DCSC 5th Anniversary Convening Highlights - Diverse Charters Schools Coalition

Posted February 15, 2019

DCSC would like to thank everyone involved in the success of our 5th Anniversary Convening this year in New Orleans! To our member schools, session facilitators, partner organizations, board members, and sponsors thank you for helping us to promote, expand, and support the work of diversity, equity, and inclusion in schools across the country.

For those in attendance, and for those who unfortunately could not join this year, there were a lot of great highlights from this year’s convening. We had a great opening from TNTP going over their report, The Opportunity Myth. Two winners were recognized with the DCSC School of the Year Award at an evening reception. School visits brought us to the heart of our work in which attendees were able to observe classrooms. John White delivered a keynote addressing the educational landscape in Louisiana and was joined by Dr. Kelli Peterson and Dr. Donaldo Batiste. Member schools and partner organizations delivered a host of sessions for our attendees, and the voices of our students were showcased, including a second line performance by a student band from Morris Jeff Community School!

Great moments were captured, fruitful connections were made, and valuable thoughts and ideas were shared. We can’t wait to see everyone again in January 2020 for our 6th Anniversary Convening in Washington, D.C.!

“Thank you so much for this opportunity. I am a better leader as a result of what I learned. I cannot wait to start engaging my school in these critical conversations and use what I learned to make [my school] more inclusive and equitable.”

-School Leader from member school

Plenary Session

Our 5th Anniversary Convening opened up with a session delivered by TNTP. TNTP led attendees through their latest report on outcomes in student achievement, The Opportunity Myth.

“Opportunity myth was great content to set the tone of the conference. Presenters were engaging and thoughtful about their responses.”

-Attendee from partner organization

School of the Year Award

Congratulation to both Larchmont Charter School and Valor Collegiate Academies for winning the DCSC School of Year Award! This award is meant to acknowledge the work of our outstanding member schools and DCSC is proud to stand behind both Larchmont and Valor!

School Visits

Friday morning started off with a tour of our schools in New Orleans! A special thank you to Bricolage Academy, Hoffman Early Learning Center, International High School of New Orleans, Morris Jeff Community School, and Morris Jeff High School for opening your doors to our convening attendees!

“The staff and school leaders [were] open and…facilitated honest and reflective dialogue.”

-DCSC Convening Attendee

Keynote Address

The second day of our conference included a fantastic keynote address from Louisiana State Superintendent of Education, John White. John was later joined in conversation by Dr. Kelli Peterson, Senior Equity and Accountability Officer for Orleans Parish School Board. Thank you, John and Kelli, for joining us, as well as Dr. Donaldo Batiste who opened up the morning with his insightful remarks.

“The panel was very helpful to hear about the broader landscape in Louisiana and the trajectory of education in the state.”

-Attendee from member school

Breakout Sessions

All of our session facilitators did an amazing job in engaging session participants and providing thoughtful and useful resources on a variety of topics. Thank you to all of our member schools and partner organizations that facilitated a session at this year’s convening!

“The valor session was really great and made me think deeply about advisory models at the middle and high school level.”

-UnifiED Host Site Leader

“Beloved was AMAZING and she did great with varied questions, very responsive and by far my favorite session.”

-DCSC Convening Attendee

Thank you again to all of our session facilitators at this year’s convening!

What is The Opportunity Myth, and How Can I Disrupt it?
Valerie Barron, Nick Denton-Brown, Celena Siprajim, and Kit Tollerson

The New Teacher Project (TNTP)

Good to Great – Challenging Teacher Expectations and Supporting Their Growth
Valerie Barron
The New Teacher Project (TNTP)

School Diversity and Charter Policies: How Does Your State Stack Up?
Halley Potter
The Century Foundation

UnifiED Explorer Session
Ashley Heard and Daniel Brink-Washington
Diverse Charter Schools Coalition UnifiED School Launch Program

Advancing Equity: Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Standards and Indicators
Rhonda Broussard
Beloved Community

Diverse Populations in a Progressive Environment: Recruitment and Retention Strategies
Seth Biderman, Kelly Brown, and Monisha Karnani
Inspired Teaching Demonstration School

Designing to the Edges
A’Seret Dokubo
Special Education Leadership Fellowship (SELF)

Valor’s Compass Model: Diverse Identity Development in the Context of Relationships
Thomas Branch, Travis Commons, and Jackson Sprayberry
Valor Collegiate Academies

Why are Schools so Afraid of Black Men and Boys?
Larry Irvin and Kristyna Jones
Brothers Empowered 2 Teach

Leveraging Diversity in School Design
Vanessa Rodriguez
Citizens of the World Charter Schools (CWCS)

Building Our Skills to Lead Inclusive, Anti-Racist School Communities
Maria Conner, Hilary Darilek, and Christie Huck
E.L. Haynes Charter School and City Garden Montessori Charter School

Networking

Any opportunity for those within the DCSC network to come together is a successful event for the Coalition! We’re glad that our members got to see colleagues, both old and new. We’re excited to provide many more networking opportunities at next year’s convening and to make it even better based on what DCSC members want and need!

“It was great to interact with other first timers while having the opportunity to ask questions from others that have been apart of DCSC for a while.”

-Attendee from member school