Teach for Equity: Reaching all Students in Turbulent Times will help you reflect upon and sharpen your culturally responsive teaching with timely sessions from Geneviève DeBose, Alex Kajitani, Monica Washington, Michelle Cottrell-Williams & Leigh Ann Erickson, Lorrie Heagy & Rose Willard, Qorsho Hassan, and Abdul Wright.
NNSTOY is excited to host a national professional development convening to support teachers and teacher leaders across the country. Register to hone your skills in online teaching, expand your abilities to address the cultural needs of all students, and receive access to culturally relevant tools and resources to meet those needs.
AGENDA
AGENDA
12:00-12:10: Welcome Bob Williams and Hanna Vaandering
12:10-12:40: Seizing the Moment Liz Kleinrock
12:45-1:45: Breakout Sessions
- Discourse and Advocacy: The Intersection of Race, Data and Mathematics Instruction Alex Kajitani, Tyrone Holmes, Claudia Salinas
- Haa Ḵusteeyí: An Exemplar from Alaska on Culturally Responsive Teaching Lorrie Heagy and Rose Willard
- Culturally Responsive and Sustaining ELA Classrooms
Geneviève DeBose
2:00-2:55: Breakout Sessions
- The Equity Check-Up: How Do I Know if My Practices are Aligned?
Monica Washington - Centering the Margins through Curriculum and Pedagogy
Leigh Ann Erickson and Michelle Cottrell-Williams - Finding Equity: Shifting Power Structures in Your Classroom
Qorsho Hassan
3:00-3:30: Grounded in the Culture: What it Means to be a Culturally Responsive Practitioner Abdul Wright
*All times listed are in Eastern Time.
KEYNOTE SPEAKERS
BREAKOUT SESSIONS
SESSION DESCRIPTIONS
Liz Kleinrock is an anti-bias and anti-racist educator of both children and adults, and creates curriculum for K-12 students, specializing in designing inquiry-based units of study. She began her career in education as an AmeriCorps volunteer teacher in Oakland, California in 2009 and has since served as both a classroom educator and diversity coordinator in Los Angeles, California. Liz also works with schools and districts throughout the United States to develop workshops for adults that support ABAR practices that fit the needs of different communities. In 2018, Liz received the Teaching Tolerance Award for Excellence in Teaching, and her lessons on teaching consent and personal boundaries to students have gained international media attention. Liz has written articles for numerous publications on topics such as anti-racist teaching and cultivating relationships with students and families. Liz is proud to share her 2019 TED Talk, “How to teach kids to talk about taboo topics” on building foundations of equity with young learners which has been viewed over 2 million times, and is working on her first book with Heinemann Publishing.
Keynote Speaker
Grounded in the Culture: What it Means to be a Culturally Responsive Practitioner
In this keynote, we will explore the interconnectedness of institutional and structural systems and how those have infiltrated education and impeded the progress of equity. We will intentionally reflect on the lived impact that change agents have when they are grounded in culturally responsive mindsets, systems. And most importantly, we will discuss the call to dismantling educational systems that amplify oppressive practices that stymie the growth of young people we seek to enable and empower.
Abdul Wright is an eighth grade Language Arts teacher in North Minneapolis. He also holds the title of being an Instructional Coach and Data Team leader. He has taught Language Arts for the past ten years. Mr. Wright strives to make a positive difference in impoverished communities, while also striving to be the best version of himself. He completed an African American Leadership program in the Spring of 2016. Also graduated from Hamline University in the Spring of 2016, with a degree in Education. Mr. Wright earned his Bachelor’s degree in Communication Arts and Literature in 2011. He received the Minneapolis PeaceMaker award from the city of Minneapolis I 2015, received “ the You’ve Made a Difference” award from Cristo Rey Jesuit High School in 2015 and 2016, and is the recipient 2016 Minnesota Teacher of the Year award and was recognized as The first black male to receive the award, the youngest, and the first from a Charter school. In 2018, Mr. Wright was identified as a Minnesota African American Heritage Award Honoree. In 2020, Mr. Wright was recognized as the Educator of the Year by Concordia University, Saint Paul. Abdul Wright also served a term as the board chair of Mastery Charter School in North Minneapolis.
Breakout Session
Discourse and Advocacy: The Intersection of Race, Data and Mathematics Instruction
Districts all over the nation are wrestling with the clear and present danger of inequities in our educational system. The access gap is very real. Many talented teachers and educational leaders have realized that the goal of equity requires honest insight into the current content knowledge of students, increased bias awareness, and a sincere shift in instructional design. In this workshop, participants will explore the combinations of data that lead to targeted teacher actions. Attendees will explore ways that prerequisite data can increase access to grade level content. This will be practical, transformative, inspirational, and fun!
