29TH NAIS PEOPLE OF COLOR CONFERENCE | 23RD STUDENT DIVERSITY LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE
2016 NAIS PoCC | SDLC
PREVIEW DECEMBER 8–10 | ATLANTA
GEORGIA WORLD CONGRESS CENTER | OMNI CNN CENTER HOTEL
PoCC.NAIS.ORG #NAISPoCC #NAISSDLC
NAIS WELCOME DONNA OREM NAIS Interim President
CAROLINE G. BLACKWELL NAIS Vice President for Equity and Justice
It is with great joy that we invite you to join us in Atlanta for the 29th annual NAIS People of Color Conference and Student Diversity Leadership Conference, December 8–10. Planning for these events has included months of thought-provoking conversations with our local committee, SDLC faculty, and NAIS staff. We are excited to convene our community once again to explore our theme, Advancing Human and Civil Rights: Fulfilling the Dream Together, and the 2016 SDLC theme, Dreaming Out Loud: Waking Up to a New Era of Civil Rights. The mission of PoCC is to provide a safe space for leadership, professional development, and networking for people of color and allies of all backgrounds in independent schools. PoCC thrives because of its distinctive mission and the focused opportunity it offers to examine and advance educational issues through the lens of people of color and their unique experiences in the independent school sector. The rich and complex diversity of location, background, thought, knowledge, and perspective assembled at PoCC challenges the status quo, drives professional and personal growth, and develops and renews a culture of equity and inclusion in our schools. Your personal contribution is important because it takes a resounding chorus to drive change — change that will help us fulfill the dream together. Please use this virtual preview to plan your time at the conference and choose pre- and post-conference activities to enhance your experience. Get a sneak peek at our inspiring lineup of speakers and learn more about other activities, such as the NAIS Equity Seminars, Learning Labs, Spotlight on Tech and Equity, and PoCC Makerspace. Don’t forget to keep checking pocc.nais.org for more details about workshops, travel, and accommodations. Let’s make our dreams our reality in Atlanta. We’re eager to see you there.
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LOCAL COMMITTEE
CO-CHAIR WELCOME HOPE. POWER. LOVE. DIGNITY.
OMAN FRAME Junior High Diversity Coordinator and Homebase Teacher The Paideia School (GA)
These are just a few of the many words that came to mind when we began discussing the 2016 NAIS People of Color Conference theme, Advancing Human and Civil Rights: Fulfilling the Dream Together. As we’ve continued the work of bringing this conference to you, we’ve examined the intricacies of the theme and felt the weight of the words in preparation for hosting this singular conference experience.
NISHANT N. MEHTA Head of School The Children’s School (GA)
With its deep ties to the American civil rights movement, Atlanta is an evocative setting for this year’s PoCC and SDLC. Please join us here. Voice the words that resonate most with you as we think, speak, reflect, and act on what human and civil rights mean to our independent schools.
MARCIA PREWITT SPILLER Vice President and Dean for Academic Affairs Woodward Academy (GA)
SYLVIA RODRIGUEZ VARGAS Assistant Head of School and Academic Dean Atlanta Girls’ School (GA)
CONFERENCE HISTORY
1989 1990 1988 The First National Conference for Teachers and Administrators of Color in Independent Schools
Common Ground
Unity in the Midst of Diversity
1991
Each year, the host city and conference theme have given PoCC and SDLC a unique character and cultural perspective.
