Ensuring children of racial, ethnic and religious minority backgrounds feel included in our classroom is critical to supporting their learning and development. Often, school staff is unaware of racial, cultural and religious differences that impact how children experience school and community life, and may require support to understand how to work with diverse youth. In this session, participants will develop an understanding of "religious literacy" and build skills needed to fully include all children in their programs.
Presenter: Dr. Debbie Almontaser is an internationally recognized, award-winning educator, entrepreneur, speaker and authority on cross-cultural understanding. She is an influential community leader and the Founder/CEO of Bridging Cultures Group. Dr. Almontaser is a twenty-five year veteran of NYC Public School System and was the founding and former principal of the Khalil Gibran International Academy in Brooklyn, NY. Currently, she is the Board President of the Muslim Community Network and sits on the boards of the Yemeni American Merchants Association, Therapy and Learning Center Preschool, eMgage National, and ADC National. She frequently lectures, serves on panels, facilitates workshops on cultural diversity, conflict resolution, Islam, Muslims in America, interfaith coalition building and youth leadership at schools, universities, libraries, museums, faith-based organizations, churches, synagogues, national and international conferences. Dr. Almontaser is known for her leadership role in organizing the historic Yemeni Bodega Strike and “I Am a Muslim Too” Rally with Russel Simmons.
This is an introduction to e-textiles, toy making and making simple circuits without soldering. This is also a workshop about equity, expanding diversity in the technology sector and introducing new technologies through engineering, design and culturally relevant materials and practices. This workshop will address the current trends and future directions for teaching STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art and mathematics) in PreK -12 schools. This workshop is going to be hands on with tons of materials and participants will leave with a clear understanding and individualized action plan for enhancing STEAM education in their own work. Participants get to take home their own creation.
Presenter: Dr. Ronah Harris is a teacher and a maker. She currently teaches computer science at the Stuart Country Day School, an all-girls independent school in Princeton NJ. Dr. Harris is also the founder of Play Pattern LLC, an educational technology consultancy that trains teachers, educates families and designs products to increase participation in STEAM for girls and underrepresented groups. She was awarded two Daytime Emmys for her work on the educational television shows Sesame Street and The Electric Company. She also helped write the first computer science curriculum for NYC public schools. Dr. Harris has lectured at Teachers College, Columbia University, and has published and consulted on topics of cognition, creativity, innovation, technology and design. She lives in New Jersey with her two children, and makes interactive toys and dolls in her spare time.
Linguistic insecurity is defined as the anxiety and lack of confidence speakers feel resulting from the negative perception regarding their linguistic competency in a given language. Coined by Columbia linguist William Labov, linguistic insecurity is associated with perceptible forms of language prestige and is often connected to a negative outlook toward the individual’s own form of speech, fueling thoughts of inadequacy. Within the context of English in the United States, linguistic insecurity can be detrimental to the inclusion and opportunity access of English Language Learners (ELLs). This workshop will equip teachers with (1) the theoretical framework to understand linguistic insecurity, (2) tools and appropriate language to identify and assuage the anxieties associated with linguistic insecurity, and 3) strategies to offset potential bullying situations associated with language variation that fuels linguistic insecurities. Upon completing this workshop, teachers will acquire a working knowledge of language structures, indicators of student linguistic insecurity and strategies to better support ELLs in the classroom.
Presenter: Luana Y. Ferreira earned a Ph.D. in Hispanic Linguistics from The CUNY Graduate Center for Doctoral Studies. She has extensive experience facilitating professional development on issues pertaining to language and language access as a human right, including at the 2017 Reimagining Education Summer Institute. She has also conducted research focusing on Students with Interrupted Formal Education (SIFE) and Students with Limited English Proficiency (LEP) who plan on attending college through citywide organizations such as College Now and high school equivalency programs. Results were shared with teachers in a New York City Department of Education professional development conference where strategies to close opportunity gaps for grossly underserviced students were gleaned. In the past, Luana taught at Teachers College for five years in the department of Bilingual and Bicultural Studies.
