalo.
As a society, we often fail to value the “communal wealth” that lies in the rich culture and traditions of our diverse communities. Students are often exposed to “social capital” as something that exists outside of their cultural communities. We seek to enhance the notion of communal wealth as it relates to Black and Brown communities by examining relationships that create true community classrooms and support thriving communities.
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Culture
Affirm a sense of belonging among all our true authentic selves.
Shifting Mindsets to Address Power and Privilege Beyond Competing Inequities
This is the Reality: Shifting Mindsets to Address Power and Privilege Beyond Competing Inequities - Aaron J. Griffen (DSST)
In this session, participants will name and address the inequities that were glaring before we went virtual as a result of COVID-19 and those never allowed to consider. We will grapple with how every possible inequity, including funding, resources, teaching, digital, racial, health and food were placed at the feet of decision makers with no plausible way to address them before the Black Lives Matter movement resulted in competing priorities.
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Using Restorative Circle Dialogs to Build Community
The Integration of Culture and Equity: Using Restorative Circle Dialogs to Build Community - Jessica Hiltabidel (Inspired Teaching Demonstration School)
This session will allow participants to explore the alignment (or misalignment) of school culture and equity. Participants will engage in a discussion about the definition of the words “culture” and “equity” before transitioning into self-guided restorative justice dialog circles. These circles serve as a model for one practical way to interrupt inequity by providing a structure for community building that allows all voices in a school, regardless of title or position, to lead.
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Establishing All Staff Race and Equity Crews
Creating a Brave Community: Establishing All Staff Race and Equity Crews - Jeff Heyck-Williams, Kristina Kyle-Smith & Dawnyela Meredith (Two Rivers Public Charter School)
For schools to address systemic inequities, we must develop the capacities to raise staffs’ racial awareness, to have brave conversations about race, and design and implement anti-racist practices in our day-to-day work. Our session will focus on how Two Rivers Public Charter school is beginning this journey by creating diverse race and equity crews.
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Cultivating Belongingness: Building Authentic & Inclusive Engagement
Cultivating Belongingness: Building Authentic & Inclusive Engagement (Alisha Keig & Allisyn Swift - Beloved Community)
Beloved Community will review some quick wins in regards to how to build a culture of belongingness and how to assess belongingness at their school or organization, specifically at a time when our work and world has moved to online and virtual engagement. In this highly engaging session, attendees will review the concept of belongingness and why it matters for stakeholders in their community. Attendees will leave with tools to infuse and assess belongingness into their practices and policies. This session will include space for community building, mini-lectures, workshopping time, and opportunities for participants to lead teach-backs and share their best practices on the topic.
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Operations
Build systems and tools that care for the human needs of our schools.
Centering our People as we Lead Through Change and Uncertainty
Centering our People as we Lead Through Change and Uncertainty - Rebecca Cagle & Cornelius Lee (Promise54)
Change management–access to information, opportunities to shape change, and differentiating supports for staff can advance equity in an organization while ensuring adaptive performance. The events of 2020 have ratcheted up the level of change management difficulty to sky-high levels. Join us to explore how change management approaches meet the challenges of this moment as we combine lessons learned from 2020 with applications of frameworks.
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Playing With Time
Kairos Academies: Playing With Time - Gavin Schiffres & Britt Kelleher (Kairos Academies)
The session will focus on how Kairos uses tools for flexible student schedule and student data analysis to personalize each child’s experience based on their needs & strengths. We’ll brainstorm how any school can adopt elements of our approach, and how remote learning actually increases opportunities for teachers and school leaders to differentiate student experiences. If we don’t customize student material, pace, etc., then we compound past inequities by leaving struggling students behind.
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School Visits
School visits have always been a cornerstone of the DCSC Convening. This year, we have access to a curated list of member schools across the country. During school visits, attendees will view short clips of virtual school and work through a protocol with school leaders from our curated schools.
Central Queens Academy - Queens, NY
Central Queens Academy
Authorized by the State University of New York Charter Schools Institute, CQA opened in 2012 to serve the students and families living in and around the neighborhoods of Elmhurst, Corona and Woodside in Queens. Since then, we have grown to serve more than 400 middle students each year across grades 5-8. Our tuition-free, extended day program seeks to prepare each and every student for success in college and life.