1992
From Thought to Action
Vision 2020
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OVERVIEW THE DESTINATION
IMPORTANT DATES
OCTOBER 7
Early bird rates expire
NOVEMBER 4 Last day to cancel
REGISTRATION RATES MEMBER INDIVIDUAL
$640 EARLY BIRD $720 REGULAR MEMBER GROUP
$620 EARLY BIRD
$680 REGULAR
NONMEMBER INDIVIDUAL
$920 EARLY BIRD
$980 REGULAR
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For 29 years, PoCC has nurtured and sustained people of color in independent schools. By accepting long-practiced community norms, attendees, speakers, presenters, and staff help create a space that lifts up, protects, and affirms the dignity and lived experience of people of color in independent schools. In this way, the conference becomes both a sanctuary and a wellspring for those who, by virtue of their race or ethnicity,
Los Colores de la Educación — Continuing to Build Environments in Independent Schools That Address the Needs and Issues of Children and Adults of Color
#NAISPoCC | #NAISSDLC
1996
To make the most of the conference, PoCC’s norms invite you to lean into discomfort and accept conflict as a catalyst for self-reflection and change. You are further asked to be fully present, suspend judgment of yourself and others, and listen actively before speaking from your personal perspective. Community norms help establish the context for full, authentic, and mutually respectful engagement from the start of the conference and allow you to depart PoCC renewed, re-energized, and recommitted.
1997
1995 Lighting the Way to the A Vision for Building Millennium: Our Selves, New Alliances Our Children, Our Schools
Journey to Spirit: Solidarity and Voice Through Dialogue
1998
Seeing Beyond — Becoming Advocates for Creating Multicultural Educational Institutions
MAKE THE MOST OF THE NAIS PEOPLE OF COLOR CONFERENCE
1994
1993
PoCC programming will take place at the Georgia World Congress Center (GWCC), Building A, and SDLC programming will be at the Omni CNN Center. We encourage conference participants to enjoy Atlanta’s attractions, including the Center for Civil and Human Rights, the Georgia Aquarium, the Martin Luther King, Jr., National Historic Site, the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library, and more — all in downtown Atlanta.
experience independent schools differently. As a conference participant, you will have the opportunity to embody interactional principles that advance equity, and to create connections with others who remain committed to building and sustaining independent school communities in which people of color can thrive.
Puerto Rico — The Caribbean: Encounter History, Culture, and Self
FOLLOW PoCC AND SDLC ON TWITTER USING # NAISPoCC AND # NAISSDLC. PoCC WORKSHOPS During the conference you can select workshops in four time blocks, including a condensed block on Saturday morning. Workshops are organized in the following tracks:
++Equity and Inclusion Exemplars:
Programs, Models, Best Practices
++Intercultural Dialogue, Facilitation, and Conversational Leadership
++Leadership, Management, and Organizational Change
AFFINITY GROUP WORK AT PoCC PoCC hosts affinity group sessions to provide an opportunity for sharing and exploring your life and experiences within safe and supportive spaces defined by membership in a specific racial or ethnic identity group. Led by a team of trained facilitators, affinity group participants celebrate identities, share successes and challenges, and engage freely. The overarching vision for PoCC affinity group work includes
++Racial and Ethnic Identities:
++facilitating opportunities for affirming,
++Self-Efficacy and Empowerment:
++discussing issues related to racial/ethnic
nurturing, and celebrating lived experience; and
Developmental Models, Frameworks, Approaches Mind, Body, Spirit
++Teaching to Transform: ClassroomBased Innovations
identity development in a safe environment where people who share that racial or ethnic identity can generate community, fellowship, and empowerment.
DIALOGUE Throughout the conference, you will have several distinct opportunities to engage in dialogue with your peers:
++Affinity Group Sessions ++State and Regional Meetings ++Adult-Student Dialogue
The Children Are Our Business
Anita L. Sanchez will serve as the lead facilitator for the affinity group work. She is an organization development consultant, trainer, and speaker focused on diversity and inclusion, large system change, team building, and coaching.
Affinity groups are designed specifically to encourage interaction among
2001 Connecting Cultures, Connecting Worlds
2002
Mosaic: Connecting Communities for Action
2000
1999
WHICH AFFINITY GROUP DO I ATTEND?
members of the same racial or ethnic background. Although each of us may lay claim to multiple identities, affinity group sessions call participants into community based on their racial and ethnic identity. You know you are in the right affinity group if you can say unequivocally, “I am ” and speak to that group’s collective racial or ethnic identity and experience from the “I” and “we” perspective. To preserve the safety and integrity of the affinity group space, you should attend only those sessions that correspond with the racial and ethnic identity to which you belong. This is not a space to learn about the racial or ethnic identity of others, including that of a child, spouse, or partner.