School leaders routinely make high-stakes decisions that significantly impact students’ educational experiences and academic trajectories. High-stakes decisions include determining which job applicants to hire for teaching positions, which consequences students receive for disciplinary infractions, and which students gain entry into advanced classes. Implicit bias—or unconscious judgment often grounded in stereotypes and prejudices—mars decision-making processes and leads to social inequalities. Multiple studies suggest that implicit bias adversely and disproportionately impacts students in historically marginalized groups, including racial minorities, sexual minorities, low income people, and women. Although an emerging body of research offers insight into using scientific interventions to counteract implicit bias, it is often inaccessible to those who need it the most: K-12 policy makers and practitioners. In order to bridge the gap between research and practice, the workshop facilitator will describe several scientific interventions that counteract implicit bias, including designing for objectivity, priming with counter-stereotypical exemplars, facilitating interdependent intergroup interaction, and encouraging verbal perspective taking. Drawing on his experiences as a mathematics department chairperson, instructional coach, and national board certified teacher in the Boston Public Schools, the workshop facilitator also will share how to select, customize, implement, and evaluate scientific interventions for particular school contexts. Workshop participants will brainstorm a plan of action to improve an area of practice that is susceptible to implicit bias. In addition, workshop participants will receive a list of salient takeaways and additional resources that they can use to refine and execute their plan of action over time.
Presenter: Julian A. McNeil is a doctoral candidate in the Ph.D. Program in Social-Organizational Psychology at Teachers College, Columbia University. Prior to enrolling in this program, Julian served as a district administrator, school leader, and classroom teacher in the Boston Public Schools. Concurrent to these roles, Julian served as an adjunct lecturer on education at Harvard University and a fellow for Teach Plus and Math for America. Julian has led professional development workshops for over 1,000 educators and presented at numerous conferences, including the Harvard Graduate School of Education Alumni of Color Conference and the Massachusetts Statewide Preventing and Addressing Bias-Based Incidents in Schools Conference.
Traditionally, discipline is defined as the practice of training people to obey rules or a code of behavior, using punishment to correct disobedience. What are the benefits and challenges for both segregated and integrated schools in reframing student discipline using Restorative Justice (RJ)? How can we achieve lasting support for RJ from our entire school community? Like any initiative, RJ if done well can have transformative results for students and school communities. In this workshop, you will experience RJ work through discussion circles and case studies involving the three tiers of RJ, and you will be given tools that can support implementing RJ practices in your school. However, in order to re-frame our schools to be truly RJ, and ensure that RJ work is sustainable, we also have to redefine the way we see disciplining students. With that in mind, this workshop will stress the importance of bridging this work to parents, teachers and support staff in the school community and will address challenges and successes that arise from making RJ visible in your approach to supporting student struggle.
Presenters: Melissa Moskowitz is a parent, educator, and activist with an impassioned desire to refocus the goal and purpose of a public education to promote school integration. She has spent 18 years working in New York City public schools and is currently Assistant Principal at University Middle School. Drawing upon her experience as a parent and educator, Melissa helped to integrate the student body at Park Slope Collegiate. Melissa is a founding member of Parents for Middle School Equity Group in New York City District 15 and a parent partner with IntegrateNYC4Me. She received an MA from New York University and an M.Ed from Bank Street College, and holds National Board Certification for Students with Exceptional Needs. Nichole Rowe Small is a school counselor for the New York City Department of Education. She has over twenty years of being an educator in different capacities. She uses restorative practices throughout her career and believes in the power of circles. She is an anti-racist educator and believes in the need for equity for all students. She is very much into Mindfulness practices and encourages students to practice this as well.
