Save the Date!

DCSC 2021
Annual Convening

January 28-29, 2021
Kauffman Conference Center
Kansas City, MO

Students at Citizens of the World – Kansas City, MO / All COTW photos by Kate Moore Photographics

#DCSC2021

Registration opens in August!

Interested in sponsoring our 2021 Annual Convening? Please reach out to us.

Students at Citizens of the World – Kansas City, MO

Students at Citizens of the World - Kansas City, MO

Students at Académie Lafayette – Kansas City, MO

Students at Académie Lafayette - Kansas City, MO

Students at Citizens of the World – Kansas City, MO

Students at Citizens of the World - Kansas City, MO

Kauffman Conference Center Kansas City, MO

About the Annual Convening

Intentional Integration

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.

learn more

E.L. Haynes Public Charter School

Inspired Teaching Demonstration Public Charter School

E.L. Haynes Public Charter School

Inspired Teaching Demonstration Public Charter School

Who should come to the 2020 Convening?

Influencers from DCSC member schools and networks, partners from the field and prospective members should attend the DCSC 2020 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 D.C. in January. Thank you for including all dimensions of this term when considering attending.

Where is the 2020 Convening?

The 2020 Conference will be held January 30-31 at the Eaton DC Hotel in Washington, DC.

Keynote Speakers

Cheyenne Batista

Founder & Chief Executive Officer of Firefly Worldwide, Inc.
A champion of equity in schools

Cheyenne E. Batista has 19+ years of experience in the education, nonprofit, and corporate sectors, most recently having served as Founding Superintendent, Managing Director of East Harlem Scholars Academies (a network of Pre-K to 12th grade community-based public charter schools) where she initially served as Founding Principal.

More about Cheyenne

Watch her talk on inequity in schools:

Mohammed Choudhury

Chief Innovation Officer, San Antonio Independent Schools
A thinker expanding diverse-by-design schools

Mohammed Choudhury is entrusted with incubating and scaling high-leverage school transformation initiatives that will have the greatest impact on student achievement. Previously, Mohammed has spearheaded school turnaround and change-management initiatives within Dallas Independent School District and the Los Angeles Unified School District.

More about Mohammed

Watch his interview with The 74:

Hanseul Kang

State Superintendent of Education, District of Columbia
A leader dedicated to student achievement

Hanseul Kang has led the Office of State Superintendent of Education (OSSE) in the District of Columbia since 2015. Under Kang’s leadership, the District of Columbia has taken important steps to sustain, accelerate, and deepen its progress, including launching early childhood education programs and developing DC’s Every Student Succeeds Act.

More about Hanseul

Watch her feature with the Washington Post:

The Schedule

Day (Time)	Time	Activity
Thursday Jan 30	8:00-5:00	Convening Check-in
	12:00-2:00	Welcome Lunch Keynotes: Mohammed Choudury and Cheyenne Batista EPIC Student Performance The keynote address will start at 12:00 so all participants should plan for a prompt arrival.
	2:15-3:30	Break Out Sessions: Startup Life Startup Life: Lessons learned from feasibility to launch of Hebrew Public’s newest diverse-by-design charter STRAND: Plan FACILITATOR(S): Emily Hurst – Philadelphia Hebrew Public Charter School, Executive Director Elyssa Yuen – Philadelphia Hebrew Public Charter School, Head of School Emily Fernandez – Hebrew Public, Chief Schools Officer Kim Kassnove – Hebrew Public, Chief Talent Officer DESCRIPTION: Starting a school is all consuming, exhilarating, daunting, and profound. But the work of launching an intentionally integrated school in communities that are increasingly segregated takes complex strategy from political navigation to recruitment to helping communities learn across difference. This session will give planners and practitioners a peek into key tactics for recruiting diverse communities and ideas of how to help founding families connect across difference to begin to form a sense of belonging from the beginning. We’ll share our aspirations and our shortfalls, and how we hope to build on the foundation established in the years to come. Close Disrupting Institutional Structures Disrupting Institutional Structures: Embracing the Voices in our Village STRAND: Implement FACILITATOR(S): Suriya Douglas – Inspired Teaching Demonstration School, Chief of Culture, Equity, & Access Kate Keplinger – Inspired Teaching Demonstration School, Chief Operating Officer DESCRIPTION: As schools work to cultivate diverse communities, challenges are surfacing between school values and divergent family values — increasing the need for schools to be intentional about disrupting institutional structures. How do we navigate conversations where practices of the school conflict with the beliefs a family holds? How do we facilitate conversations when cultures clash and how much (and which parts) of the parent community are the responsibility of a school’s integration efforts? In this interactive session, we’ll collaboratively build skills to influence and enlist family advocacy for diverse schools – broadly and within our community. Close Unlearning Inequity Unlearning Inequity: Disrupting Narrow Definitions of Success to Model Integration for Our Kids STRAND: Reflect FACILITATOR(S): Kimberly Osagie – Promise54, Partner Lucerito Ortiz – Promise54, Associate Partner DESCRIPTION: Across the education sector, we’ve agreed wholeheartedly — diversity alone falls short of integration. Our agreement, however, hasn’t yielded the diverse teams and inclusive work environments we’ve been hoping for, or that model the integrated ethos we’d like our kids to emulate. In this session, we share case studies of organizations that are striving to disrupt narrow definitions of success as they diversify their teams and do the messy, non-linear work of realizing inclusion. Close Think Like a Communicator Think Like a Communicator: How To Incorporate Strategic Communications Into Your Daily Work STRAND: Influence FACILITATOR(S): Dorie Turner Nolt – Be Clear, Communications Strategy Consultant Adele McConnell – Prospect Schools, Director of Communications DESCRIPTION: In this session, we’ll discuss the role strategic communications and media relations hold in the charter space and how leaders of diverse schools can best leverage that to share the incredible work happening in their classrooms. School leaders can always use more tools in their toolkit to communicate effectively (and proactively) to their various constituencies, whether it’s through news coverage, social media, newsletters or other ways of communicating. We hope attendees will leave this session with a better understanding of how to “think like a communicator” in their daily work and implement strategic best practices in a way that feels authentic and representational of their community. Close
	3:30-4:10	Networking Break (Coffee Talks) Amber Charter Schools & Central Queens Academy: Lifting Up English Language Learners Beloved Community: School Equity Audit Charter School Business Management: Inclusive Financial Transparency & Intentional Decision-Making DCSC Office Hours: Member Supports and Program Evaluation Finalsite: Marketing and Communications platforms for schools and districts Harvard’s RIDES Institute: Moving from “diverse” to “intentionally integrated” NWEA: Leveraging MAP Growth to Address Achievement Gaps Phone2Action: Advocacy Software for Grassroots Marketing Campaigns Pulitzer Center: 1619 Project Curriculum Two Rivers Public Charter School: Share Your DC – A Parent + Staff Learning Expedition Valor Collegiate Academies: Comprehensive Human Development in Schools
	4:10-5:25	Break Out Sessions: Are You Who You Say You Are? Are You Who You Say You Are? Values-based Governance for Intentionally Diverse Schools STRAND: Plan FACILITATOR(S): Shereen Williams – Education Board Partners, Chief Knowledge Officer Debbie Lister – Education Board Partners, Chief Transformation Officer Abigail Smith – Board Chair, E.L. Haynes Public Charter School DESCRIPTION: School leaders of intentionally diverse schools need intentionally diverse leadership at the ED/CEO level and at the board level. This session will explore the value add of board diversity in composition and beyond. This session will explore the implication of diversity and inclusiveness of board governance for intentionally diverse schools and create time for participants to assess the current state of their board. Close Equity in Compensation Demystified Equity in Compensation Demystified: Strategies to Ensure you are Paying Fairly Every Time STRAND: Implement FACILITATOR(S): Allison Wyatt – Edgility Consulting, Co-Founder & Partner Christin Whitener – CW Impact Strategies, Founder & Lead Consultant DESCRIPTION: Compensation decisions are often made arbitrarily and can be based on completely irrelevant factors such as who advocates loudest and best for their pay, or the level of desperation a manager has in filling a vacancy. These decisions erode organizational equity every time they are made. Edgility consulting will teach five key strategies for making data driven decisions about pay for new hires, annual increases, and promotions every time based on equitable factors that are fair and credible. In this session, participants will have the chance to assess