Bridging Cultures, Sharing Stories
2003
2004
PoCC E Huaka’i Pū Kākou
PoCC Miami: Gateway
(Let’s Voyage Together)
to Multiculturalism
SDLC X Marks the Spot
SDLC Connecting to Self, Connecting to Others
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HIGHLIGHTS FUN RUN/WALK/ROLL AND WELLNESS CLASSES
LGBT SOCIAL HOUR
THURSDAY AND FRIDAY
6:30 – 7:30 PM
FRIDAY
6:00 – 7:00 AM Join fellow attendees for a refreshing start to the day with a fun run/walk/roll, Zumba, or yoga class.
CLUB POCC
PoCC NETWORKING COFFEE BREAKS AND BOOK SIGNINGS
BLACK MECCA OF THE SOUTH TOUR
THURSDAY AND FRIDAY
WEDNESDAY
9:30 – 10:00 AM
10:00 AM – 12:00 PM (TOUR #1) 1:00 – 3:00 PM (TOUR #2)
After the opening ceremonies and general sessions, grab a cup of coffee or tea and network before heading off to the next conference activity.
FRIDAY
9:00 PM – 12:00 AM
SATURDAY
1:15 – 3:15 PM (TOUR #3)
TICKET REQUIRED $45
Each tour limited to 50 participants.
STATE AND REGIONAL MEETINGS
A local historian will lead attendees on a comprehensive tour of historic sites FRIDAY around Atlanta. Attendees will visit the 3:45 – 5:00 PM birth home of Dr. Martin Luther King, Take advantage of this dedicated time Jr., the Sweet Auburn Avenue Historic to meet with others from your state and regional associations. Connect, meet, plan, District, the Alonzo Herndon Museum network, and more. During these self-orga- and Mansion, and much more. nized and self-directed gatherings, you will have an opportunity to interact with colleagues; learn more about diversity, equity and social justice initiatives, and programming taking place in your state and regional associations; and collaborate in service to improved outcomes for all.
2006
2010 2009
PoCC At the Crossroads: Deepening Perspectives of the Cultural Kaleidoscope
PoCC Nourishing Ourselves for the Swim Upstream
PoCC Learning from the Past, Leading for the Future
PoCC Music for Life. Food for Thought. Friendships That Sustain.
PoCC Moving Mountains: Mining Within
SDLC Collide-o-scope:
SDLC Upstream, Uphill,
SDLC The Time is Now
SDLC Preserving Self,
Up to Us
Ours: The Responsibility to Navigate the Rapids of Change
Twisting Lenses, Seeing Change
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2008
2005
2007
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Building Community, and Sustaining Change
SDLC Mine, Yours &
PoCC Catching the Tides of Change, Riding the Waves of Opportunity SDLC Coast 2 Coast, Seek to See
MASTER CLASS WITH DAVID JOHNS
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT INITIATIVE
FRIDAY
The NAIS Equity and Justice Team has created the Community Engagement Initiative to establish a more permanent relationship with the PoCC host city and to advance each region’s specific educational equity, diversity, and inclusion needs and interests. Visit the Atlanta Community Engagement Initiative booth in the PoCC Hub, and learn more at pocc.nais.org.
10:15 AM – 12:15 PM TICKET REQUIRED
The PoCC master class is an opportunity for diversity professionals and other change agents to engage with a noted authority on critical and timely concerns in equity, diversity, and social justice to spur greater engagement and sustainable change throughout the independent school sector. Join your colleagues for an inspiring, provocative conversation with Executive Director of the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for African Americans David Johns. The Initiative’s mission is to “restore the country to its role as a global leader in education” by reversing and disrupting the policies, practices, and systems that have stunted educational progress for African American students. Take lessons from this master class back to your school to improve outcomes for African American and other historically underserved students.
ALL EVENTS TAKE PLACE IN THE GEORGIA WORLD CONGRESS CENTER (GWCC) UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED.