Tyrone Holmes
Tyrone Holmes is a captivating public speaker with an enduring commitment to professional education services. His many years as a national mathematics consultant have enabled him to support a wide range of public and private schools as they implement curricular changes and strive for academic excellence. He has facilitated numerous professional development workshops and spoken at countless regional and national conferences. In his role at Curriculum Associates, Tyrone provides districts with a transformative combination of adaptive technology and live support to make personalized learning a reality for every student. Before joining Curriculum Associates, Tyrone spent nearly two decades in educational publishing with McDougal Littell, Scholastic, and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. Tyrone lives in Montclair, NJ with his wonderful wife and their two amazing daughters.
Claudia Salinas
Claudia Salinas is the VP for EL at Curriculum Associates and Regional Manager for Texas, New Mexico, Nevada, and Arizona. In her current role, Claudia is responsible for working with school districts to meet the needs of their English learners and struggling learners by bringing research-based professional development, assessments, and instructional materials that work in unison to provide a comprehensive system. Claudia also works with authors and editors to develop solutions to address the needs of all struggling students. In her sales functions, she supports her team to position CA solutions in more schools.
Alex Kajitani (Kaw-juh-taw-nee) is the 2009 California Teacher of the Year, and a Top-4 Finalist for National Teacher of the Year. A leading authority on training teachers to teach online and in-person, he is the creator of “Wacky Math Hour,” a free, weekly online class that attracted thousands of students during the Covid shutdown. He is also the creator of the wildly popular online program, MultiplicationNation.com, and his “Rappin’ Mathematician” videos have received hundreds of thousands of views on youtube.
Alex is an acclaimed speaker, author, and was featured on The CBS Evening News, where Katie Couric exclaimed, “I LOVE that guy!” (and you will to!)
Breakout Session
Haa Ḵusteeyí: An Exemplar from Alaska on Culturally Responsive Teaching
How can educators contribute to systemic change in their classroom, school and district and have sound culturally responsive practices as the foundation? Lorrie Heagy and Rose Willard share an online model that they are piloting in Juneau, Alaska, which can be adapted to any school context, especially during these uncertain times. By sharing an evolving curriculum with input from many stakeholders, Lorrie and Rose will provide examples of how these strategies can be used in any teaching situation:
– Capitalize on opportunities that remote and hybrid learning provide.
-Integrate resources developed by community organizations.
-Build trusting and authentic feedback loops with your community.
-Be creative and thoughtful in how you develop lessons.
-Respect boundaries and receive permission for what you share with others.
-Build coalitions of support to increase capacity, commitment, and trust.
-Be patient and flexible.
Lorrie Heagy
Lorrie Heagy is the music teacher at Glacier Valley Elementary School and creator of Juneau Alaska Music Matters (JAMM). She has 24 years-experience in the classroom and has provided teacher training in arts integration, brain-based learning and student engagement throughout the U.S. She is honored to represent Alaska’s teachers as the 2011 Alaska Teacher of the Year and holds a PhD and honorary doctorate in education. In 2014, Lorrie was adopted into the Kiks.adi clan and is carried by the name Gax̱.áansán. Last year, Lorrie conducted her Fulbright research in the UK focused on best practices in music education that support childrenʼs creativity, agency, well-being and identity. With roughly 60 fluent native speakers left in Alaska, there is a pressing need to do more. Sealaska Heritage Instituteʼs Thru the Cultural Lens provided her with a sound foundation in history, culture and language of this place. She has learned so much piloting the Haa Ḵusteeyí curriculum unit with Jinkasee.ee.
Jinkasee.ee (Rose Willard)
Jinkasee.ee (Rose Willard) is the Cultural Specialist with the Indian Studies Program at Mendenhall River Elementary School and a lead drummer with Woosh.ji.Een Dance Group. One of 16 heritage language scholars, Jinkasee.ee received a full scholarship to participate in a unique program offered through a partnership with Sealaska Heritage Institute and the University of Alaska Southeast called Haa Yoo X̱ʼatángi Deiyí (Our Language Pathway). “As a cultural specialist in elementary schools, I am excited to study the Lingít language with the hopes of bringing more language and fluency into the classrooms. Being in this program has been a great opportunity to connect with other language learners and teachers as we work towards making Lingít language learning the focus for our youth and future generations.”
Breakout Session
Culturally Responsive and Sustaining ELA Classrooms
What does a culturally responsive and sustaining English Language Arts classroom look like, sound like, and feel like? This session will give educators an opportunity to explore how teacher and student identities, social relationships, text selection, and pedagogical practices all impact student growth, success and happiness. Come ready to reflect, learn and share promising practices that make learning more relevant and empower students intellectually, socially, emotionally, and politically.