their organization’s compensation practices on an equity scale, and then action plan for how they will implement one of the key strategies more effectively. If you want a fair compensation system that you can be confidently transparent about with your staff, come to this session and learn how you can move the needle immediately. Close Intentional Integration in DBD Charter Schools Intentional Integration in DBD Charter Schools: An Exploration of Impact and Implementation STRAND: Reflect FACILITATOR(S): Priscilla Wohlstetter – Columbia University Teacher’s College, Distinguished Research Professor Sarah A. Cordes – Temple University, Assistant Professor DESCRIPTION: A prominent and longstanding criticism of charter schools is that they exacerbate patterns of racial and socioeconomic segregation between schools. In contrast, an emerging group of intentionally diverse charter schools and charter management organizations (CMOs) have begun promoting more integrated schooling spaces. These “diverse-by- design” (DBD) charters remain focused on improving educational outcomes for poor students and students of color while also intentionally prioritizing the creation of diverse communities, and engaging in a range of practices to build, sustain and draw on this diversity in achieving equitable outcomes for young people. Despite the proliferation of such schools across the country, little is known about the extent to which these schools fulfill their mission of diversity, let alone what practices they employ to promote integration among students and families. Close Nothing Changes Without Pressure. Advocacy Strategies to Support Your Schools. Nothing Changes Without Pressure. Advocacy Strategies to Support Your Schools. STRAND: Influence FACILITATOR(S): Suyin So – Central Queens Academy Charter School, Executive Director Derrell Bradford – 50CAN, Executive Vice President Ron Rice, National Alliance for Public Charter Schools, Senior Director of Government Relations DESCRIPTION: As fights over charter schools and charter policy spill over into the general political debate, charter leaders, teachers, and families are being asked to advocate for their schools in ways they may never have previously. This session will feature both a strategy discussion for strong advocacy planning as well as practical examples for how charter schools can engage opinion and policy makers. Close
	5:30-7:00	Welcome Reception
Friday Jan 31	7:00-9:00	Convening Check-in
	7:00-7:30	Breakfast
	8:00-11:00	School Visits and Hill Day
	11:20-12:10	Alumni Student Panel & School Visit Debrief Facilitated by UnifiED Alumni: Alisha Gripp and Dana Mulwanda
	12:30-2:00	Lunch Keynote: Hanseul Kang Member of the Year Award
	2:10-3:25	Break Out Sessions: What is an Anti-Bias Educational Approach to Curriculum? What is an Anti-Bias Educational Approach to Curriculum and What Does it Mean in the Context of Diverse by Design Schools? STRAND: Plan FACILITATOR(S): Sahba Rohani – Roots ConnectED, Inc., Executive Director Allison Keil – Community Roots, Co-Founder and Co-Director, and Board Chair of Roots ConnectED, Inc. Jayne Sohn – Community Roots, Coordinator of Equity and Anti-Bias Education and Coach for Roots ConnectED, Inc. DESCRIPTION: This session is about the importance of a rich, anti-bias curriculum in diverse by design schools. If classrooms are not places where students are taught to think critically, can connect to the curriculum, are taught history in a way that de-centers whiteness, and given opportunities for social action, then we are not being responsible to the power of bringing young people together and building equitable communities across lines of difference. The intentionality with which we consider our curriculum and the practical and systematic processes necessary to make those shifts are critical to creating truly integrated communities. Close The Case for Restorative Practices The Case for Restorative Practices: Improving Outcomes for Students of Color and Students with Disabilities STRAND: Implement FACILITATOR(S): St. Claire Adriaan – Academy of the City Charter School, Middle School Principal Richard Lee – Academy of the City Charter School, Executive Director DESCRIPTION: This session will provide an opportunity to discuss and delve into the difficulties faced by students of color and students with disabilities within schools and how restorative practices can redirect these difficulties and address current disparities in educational outcomes for these subgroups as an issue of unequal opportunity to learn. Close Designing to the Edges Designing to the Edges: Increasing Instructional Access for All Learners STRAND: Reflect FACILITATOR(S): Ashley Davison – Special Education Leader Fellowship (SELF), Program Support Specialist Stephanie Lancet – National Center for Special Education in Charter Schools, Program Specialist Lauren Monrando Rhim – National Center for Special Education in Charter Schools, Executive Director Aqua Stovall – Special Education Leader Fellowship (SELF), Executive Director DESCRIPTION: This session will focus on increasing instructional access for all learners and UDL as a pathway, to move collective understanding of special education from a distinct and separate program in a school to instead a set of supports and services delivered to students in learning settings that are designed for all students. In this session, participants will have an opportunity to self-assess current barriers to instructional access, identify opportunities and specific strategies to remove barriers, and hear about practices adopted by a few DCSC member schools. Close Walking Our Talk Walking Our Talk: Confronting Bias in School Based Policy-Making STRAND: Influence FACILITATOR(S): Valerie Braimah – City Charter Schools, Executive Director Candice McCray-Proctor – City Charter Schools, Co-Principal DESCRIPTION: As diverse-by-design schools, we regularly face decisions that forced us to walk the talk on our stated commitments to diversity. Policy decisions like facility location, lottery weights, resource allocation, and master scheduling all require us to consider our prioritization of diversity along-side other policy considerations, creating a tension that can surface internalized bias or racism. We can better prepare for those moments by simulating and reflecting on them before they arise. Join us for a series of consultancy protocols to engage in courageous conversations about diverse-by-design policy dilemmas. Close
	3:30-4:00	Closing Led by UnifiED Fellows: Alex Baron and Brandon Johnson