Effective organizing for school integration requires long-term strategizing, connecting to the community, identifying root causes, and having a firm grasp on the data. Understanding the legal framework around disproportionality in education can also provide a roadmap for analyzing entrenched policies and designing for change. Over the last several years, community advocates in Brooklyn’s District 15 (D15) have been applying this approach in calling for community-based reform of D15’s troubled and segregating middle school choice model. In a promising turn, the NYC DOE responded by partnering with community members and advocates to develop a series of district-wide workshops aimed at redesigning middle school admissions and inclusion practices. Simultaneously, the NYC Alliance for School Integration and Desegregation (ASID), together with IntegrateNYC, has released a policy framework proposal for a City-wide approach to school integration, which promotes community-based planning, reform of exclusionary admissions criteria and processes and the creation of inclusive educational environments. This workshop will share the strategy and principles used by the D15 advocates and the ASID team, and will give participants the tools for analyzing local sources of disproportionality, effectively advocating for community-based change, and fashioning a strong remedy for integration. Participants will engage with data, understand the governing legal framework and strategize for entry points for dismantling systemic barriers in their districts. This workshop shares a powerful model of possibility for building integration from the grassroots on upwards.
Presenter: Miriam Nunberg, Esq., is the chair of the NYC Alliance for School Integration and Desegregation’s (ASID) Policy Working Group, co-founder of District 15 Parents for Middle School Equity, and a self-employed education rights attorney and consultant. She also is the co-founder of the Brooklyn Urban Garden Charter School. Miriam led workshops for Reimagining Education in 2016 and 2017 as well as numerous other PD’s regarding civil rights in education at all educational levels.
Imagine schools where students learn about healthy eating in fun, engaging, hands-on ways in the classroom and connect what they learn to social justice and equity. Also imagine schools with cafeterias where students eat nourishing meals in an environment that supports what they have learned about healthy eating. And, imagine school staff, teachers and parents having resources to serve wholesome, delicious, health-promoting foods at school events. Whether your school is just getting started with healthy eating and food justice, or you are well on your way, this workshop will move you up to the next level. In this workshop you will learn how to develop fun and practical lessons that increase students’ agency and confidence in choosing healthful foods, review our national school meal program and learn about exciting innovations taking place around the country, and receive a resource guide of curricula, programs and resources for health-promoting schools.
Presenter: Pam Koch is Associate Research Professor and Executive Director, Laurie M. Tisch Center for Food, Education & Policy at Teachers College, Columbia University. She conducts research about the connections between a just, sustainable food system and healthy eating. She translates her research into curricula for schoolteachers and recommendations for policy makers. She speaks about nutrition education and sustainable food systems around the country and internationally. She is the author of many nutrition education curricula and has worked with and evaluated many school-based nutrition education programs that are creating school gardens, conducting cooking sessions, and working toward food justice. Her work contributes to increased access to nutritious, delicious and sustainable food for all. She completed her EdD and RD from Teachers College, Columbia University.
Our aim is to highlight the tensions of enacting inclusive education and to unpack the question: How do I enact inclusive education in a racially diverse school? Recent work in Disability Studies has noted that disability is the largest minority. Yet, when we discuss racially diverse schools, conversations about disability are often absent. Though this workshop is intended for all audiences we specifically highlight strategies and ideas for pre-service (graduate student) teachers, in-service teachers and administrators. The field of inclusive education is grounded in the field of disability studies in education; however, we intend to take the field one step further and use intersectional ways of thinking about students’ identities and experiences when strategizing access. As race has been under-theorized in teacher education, we will unpack Disability Studies and Critical Race Theory in Education (DisCrit) to encourage participants to situate their understandings of racism within the mutual construction of race and (dis)ability. Implicit in this notion is the idea that there are a variety of learning profiles, or “abilities,” present in today’s racially diverse schools. We will start by introducing Universal Design for Learning (UDL) as one method for lesson planning that provides opportunities for taking up a DisCrit framework. We will expand UDL to address ways of incorporating strategies both school-wide and in the classroom. Participants will leave our workshop with a variety of strategies related to fostering active and collaborative learning with a specific focus on inclusive and culturally sustaining pedagogies.
Presenters: Tara Schwitzman is a doctoral student and instructor in the department of Curriculum and Teaching at Teachers College, Columbia University and an adjunct professor in the department of Women's and Gender Studies at New Jersey City University. She has also led workshops at the Reimagining Education Institute in 2016 and 2017. Areas of interest include: theorizing difference at the intersection of race and dis/ability, disability studies in education, inclusive education, and how pre-service teachers understand diversity. Before starting her work at Teachers College, Tara taught music for students in grades K-8 in North Philadelphia.