SPONSORED BY CARNEY, SANDOE & ASSOCIATES
PoCC We the People: Painting Our New Mural of Community SDLC Updating Our Status: A Declaration of Interdependence
PoCC Energizing Our Future Through Refining Our Shared Sense of Community
2015
PoCC The Capital’s
PoCC Pit Stops and
PoCC Art, Science,
PoCC Advancing Human
Mosaic: Independent School Leaders Building an Interconnected World
Victory Laps: Going the Distance, Driving Change, Leading the Race Toward Equity and Excellence
Soul, and the Equity Imperative
and Civil Rights: Fulfilling the Dream Together
SDLC Learning to Listen and Listening to Learn: The Art of Dialogue and the Science of Living Justly
SDLC Dreaming Out Loud: Waking Up to a New Era of Civil Rights
SDLC Timeless Resources, SDLC Foresight is 20|20: Renewable Energy
2014
2016
2011
2013
2012
Capitalizing on Our United State
SDLC Leadership at the Wheel Riding at the Speed of Acceptance
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CONFERENCE
SPEAKERS THURSDAY
BRYAN STEVENSON 8:00 – 9:15 AM
JOHN PALMER 10:15 – 11:30 AM
RINKU SEN 5:00 – 6:15 PM
DAVID J. JOHNS 3:30 – 4:45 PM
Bryan Stevenson is the founder and executive director of the Equal Justice Initiative and one of the most acclaimed and respected lawyers in the nation. His memoir, Just Mercy, is the story of a young lawyer fighting on the front lines of a country in thrall to extreme punishments and careless justice.
John Palmer is the chair of the department of educational studies at Colgate University and the author of The Dance of Identities: Korean Adult Adoptees Reflect Upon Their Identity Journeys. His specialties include racial and ethnic identity development and social and cultural foundations of education.
Rinku Sen is the president and executive director of Race Forward: The Center for Racial Justice Innovation, and the publisher of the awardwinning news site Colorlines. She is one of the leading voices in the racial justice movement, building upon the legacy of civil rights by transforming the way we talk about race.
David J. Johns is executive director of the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for African Americans. He has served as an advisor on education, low-income and minority students, neglected youth, and early childhood education in both the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives. Committed to improving literacy among adolescent minority males, Johns has been named to the Root 100 and the Ebony Power 100.
BOOK SIGNING
BOOK SIGNING
SPONSORED BY STRATÉGENIUS
BOOK SIGNING SPONSORED BY EDUCATOR’S ALLY
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FRIDAY
RICHARD BLANCO 8:00 – 9:15 AM Richard Blanco is the fifth inaugural poet in U.S. history — the youngest and also the first Latino, immigrant, and gay person to serve in such a role. Born in Madrid to Cuban exiles and raised in Miami, he has created a body of work concerning the negotiation of cultural identity and place. BOOK SIGNING SPONSORED BY GENE BATISTE CONSULTING
SATURDAY
ZAK EBRAHIM 8:30 – 9:30 AM SDLC KEYNOTE 5:15 – 6:30 PM PoCC KEYNOTE Zak Ebrahim is the author of The Terrorist’s Son: A Story of Choice. When Ebrahim was a child, his father comasterminded the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center. Ebrahim spent the rest of his childhood hiding his identity from those who knew of his father. He now dedicates his life to speaking out against terrorism and spreading his message of peace and nonviolence. BOOK SIGNING
JOY-ANN REID 11:30 AM – 1:00 PM Joy-Ann Reid is a national correspondent for MSNBC and the author of Fracture: Barack Obama, the Clintons, and the Racial Divide. She was previously the host of The Reid Report, a daily program that offered analysis and insight on the day’s news. She was also the managing editor of theGrio.com, a daily online news platform devoted to delivering stories that reflect and affect African American audiences. BOOK SIGNING
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PoCC HUB HOURS
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 8
9:15 AM – 4:45 PM FRIDAY, DECEMBER 9
9:15 AM – 5:30 PM
The PoCC Hub will serve as the central meeting place for attendees. In the Hub, you will have the opportunity to participate in a variety of educational programming and networking activities. You can also visit with representatives from various companies and nonprofit organizations that value diversity and social justice and offer a number of solutions to meet your school’s needs. Visit pocc.nais.org often for information about new programs and events in this year’s Hub.
