Breakout Sessions

75-minute breakout sessions

Our virtual 2022 Annual Convening will include three 75-minute session times where participants can attend either a workshop, dilemma discussion, or school showcase. Any attendee is eligible to submit a proposal to lead a workshop. However, submissions for dilemma discussions and school showcases are only open to active DCSC members.

Workshops

Workshopss will last for 75 minutes and are most similar to traditional breakout sessions at our past convenings. During workshops, facilitators lead attendees through a topic as it relates to this year’s theme — Care, Courage and Commitment: Deepening Our Vision of Diverse-by-Design Schools. Workshops should guide participants through: an introduction of a topic and its relevance to diverse-by-design schools, some interactive activity around the topic, and next steps for participants to come away with. Facilitators of workshops will commit to facilitate their sessions twice (either twice on Thursday or once on Thursday and once on Friday). DCSC members and external partners are eligible to submit a proposal for a workshop. Workshops will have an audience limit of 15 participants.

Workshop Preparation

In addition to any individual planning needed to submit your proposal and prepare for your workshop, each facilitator will attend a 30-minute session leader planning call between December 1 and December 17 going over the content of the session. There will also be a 60-minute group call on January 5 to review the technical capabilities of our virtual platform. 

Examples from Prior Years

Removing Barriers that Perpetuate Inequity Through Universal Design for Learning

Centering Our People as We Lead Through Change and Uncertainty

Values-based Governance for Intentionally Diverse Schools

Book Talk! Essays from The 1619 Project

Workshop Proposal Questions

Submit all responses at https://forms.gle/o9dVg4wTaRwy9jar7

• What organization (if any) is affiliated with this submission?

• Please share the full name and a 2-3 sentence bio and an updated photo for each facilitator included in this proposal

To be published on our program and marketing materials. 500 characters max

• Session title (100 characters max)

• Please share a 2-3 sentence description on your session and its connection to our theme, Care, Courage, and Commitment: Deepening our vision of diverse-by-design

500 characters max

• Format details: Describe your plans for the 75-minute session, as far as how all participants will be engaged with relevant content.

Please include your ideas for timing, activities, discussion prompts, and any media/resource sharing (2500 characters max)

• Participant experience and goals: What are your desired objectives or outcomes for attendees in your session? How will you consider to what extent those objectives are met?

500 characters max

Dilemma Discussions

In an ever-changing education landscape, even seasoned school leaders of diverse-by-design schools don’t have all the answers. Dilemma discussions offer the opportunity for an educator to present a persistent challenge at their school or school organization. Attendees listen to the presentation of the problem, offer suggestions, questions, and further exploration. Unlike workshops, these sessions will not be recorded, and they are meant to offer generative conversation and insights from various perspectives. We are excited to review challenges in the contemporary world of integrated school leadership, and we hope to foster collaboration and applicable learnings for both attendees and presenters.

Dilemma Discussion Protocol

Dilemma discussions will follow the protocol listed below, which includes a facilitator and presenter of the dilemma. Because of this structure, it is critical for the facilitator guiding the protocol to be separate and removed from the context of the dilemma. If a member school sharing their dilemma is unable to bring a facilitator to fill this role, DCSC will provide a facilitator to guide the session. In addition to any individual planning needed to submit your dilemma and prepare to present it, presenters and facilitators will attend a 30-minute session leader planning call between December 1 and December 17 going over the content of the dilemma. There will also be a 60-minute group call on January 5 to review the technical capabilities of our virtual platform.

• Overview (20 minutes)

• • • Presenter shares background information, gives an overview of the dilemma in which they are struggling, and poses a question for attendees to consider.
    • The presenter can bring artifacts pertaining to their dilemma such as student work, faculty documents, or other materials.
    • This portion should clarify the who, what, and why of your dilemma, including what prior attempts you made to address the issue and what resulted from those attempts.

• Probing and clarifying questions (15 minutes)

• • • Attendees ask questions to clarify and expand the presenter’s thinking about the dilemma. The presenter may respond to the group’s questions, but there is no discussion among attendees of the presenter’s responses.
    • Examples of clarifying questions may include:
      • What resources are available for teachers to achieve this project?
      • How are students grouped?
      • How much time do parents need to spend on the project?
    • Examples of probing questions may include:
      • Why do you think this is the case?
      • How is… different from …?
      • What surprises you about …, and why?
      • What is one area you won’t compromise?
    • Before moving forward, the presenter restates their question for the group.

