| Rethinking Diversity |
Decoding Diversity: Defining and Activating Diversity in Education Organizations |
Lucerito Ortiz & Cornelius Lee, Promise54 |
Many education organizations use the term “Diversity” to communicate goals or values, yet only about 25% of organizations have actually defined the term for themselves. This conversation invites participants to examine what we mean by “diversity,” what informs our own definitions and understanding of the term, and how to support diversity through creating conditions for inclusion. |
| Rethinking Diversity |
Moving the Goalpost on Inclusion: Towards Anti-Ableist School Communities |
Megan Ohlssen, Anti-AbleistED |
The session surfaces how to advance disability justice through intrapersonal and organizational diversity and equity work. By exploring the similarities and differences between inclusive and anti-ableist education, we will confront our positionality and engage with new strategies for addressing ableism and bias in schools. We will take time to reflect and discuss to co-design next steps that move us from awareness to action in our school communities. |
| Operationalizing DbD Schools |
Embracing Diversity & Creating Connection as a Means to Foster Purpose, Identity & SEL Skills |
Jabali Sawicki, nXu |
To foster a productive learning environment, diverse-by-design schools must consciously create connection & community among their diverse populations while also creating space for each individual’s identity. As a construct, purpose development requires community & relationship building, and SEL skill & identity development. Attendees will explore strategies to foster a sense of purpose, forging connections across lines of difference through vulnerable conversations & self-reflective exercises. |
| Operationalizing DbD Schools |
Panel: School Leader Succession: Keep Your Leader As Long As You Can, & Replace Them Well When You Have To |
Carrie Irvin, Education Board Partners |
Charter school boards are responsible for replacing a school leader when they depart. This session aims to equip charter school boards for handling succession with a strong equity lens, and with a clear focus on ensuring that transitions do not derail student learning or school culture. |
| Operationalizing DbD Schools |
Equitable Career Pathways Design |
Jonathan Howard, Edgility Consulting |
The biggest challenge facing talent teams today is people development, especially across lines of difference. Far too often, staff from marginalized backgrounds are leaving organizations because they don’t perceive opportunities to advance their careers. In this session, we will dig into the barriers to growth that need to be addressed. |
| Operationalizing DbD Schools |
Creating Safe Spaces through Affinity Groups |
Tawana Harper, Valor Collegiate Academies |
Within in our world and schools, students/staff will encounter a diverse population. This is an amazing opportunity for individuals to gain diverse perspectives. In some cases, being in a diverse population can be very lonely for the most marginalized individuals who are afraid to show up as themselves. Affinity groups create opportunities for individuals who share the same identity marker to share experiences, while still being apart of the larger community. |
| Operationalizing DbD Schools |
Equity and Opportunity: Redesign high school to advance equity & post-secondary attainment |
Keeanna Warren & Aireal Anderson, Purdue Polytechnic High School |
Purdue launched Purdue Polytechnic High Schools in 2017 to increase the number of underrepresented students who could gain admission. The PPHS team understood that to change outcomes high school needed a redesign. PPHS receives national attention for its unique school model, leading to better student outcomes. This presentation will cover the school model, outcomes, and lessons learned and offer ample opportunity for discussion and Q&A. |
| Operationalizing DbD |
Race, Power, and Privilege in Special Education: Using Co-Teaching to Make Inclusion Possible |
Sergio Jara Arroyos, Tiffany Galloway & Brian Williams II, Blue Engine |
Often, decisions on supporting students with disabilities are rooted in compliance. This is particularly concerning for students of color who are more likely than their white peers to be placed in highly exclusionary settings. Innovation in education often centers a general education classroom or “the average student.” Schools must operationalize practices and systems that sustain effective co-teaching to ensure BIPOC students with disabilities have access to a general education setting. |
| Telling the Story of Intentional Integration |
Multiple Measures: Effective Evaluation of All Schools |
David Greenberg, Courtney Hughley & Morgan Powell, NACSA |
The typical measures charter school contracts use tell us something, but they don’t tell us everything. Many authorizers are considering a broader array of measures, but schools must be active participants in developing metrics that get to their core mission. This session will walk through NACSA’s Multiple Measures Readiness Assessment to 1) gauge if the school is ready to consider multiple measures, 2) evaluate next steps, and 3) dialogue with other school leaders. |
| Telling the Story of Intentional Integration |
Integrating Anti-Bias Education Goals into Projects |
Sara Lev, Larchmont Charter School |
In this session, participants will learn how to effectively integrate the Anti-Bias Education goals – Identity, Diversity, Justice and Action into Project Based Learning (PBL) by exploring a sample project, studying the Anti-Bias Education goals, and examining PBLWorks’ Gold Standard Framework for PBL design. Participants will learn how to intentionally integrate the ABE goals into the instructional day while experiencing protocols and routines that can be used in a variety of learning contexts. |
| Telling the Story of Intentional Integration |
Pandemic to Progress: Gathering Stories of Pandemic-Era Charter Innovations |
Titilayo Tinubu Ali
Michelle Croft
Harold Hinds
Tanvi Kodali |
Charter schools have more flexibility in staffing and spending than traditional public schools, which can make it easier to adapt to changing circumstances and implement new models, strategies, and curricula. Join this breakout session to participate in a discussion that will help the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools better understand how charter schools leveraged this flexibility to adopt pandemic-era practices that have the potential to improve educational outcomes, student learning, and school success in the future. Information collected from the session will be used as part of a larger effort to develop resources aimed at documenting and sharing charter school innovations generated during the pandemic. |
| Telling the Story of Intentional Integration |
Beyond Anecdotes: Using valid data to tell your school’s story |
Naomi DeVeaux National Charter Schools Institute |
School today is at a cross-roads. There are those who are lamenting drops in NAEP testing scores, and others who are pausing long enough to ask, “what is NAEP actually testing and are our current adults the type of adults we need to lead tomorrow?” To measure school quality, we need to look beyond the narrow lens of state standards in math and reading and capture the thoughtfulness that comes when diverse students learn and grow together–both academically and social-emotionally. |
| Telling the Story of Intentional Integration |
Advocacy Panel |
Natalie Hester
Naomi Shelton
Yomika Bennet
Dean Johnson
Edie Barnard |
This panel brings together organizations across three different states to discuss ways that schools can develop their advocacy strategy. Advocacy efforts can range from collaborating with authorizer associations and local policymakers to the everyday work schools are doing with their students and families. After a Q&A with panelists, participants will also have the opportunity to network with other attendees. |
| Telling the Story of Intentional Integration |
The Revolution Will Not Be Standardized |
Dr. Mike Brown Vanderbilt University & New Schools For Alabama
Sundiata Salaam-Morrish American-Him, BES |
This high-impact, high engagement session places school/district educators in the seat of activism for true equity by 1) providing a historical analysis of race-based ed policy, 2) suggesting actionable steps to authentically honor and prep students of color for success, and 3) sharing strategies to begin righting the historical wrongs within ed institutions. Using case studies, recent academic research, and a little motivation, this presentation provides educators a promising pathway forward! |
Rethinking Diversity
Operationalizing Diverse-by-Design Schools
Telling the Story of Intentional Integration
