Professional Learning Workshops & Curriculum Writing and Implementation Sessions
As part of Year 2 of our curricular buildout, we invite all public school leaders, coaches, supervisors, department chairs, and teachers who are experts in or interested in becoming more knowledgeable about Latinidad to attend a series of Professional Learning Workshops on our the conceptual framework of our curriculum, including culturally relevant and sustaining research, resources, and pedagogical approaches to better serve all NYCPS students in grades 6-9. We will hold four workshops, each featuring different but interrelated topics and teams of experts, that can be attended as standalone sessions or as part of a series, to enable interested teachers to continue participating in the LCI through curriculum writing and pilot testing.
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Professional Learning Workshops
Location: Teachers College, Columbia University
Workshop 1: Centering Afro-Latinidad in New York City
Thursday, October 9, (9:00 am to 12:00 pm)
Yosef Medina - Afro Latin@ Forum - Director of Community Initiatives at Virginia Humanities
Alexa Rodríguez - Assistant Professor, University of Virginia
This workshop will introduce participants to our Latinidad conceptual framework, focusing on how we can define and explore Latinidad while addressing the intersectional experiences of Afro-Latino students within this broader experience in multidisciplinary ways and across grade levels. Guest speaker Yosef Medina will present on ways to recognize African diasporic identities through the curriculum, detailing several lesson plans he has developed drawing from his extensive experience in New York City's K-12 public schools and juvenile justice systems. Our second guest speaker, Dr. Alexa Rodríguez, will present on opportunities and resources to learn about the experiences and impacts of Dominicans in New York City through children’s books, novels, excursions, scholarly research articles, music, and other visual media. The workshop will end with group brainstorming and opportunities to get involved in further development of the LCI curriculum.
Workshop 2: Narratives of Latinidad in New York City
Tuesday, November 4, (9:00 am to 12:00 pm)
Carlos Decena - Professor of Latino and Caribbean Studies and Women's, Gender and Sexuality Studies
Eddie Rivero - Visiting Associate Professor in Bilingual/Bicultural Education
This workshop will introduce participants to our Latinidad conceptual framework, highlighting key thematic areas and issues in the study of Latinidad in New York City, such as immigration and community formation; transnationalism and labor movements; political mobilizations and activisms; gender, sexuality, and the Latinx community; and the politics of representation in US arts and media. Guest speaker Dr. Carlos Decena will share print and audiovisual resources that can help teachers guide students to compare the experiences of different Latino groups in NYC and to critically assess their presence and impact on the U.S. economy, society, social activism, popular culture, and the arts. The second guest speaker, Dr. Eddie Rivero, will engage participants in discussion and activities related to a reading list he created that engages local, NYC-based histories, cultural practices, and everyday life and includes developmentally appropriate texts that can inform culturally responsive teaching across K-12 settings. The workshop will end with group brainstorming and opportunities to get involved in further development of the LCI curriculum.
Workshop 3: Sounds of Latinidad: Integrating Music and Arts Education into the K-12 Curriculum
Tuesday, January 13 (9:00 am to 12:00 pm)
Priscila Santana - Ed. D., Doctoral Candidate, Music and Education at Teachers College
This workshop will familiarize participants with our Latinidad conceptual framework, focusing on the potential of arts and music education to complement the study of Latinidad across grades and content areas. Guest speaker Priscila Santana, doctoral candidate in Music and Music Education at Teachers College, Columbia University, will present on the role and importance of including the history and study of music into a culturally responsive Latinidad curriculum in New York City and review resources, such as artists active in NYC’s cultural ecosystem and cultural institutions, that play a critical role in sustaining these musical traditions and fostering spaces for cultural expression.
Workshop 4: Lessons for the Study and Celebration of Latinidad
Thursday, March 12 (9:00 am to 12:00 pm)
Guest Speakers: Latinidad Curriculum Initiative Team
Led by members of the Latinidad Curriculum Initiative’s curriculum writing team, this workshop will familiarize participants with our Latinidad conceptual framework and demonstrate interactively the sample lesson plans we have created. Participants will be invited to and prepared to pilot test these lessons in their own classrooms.
All four workshops will follow a consistent structure designed to offer participants opportunities to engage with the pedagogical underpinnings of the project while providing teachers with dedicated spaces for curriculum writing and planning sessions. The morning sessions will feature an introduction to the Latinidad conceptual framework, followed by expert presentations, with facilitated group discussions to ensure the voices of teachers and leaders are included in the formation of the curriculum. After lunch, teachers joining the afternoon session can participate in collaborative writing group preparation and brainstorming activities, and will have the opportunity to formally indicate their interest in joining the Curriculum Writing and Implementation Sessions.
Curriculum Writing & Implementation Sessions
A cohort of educators will be selected through an onboarding process to participate in the Curriculum Writing and Implementation Sessions. Selected teachers will have the opportunity to collaboratively develop lessons about Latinidad that will be integrated into the final curriculum. The sessions will provide systematic professional learning and implementation support to ensure teachers can effectively design, pilot, and refine curriculum that meets student needs while building sustainable instructional practices. All workshops will be held at District 3 PS 75, Room 303, with the following structured progression from initial planning through classroom implementation and final reflection.