• Group discussion, part I (10 minutes)

• • • Presenter steps back from the group and turns off their camera and microphone, while attendees discuss the dilemma with one another in a conversation guided by the facilitator. Throughout this protocol, the facilitator must be separate from the presenter and removed from the dilemma in order to guide the conversation. The presenter quietly takes notes on the discussion.
    • The group of attendees should focus on defining the issues more thoroughly and objectively. Participants should resist speaking directly to the presenter and only address each other.
    • Prompts to frame the discussion may include:
      • What did we hear? What didn’t we hear that could be relevant?
      • What assumptions seem to be operating? What questions does the dilemma raise for us?
      • What might we do or try if faced with a similar dilemma? What have we done in similar situations? 
    • Only after thoroughly analyzing the dilemma should the group suggest actions for the presenter to consider as “open suggestions.”

• Group discussion, part II (20 minutes)

• • • The presenter returns to the group and discusses potential solutions, next steps, or strategies. 

• Reflection and close-out (10 minutes)

• • The presenter reflects on what they heard and what they are now thinking, sharing any ideas that resonated during any part of the consultancy discussion. The presenter summarizes key takeaways or next steps. 

Examples from Prior Years

How Do We Honor a Subset of Our Community While Not Alienating Another?

How Do We Address Misconceptions about Teaching Diverse Students?

Help! Our Bold and Inclusive Policies Provoked Vocal Opposition from Ardent Supporters

Dilemma Discussion Proposal Questions

Submit all responses at https://forms.gle/o9dVg4wTaRwy9jar7

• Which DCSC member organization is affiliated with this submission?

• Please share the full name and a 2-3 sentence bio and an updated photo for each presenter included in this proposal

To be published on our program and marketing materials. 500 characters max

• Dilemma title (100 characters max)

• Please provide a contextual description to ground your dilemma. This description will be available to attendees when selecting which programming to attend. Include an overview of your school (location, grades served, instructional model, and other relevant details).

500 characters max

• What or where is the tension in the dilemma? What is at stake?

500 characters max

• What have you done in prior attempts to remedy the dilemma, and what were the results?

500 characters max

• Focus question: what do you REALLY want to know?

Should NOT be a yes/no question

Should center on practice, actions, behaviors, beliefs, and/or assumptions

School Showcases

School Showcases are 75 minutes. They highlight DCSC members and serve as a platform to engage with specific features, programming, approaches, and/or components of the diverse-by-design school(s) model. We seek proposals that are unique, specific, engaging, and provide participants an opportunity to apply their learning both during and after the showcase. Proposals may highlight one school, pairs of schools united by topic, or schools and their relevant partner organization(s). Finally, proposals should relate to this year’s theme: Care, Courage and Commitment.

School Showcase Preparation

In addition to any individual planning needed to submit your proposal and prepare for your session, each facilitator will attend a 30-minute school showcase planning call between December 1 and December 17 to share their session plan. There will also be a 60-minute group call on January 5 to understand the technical capabilities of our virtual platform. 

Examples from Prior Years

Committing to inclusion through expeditionary learning

Caring for our school environment through edible school yard

Courageous conversations in staff DEI working groups

School Showcase Proposal Questions

Submit all responses at https://forms.gle/o9dVg4wTaRwy9jar7

• What DCSC member school or school organization(s) are affiliated with this submission? Alongside the member school, what additional organizations (if any) are affiliated with this proposal?

• Please share the full name and a 2-3 sentence bio and an updated photo for each facilitator included in this proposal

To be published on our program and marketing materials. 500 characters max

• Session title (100 characters max)

• Please share a 2-3 sentence description on your session and its connection to our theme, Care, Courage, and Commitment: Deepening our vision of diverse-by-design. This description will be available to attendees when selecting which programming to attend. Include an overview of your school (location, grades served, instructional model, and other relevant details).

500 characters max

• Agenda details: Share your agenda for the 75-minute session

Include timing, activities, discussion prompts, and any media/resource sharing (2500 characters max)

• Participant experience and goals: What are your desired objectives or outcomes for attendees in your session? How will you consider to what extent those objectives are met?

500 characters max