In classrooms how are teachers to facilitate student interactions with images of others in a way that is constructive rather than destructive and dehumanizing? The consequence of certain ways of teaching results in social distancing. Social distancing, or the inability to relate to another person, is directly correlated to a lack of empathy. Sociologist Arlie Hochschild has demonstrated that one of the sources of empathy for “certain categories of stranger” are directly impacted by what one gets through media including newspapers, television, or films. The stereotypes, arguably pathological in nature, have provided a single narrative, moving citizens or members of society away from a complex and multi-dimensional understanding that would allow someone to identify with another, building a map of understanding or what Hochschild refers to as an empathy map. This workshop will walk participants through the way we use “images” in my Social Studies and Math classrooms to combat systematic racism, and challenge stereotypical thinking about traditionally marginalized groups. Participants will leave with tools and methods enabling them to embed these ideas into their lessons and curriculum.
Presenter: Martha is a passionate New York City teacher who is glad she works with students who are the embodiment of joy! She is native New Yorker who works in pursuit of social justice through her speaking and writing. She completed a M.A. Ed in Secondary Inclusive Education/Special Ed at Teachers College, Columbia University while working to provide a space in transforming how educators and students interact with and address the politics of schooling. She is a research conference presenter, having held workshops at the 34th Annual Winter Roundtable on Cultural Psychology in Education, and at the Boston College Institute for the Study and Promotion of Race and Culture's (ISPRC) Diversity challenge focusing on language and labels used in education. She holds a Master of Science in journalism from Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism, and a Bachelor of Science in Communication Studies from New York University's Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development.
Adolescence is a time when many young people struggle with issues of independence, trust, freedom, and responsibility. It is also a time when life often revolves around peer groups and mutual relationships. Therefore, as we prepare to address questions of equity in our classrooms, we must consider how we teach as thoughtfully as we consider what we teach. Join Facing History and Ourselves for this interactive session that will model teaching strategies that support and challenge students in their efforts to define their own identity and their relationship to society as a whole. By creating brave and reflective learning communities, we can empower students to develop their own voices in both the classroom and the world at large. This workshop is geared towards middle and high school educators.
Presenter: Daniel Braunfeld is the Senior Program Associate for Special Projects at Facing History and Ourselves, an international educational and professional development non-profit. Facing History educators work with millions of students each year, engaging in an examination of racism, prejudice, and antisemitism in order to promote the development of a more humane and informed citizenry. Before joining Facing History, Daniel was a history teacher and teacher-leader in Boston, NYC, and Santa Monica and wrote and consulted on curriculum for the GRAMMY Museum, Hearts on Fire, ITVS, and PBS. Daniel lives in NYC and primarily works with schools and teachers throughout the city.
This workshop is geared towards elementary school teachers who want to implement more culturally relevant science and engineering learning in their classroom. We will begin with a quick overview of why this is important and cover some of the research supporting this approach. Then we will focus on simple strategies that can transform your students’ perceptions of science and engineering, and their understanding of who can be a scientist or engineer. Participants will also come away with easy to implement ideas on how to help students connect to famous scientists, leading to higher engagement with the content area. This approach also helps students understand that high-level scientific and engineering work does not require exceptional inborn ability, but instead is the result of hard work. This helps students believe that they are capable of doing this kind of work themselves. And lastly, the workshop will include ways to engage students in challenging tasks and support them through moments of frustration so they build resiliency, and see failure as an opportunity to learn and grow. This workshop will help counter gender, racial and ethnic disparities in science and engineering education, helping all students reach their full potential.