- Geneviève DeBose is a Literacy Coach who has spent nearly 20 years teaching and learning alongside middle school students in Los Angeles, Oakland and the south Bronx. A proud National Board Certified teacher, she believes that education is a tool for social justice and that learning experiences for children should be culturally relevant, student-centered and interactive. She is a member of the Teaching Tolerance Advisory Board, loves the Black Teacher Project and the Project LIT Community, has served as a Teaching Ambassador Fellow at the U.S. Department of Education, and can be found freestyling over an instrumental beat or playing in a capoeira roda. She earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Ethnic Studies and a Master’s Degree in Education from University of California, Berkeley. She currently works at the Partnership for Los Angeles Schools, one of the largest, in-district public school transformation organizations in the U.S., as a Literacy Coach at a middle school in Watts.
Breakout Session
The Equity Check-Up: How Do I Know if My Practices are Aligned?
During a time when being a good educator feels more overwhelming than ever, it can feel all but impossible to ensure that our practices are also inclusive and equitable. However, now, more than ever, educators must reflect on our decisions and practices that could be contributing to inequitable learning environments. Administrators, instructional coaches, and teachers who attend this session will spend some time reflecting on what equitable spaces look like, feel like, and sound like. Most importantly, they will leave with some concrete strategies for performing equity check-ups in their own schools.
Monica Washington is a professional development designer and an instructional coach for BetterLesson supporting teachers and other instructional coaches across the country as they make positive shifts in instruction and leadership. A decorated educator of over twenty years, Monica has received honors and awards from a wide variety of organizations for her leadership, advocacy, and classroom instruction. She is a 2015 Milken Unsung Hero Fellow and a 2015 NEA Foundation Global Fellow. In addition to instructional coaching, Monica supports teachers through workshops, speaking engagements, and blogging for Education Post. Her, “4 Things Great Principals Don’t Do,” was the most read and shared Education Week opinion post of 2017. She is passionate about creating equitable and inclusive school environments that celebrate teacher and student voice, and she serves as a Leading Educator Ambassador for Equity for the Education Civil Rights Alliance. Additionally, she serves on the Board of Directors for the National Education Association Foundation. Monica is the 2014 Texas Teacher of the Year.
Breakout Session
Centering the Margins through Curriculum and Pedagogy
In this session, participants will be introduced to the work of racial equity scholars like Paris & Alim, Love, Cobb & Krownapple, Gorski, and Domínguez who call for liberatory educational practices grounded in abolitionism and culturally sustaining and revitalizing pedagogies. Participants will explore the “White gaze” and be challenged to rethink biases and approaches that center Whiteness. Conversations will focus on how to begin asking critical questions that bring into focus those students, histories, and perspectives that have been pushed to the margins.
Michelle Cottrell-Williams (she/her) is the 2018 Virginia Teacher of the Year. She is a disruptor who encourages others to rethink the status quo. Michelle taught high school Social Studies in Arlington, VA for 13 years and now serves as an instructional coach. She is most passionate about supporting teachers to create cultures of safety and belonging. She was inspired by Brené Brown to focus on forming relationships with students built on vulnerability, trust, and empathy. If Michelle had to choose which animal best represents her personality, it would have to be a unicorn: part glitter, part rebel.
Founder of Undone Consulting, Leigh Ann Erickson is the proud sister, daughter, and granddaughter of teachers and has been in education for fifteen years. After teaching in NYC and Chicago Public Schools, Erickson learned firsthand the unjust challenges and barriers students of color face in school. Now, in Mt. Vernon, she works to teach her predominantly white students to use their privilege to advocate for others. Erickson has developed and taught Social Justice and African American literature curriculum, content that addresses implicit bias, White privilege, and historical oppression of people of color. She is the founder of Compassionate Curriculum and the Connect, Absorb, Respond, and Empower (CARE) conference that brings authentic and relationship-building conversations about race and bias into high schools. She is also the education consultant for Freedom Lifted, a Civil Rights tour company that she earned a bachelors degree in English and Spanish from the University of Delaware and a Masters Degree in Teaching from Pace University in New York City. She was awarded the HER Woman of Achievement Award in the Eastern Iowa Gazette, and was a 2019 finalist for Iowa Teacher of the Year.
Breakout Session
Finding Equity: Shifting Power Structures in Your Classroom
Create a classroom rooted in culturally sustaining pedagogy and community building. These strategies along with strong relationships and high expectations for rigor creates successful outcomes for students of color. By shifting the power to your students, you are able to build authentic relationships and use their values and culture to guide learning, community agreements, and accountability.
Qorsho Hassan is a bilingual educator, researcher, and community organizer. She is the 2020 Minnesota Teacher of the Year and teaches fourth grade at ISD 196 (Rosemount-Apple Valley-Eagan). Qorsho is the artist and co-author behind the exhibit and book “Urur Dhex-Dhexaad Ah: Community In-Between,” which presents color portraits, first-person video stories, and written narratives of Somali-Americans from Columbus, Ohio. She is a strong advocate for educational equity and amplifying student voice and agency. Qorsho serves on the board of 826 MSP, a creative writing and tutoring nonprofit in South Minneapolis that serves students of color.