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Detroit Prep - Detroit, MI
Detroit Prep
Detroit Prep is a free public charter school currently serving kindergarten through fifth grade students. Detroit Prep exists to provide a world-class, equitable education that will give all students a foundation of academic excellence and character development while fostering a love of learning and passion for exploring and fulfilling their extraordinary potential as learners, leaders, and world-changers.
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Valor Collegiate - Nashville, TN
Valor Collegiate
We exist to empower our diverse community to live inspired, purposeful lives.
The Valor Commitments:
– I commit to keeping myself and others safe.
– I commit to leaving no community member behind.
– I commit to showing up with Valor.
– I commit to seeking diversity of perspective.
– I commit to speaking from my heart but using my head.
– I commit to speaking to the person, not about the person.
– I commit to walking my talk.
– I commit to working the Compass.
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Yu Ming Charter School - Oakland, CA
Yu Ming Charter School
Welcome to Yu Ming, the first K-8 Mandarin immersion charter school in California! We are a diverse, joyful and caring community where students are inspired and engaged by learning experiences that are purposeful, rigorous, and personalized. As a leader in Mandarin Immersion education, we nurture our inclusive and diverse community to become empowered, engaged, and outstanding global citizens.
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LEEP Dual Language Academy - Brooklyn, NY
LEEP Dual Language Academy
LEEP Academy is a public charter elementary school in Sunset Park, Brooklyn, New York.
At our publicly funded charter school, your child can get access to a high-quality education, tuition-free. In addition to learning the essentials, your child will also get to explore the arts, music, and more.
We provide a safe, caring environment where all students think deeply in both Spanish and English, build strong character, and prepare for lives of joy and connection.
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DSST Public Schools - Denver, CO
DSST Public Schools
At DSST Public Schools, we believe that who you will become is just as important as what you will accomplish. That’s why we focus on character development and rigorous academics in equal measure. So our graduates are ready to become the best versions of themselves — in college, careers and in life.
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Affinity Groups
We know that leading diverse-by-design schools is a singular experience. However, that experience is not the same for us all. This year, we’ve partnered with Embracing Equity to facilitate three separate racial affinity breakout spaces for tailored dialogue and anti-racist skill building for educators and leaders during this national racial reckoning and beyond.
Healing & Solidarity Spaces for Black Participants
Healing & Solidarity Spaces for Black Participants
As People of the Global Majority, we are often dealing with a constant flow of toxic racist stress as a result of living and working in this society. This is why we view self-love, self-care and community-care as critical and revolutionary acts on our journey towards collective liberation.
These breakout affinity spaces offer Black Participants the opportunity to build and strengthen relationships and supports, work through experiences of internalized racism, and create concrete plans for healing, joy, and liberation.
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Healing & Solidarity Spaces for Non-Black Participants of Color
Healing & Solidarity Spaces for Non-Black Participants of Color
As People of the Global Majority, we are often dealing with a constant flow of toxic racist stress as a result of living and working in this society. This is why we view self-love, self-care and community-care as critical and revolutionary acts on our journey towards collective liberation.
These breakout affinity spaces offer non-Black Participants of Color the opportunity to build and strengthen relationships and supports, work through experiences of internalized racism, and create concrete plans for healing, joy, and liberation.
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White Accountability Space
White Accountability Space
In this accountability space for white and white passing participants, we will strive to build stamina in conversations about race and racism and support the development of an anti-racist identity. This space will offer the opportunity to cultivate a critical consciousness regarding our complicity in creating and maintaining a racist society as well as in reimagining a world of truth, justice, and reconciliation. Join this community to practice accountability, develop concrete plans for self-work & critical action, and build stamina for prolonged engagement in anti-racist movements.
In order to accommodate our growing membership, contribute to a sustainable future for DCSC and to maintain high quality programming at our convening, we have set a nominal registration fee for all attendees.
Early Bird Discount Until January 15
Regular Registration Open throughout convening
Members
$100
$200
Non-Members
$200
$300
Note: Participants and facilitators in our Communities of Practice initiative are eligible for a 20% discount.