Presenter: Jacquelyn serves as Director of Enrichment Services at The Hollingworth Center. Under her supervision, Hollingworth Science Camp provides innovative inquiry-based science education to hundreds of elementary school children every year. This includes providing teacher education and training for the science camp teachers. Under her direction, the Center has completed several projects in Chile in collaboration with the Huilo Huilo Foundation and the Chilean government. Prior to coming to Teachers College, Jacquelyn taught in a Title I elementary school in Los Angeles, California, working with English language learners in both Spanish and English. As the science curriculum coordinator for grades K through 5, she implemented inquiry-based science curriculum and provided professional development for teachers. Concurrently, Jacquelyn completed a Master’s Degree in Education Foundations and Theory from California State University, Los Angeles. Jacquelyn just completed her PhD in the Sociology and Education program at Teachers College.
We are often asked, "How do I know which books to keep and which books to get rid of?" The truth is we can utilize most of our books and reading materials, as long as we are asking the right questions. In this workshop, we will share examples of classroom practices that cultivate critical literacy development. We will share units of study that have been redesigned to incorporate critical literacy skills as well as examples of individual lessons within other units that also include critical literacy skills. Our goal is for participants to leave with ideas they feel confident utilizing in their classroom.
Presenters: Kristen Kaelin is a special education certified teacher and has been teaching for 14 years in public, private, and charter schools. She is currently a 4th grade teacher in a co-taught classroom at Community Roots. Kristen is a member of the school’s Diversity Working Group and collaborates with other staff members to design professional development for staff connected to their anti-bias approach and curriculum. She is also a Responsive Classroom consultant and leads workshops for educators across the country and is a workshop presenter for Roots ConnectED. Michelle McCree is a 2nd grade teacher in a co-taught classroom with Community Roots and has presented her work through Roots ConnectED workshops. She has led professional development about early childhood literacy with Uplift Education, Teach for America, and The New Teacher Project. Additionally she has lead workshops around organizing and advocacy in education with Educators for Excellence and the New York City Urban League.
Participants will practice applying a racial equity lens to scenarios related in Race and Racism in educational settings and will explore strategies for addressing racial equity. More information to come.
Presenter: Border Crossers trains and empowers educators to dismantle patterns of racism and injustice in schools and communities. At Border Crossers, we envision a world where young people of all racial identities learn and thrive in equitable, liberating and empowering educational spaces.
The transformation of mathematics teaching practices is critical to improving mathematics competency and engagement. Culturally responsive teaching is an equity pedagogy that redefines teaching by ensuring students connect mathematics to themselves, community and challenges them through inquiry and problem solving that underscores strength, interdependence, critical consciousness, and justice. The power of culturally responsive teaching lies in radically challenging what mathematics is, how mathematics is taught and led, who can be successful doing it and how we use it to change the world around us. Participants will participate in interactive discussion around the major ideas of culturally responsive/relevant teaching, namely how teachers see themselves intersecting with their racial identities and life struggles of students, how to employ both creative and resistive stances toward mathematics curriculum, and how to organize classrooms and instruction in ways that stress relevance, by fostering empowering relationships with students. Key questions asked during the session are: In what ways does culturally responsive practice radically change the way we view mathematics? In what ways does culturally responsive practice change the way we view mathematics teaching? In what ways does culturally responsive practice change the way we view the possibilities of mathematics success for all students? Participants will explore tasks from efforts in helping educators in reframe mathematics instruction and tasks to become more culturally relevant in various communities. Lastly, a rubric for creating Culturally Responsive Mathematics Tasks is shared with teachers and discussed.
Presenter: Lou Matthews is a globally-focused mathematics engagement specialist who has been passionate about inspiring communities, schools and audiences through his love of mathematics and social justice. He is from Bermuda and has been an active speaker, teacher, writer and public education leader having engaged audiences in the United States, Caribbean, Africa and Bermuda over the past 20 years. He has authored studies, analysis and book chapters on culturally relevant teaching in mathematics and the education of Black children. His current community and research focus include Culturally Responsive/Relevant Teaching of Mathematics; the gentrification of mathematics reform and STEM in Black, Brown and Urban Communities; and the visibility of Caribbean and African interests in mathematics reform ideology. Lou has served as the founding Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Urban Mathematics Education, president of the Benjamin Banneker Association; and Director of Schools and Acting Commissioner of Bermuda Public Schools. He has recently launched InspireMath.org.