Strands

session content

Plan

Are you developing a new initiative or program at your school or network?
PLAN sessions will help leaders with launching a new venture, like opening a new campus or rolling out a new program aimed at closing achievement gaps within your school or network.

Implement

What are you refining at your school or network?
IMPLEMENT sessions will focus on the mindsets, tools and skills you need to take the work at your school or network to the next level.

Reflect

Who are we and what are we trying to accomplish?
REFLECT sessions will ask you to look inside at your own leadership and consider how you can help integrate schools and networks more intentionally.

Influence

Where is our work positioned in the field of education?
INFLUENCE sessions will provide the broader context of our efforts to build the movement of diverse-by-design schools and networks.

What are the registration fees?

In order to accommodate our growing membership, contribute to a sustainable future for DCSC and to maintain high quality programming at our convening, for the first time there will be a nominal registration fee for all attendees and DCSC will not be providing reimbursements for travel or lodging.

	Early Bird Discount Until November 4	Full Registration Until January 10	Late Registration Until January 24
Members	$150	$250	$500
Non-Members	$300	$500	$700

become a DCSC member

Can I register on-site?

No, there will be no on-site registration. The last day to register was January 24, 2020.

Are there opportunities to sponsor the convening?

Absolutely! Please reach out to Sonia Park to learn more about opportunities to support this important work.

How about networking opportunities?

We will offer networking opportunities throughout the convening, including a new opportunity for regional networking! Check back for updates.

Will there be school visits?

Yes! DCSC member schools will host members and partners on the morning of Friday January 31. Participation is optional, however pre-registration is required during event registration. Registration for school visits is on a first come, first served basis, with member schools being prioritized.

Transportation will be provided to the schools from the hotel. Here are the school options (with grades served in parentheses):

E.L. Haynes Elementary School (K-4)

E.L. Haynes High School (9-12)

Elsie Whitlow Stokes Brookland Campus (1-5)

Elsie Whitlow Stokes East End (K-1)

Inspired Teaching Demonstration Public Charter School (PK-8) – HAS REACHED CAPACITY

Washington Latin Public Charter School (5-12) – HAS REACHED CAPACITY

D.C. International (6-12) – HAS REACHED CAPACITY

2021 Convening Sponsors

Our committed sponsors helped make this convening happen. Thank you!

Other contributions made by:

Dr. Deborah M. McGriff, DCSC Board Member

Video by KimberLee Webber | TalkOakland.org

DCSC would like to thank the planning committee in helping the Coalition’s staff, board and funders prepare for the 2021 Annual Convening:

Valerie Braimah, Executive Director of City Charter Schools (CA)
Mike Chalupa, DCSC Board Member and Academic Director of City Neighbors Foundation (MD)
Alisha Gripp, UnifiED Alum and Dean of Middle School of Citizens of the World (MO)
Monisha Karnani, Director, Demonstration & Outreach of Inspired Teaching Demonstration School (DC)
Robyn King, Director of Admissions and Community Outreach of Académie Lafayette (MO)
Sean Wilson, CEO of International High School of New Orleans (LA)

COVID-19 Alert: DCSC is heavily monitoring development around the coronavirus (COVID-19) in order to prioritize the health and safety of our members and partners. In following recommendations and guidelines from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), we will notify all attendees, presenters, and speakers of a virtual transition of our 2021 Annual Convening, if necessary, by late fall.

DCSC 2020 highlights

DCSC 2019 highlights

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Save the Date!

DCSC 2021 Annual Convening

January 28-29, 2021 Kauffman Conference Center Kansas City, MO

#DCSC2021

Registration opens in August!

About the Annual Convening

Intentional Integration

Who should come to the 2020 Convening?

Where is the 2020 Convening?

Keynote Speakers

Cheyenne Batista

Mohammed Choudhury

Hanseul Kang

The Schedule

Day (Time)

Time

Activity

The keynote address will start at 12:00 so all participants should plan for a prompt arrival.

Startup Life: Lessons learned from feasibility to launch of Hebrew Public’s newest diverse-by-design charter

Disrupting Institutional Structures: Embracing the Voices in our Village

Unlearning Inequity: Disrupting Narrow Definitions of Success to Model Integration for Our Kids

Think Like a Communicator: How To Incorporate Strategic Communications Into Your Daily Work

Are You Who You Say You Are? Values-based Governance for Intentionally Diverse Schools

Equity in Compensation Demystified: Strategies to Ensure you are Paying Fairly Every Time

Intentional Integration in DBD Charter Schools: An Exploration of Impact and Implementation

Nothing Changes Without Pressure. Advocacy Strategies to Support Your Schools.

What is an Anti-Bias Educational Approach to Curriculum and What Does it Mean in the Context of Diverse by Design Schools?

The Case for Restorative Practices: Improving Outcomes for Students of Color and Students with Disabilities

Designing to the Edges: Increasing Instructional Access for All Learners

Walking Our Talk: Confronting Bias in School Based Policy-Making