To challenge deficit-oriented perspectives of Black boys as independent and nonrelational, this workshop entails: (1) a brief presentation of evidence-based “relational teaching strategies,” designed to facilitate positive learning relationships among early-adolescent Black boys and their schoolteachers; and (2) small group and whole group discussion of the application of these strategies with specific boys at the respective schools of workshop attendees. Framed by a (re)imagining of Black boyhood, the goal is to assist teachers and other school professionals with the effective use of these relational strategies, with implications for boys’ academic performance and overall school engagement.
Presenter: Joseph Derrick Nelson, Ph.D., is a Visiting Assistant Professor of Education at Teachers College, Columbia University. He is on sabbatical from Swarthmore College, where he is faculty in their Department of Educational Studies. He is also a Senior Research Fellow with the Center for the Study of Boys’ and Girls’ Lives at the University of Pennsylvania. His research has explored how stereotypes influence the identity development of high-achieving Black boys during early adolescence. These multi-year projects have led to publications with Teachers College Record, Harvard Educational Review, and co-editing a special issue on boys’ education with the Journal of Boyhood Studies. His forthcoming book is entitled, “Never Give Up: Resilience, Academic Success, and Middle School Black Boys” (Harvard Education Press). In Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Dr. Nelson taught first-grade in a single-sex classroom for Black and Latino boys, in the low-income neighborhood where he grew up.
This workshop will empower educators, parent and young people to think of the work that they already do through the lens of arts and performance. How can harnessing the tools of creating an artful performance make our voices even more powerful? How can the arts help us achieve maximum impact?
Presenters: The session will be facilitated by Ben Wexler, Zhailon Levingston and Richard Gray of the Broadway Advocacy Coalition (BAC), which is an organization of artists, activists, and legal thought leaders whose mission is to employ the arts and artists as a tool for substantive and lasting change. BAC groups high-caliber artists from the Broadway community with those who are doing community-driven advocacy work and harnesses our tools as artists and scholars to bring those voices to the forefront.
The transformation of mathematics teaching practices is critical to improving mathematics competency and engagement. Culturally responsive teaching is an equity pedagogy that redefines teaching by ensuring students connect mathematics to themselves, community and challenges them through inquiry and problem solving that underscores strength, interdependence, critical consciousness, and justice. The power of culturally responsive teaching lies in radically challenging what mathematics is, how mathematics is taught and led, who can be successful doing it and how we use it to change the world around us. Participants will participate in interactive discussion around the major ideas of culturally responsive/relevant teaching, namely how teachers see themselves intersecting with their racial identities and life struggles of students, how to employ both creative and resistive stances toward mathematics curriculum, and how to organize classrooms and instruction in ways that stress relevance, by fostering empowering relationships with students. Key questions asked during the session are: In what ways does culturally responsive practice radically change the way we view mathematics? In what ways does culturally responsive practice change the way we view mathematics teaching? In what ways does culturally responsive practice change the way we view the possibilities of mathematics success for all students? Participants will explore tasks from efforts in helping educators in reframe mathematics instruction and tasks to become more culturally relevant in various communities. Lastly, a rubric for creating Culturally Responsive Mathematics Tasks is shared with teachers and discussed.
Presenter: Lou Matthews is a globally-focused mathematics engagement specialist who has been passionate about inspiring communities, schools and audiences through his love of mathematics and social justice. He is from Bermuda and has been an active speaker, teacher, writer and public education leader having engaged audiences in the United States, Caribbean, Africa and Bermuda over the past 20 years. He has authored studies, analysis and book chapters on culturally relevant teaching in mathematics and the education of Black children. His current community and research focus include Culturally Responsive/Relevant Teaching of Mathematics; the gentrification of mathematics reform and STEM in Black, Brown and Urban Communities; and the visibility of Caribbean and African interests in mathematics reform ideology. Lou has served as the founding Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Urban Mathematics Education, president of the Benjamin Banneker Association; and Director of Schools and Acting Commissioner of Bermuda Public Schools. He has recently launched InspireMath.org.