NAIS MEMBER RESOURCE CENTER Visit the Member Resource Center to learn about Data and Analysis for School Leadership (DASL), Inspiration Lab, NAIS Connect online communities, the NAIS Career Center, and more. Get all your questions answered and participate in hands-on demonstrations.
PoCC BOOKSTORE Take advantage of this great opportunity to pick up books by many of the outstanding conference speakers as well as publications related to social justice and equity in education.
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CELEBRATING YOU: PoCC NETWORKING LUNCH Join us for a complimentary lunch to celebrate you and how important you are to the mission and vision of NAIS!
LEARNING LABS Programming will include workshops and “Stop + Learn Presentations” — quick sessions that offer tricks of the trade and insider tips from experts in the field.
PoCC MAKERSPACE Experience innovation and creativity in action. This vibrant space hosts discussions, demonstrations, workshops, and resources that support the creation and use of makerspaces at your school.
WELLNESS ZONE Take time to participate in important screenings, such as blood pressure, diabetes, and cholesterol. You can also take related resources back to your school to share with colleagues.
TECH SPOTLIGHT Are you using tech equitably? How do we leverage tech to create equity? How might we increase representation of students of color in tech in our schools? Join us to learn and share!
PoCC AT A GLANCE SDLC AT A GLANCE WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 7, 2016
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 7, 2016
8:30 AM – 1:00 PM School Visits 8:30 AM – 4:30 PM Pre-Conference Equity Seminars 8:30 AM – 4:30 PM PoCC Affinity Group Training 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM Black Mecca Tour #1 1:00 – 3:00 PM Black Mecca Tour #2 6:00 – 7:00 PM PoCC First-time Attendee Orientation
6:00 – 6:45 PM 6:00 – 10:00 PM 9:15 – 10:00 PM
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 8, 2016 7:00 – 7:45 AM
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 8, 2016 Wellness Events PoCC/SDLC Opening Ceremonies with Bryan Stevenson 9:15 AM – 4:45 PM PoCC Hub 9:30 – 10:00 AM Book Signing with Bryan Stevenson and Networking Coffee Break 10:15 – 11:30 AM Workshop Session A 10:15 – 11:30 AM Featured Speaker: John Palmer with Book Signing 11:45 AM – 12:45 PM Choir Rehearsal 1:00 – 3:00 PM Affinity Group Session 1 3:00 – 3:30 PM Afternoon Coffee Break 3:30 – 4:45 PM Workshop Session B 3:30 – 4:45 PM PoCC General Session with David Johns 5:00 – 6:15 PM PoCC General Session with Rinku Sen 6:30 – 7:00 PM Book Signing with Rinku Sen
7:00 – 7:45 AM
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2016
7:00 – 7:45 AM 8:00 – 8:30 AM 8:30 – 9: 30 AM
6:00 – 7:00 AM 8:00 – 9:15 AM
6:00 – 7:00 AM 8:00 – 9:15 AM 9:15 AM – 5:30 PM 9:30 – 10:00 AM
Wellness Events PoCC General Session with Richard Blanco PoCC Hub Book Signing with Richard Blanco and Coffee Break 10:15 – 11:15 AM Featured Speaker 10:15 – 11:30 AM Workshop Session C 10:15 AM – 12:15 PM Master Class 11:30 AM – 1:00 PM PoCC Networking Lunch 12:00 – 12:45 PM Choir Rehearsal 1:00 – 3:00 PM Affinity Group Session 2 3:00 – 3:30 PM Afternoon Coffee Break 3:45 – 5:00 PM State/Regional Meeting 4:00 – 5:00 PM Choir Rehearsal 5:15 – 6:30 PM PoCC General Session with Zak Ebrahim 6:30 – 7:30 PM LGBT Social Hour 6:45 – 7:15 PM Book Signing with Zak Ebrahim 9:00 PM – 12:00 AM Club PoCC
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 10, 2016 7:00 – 8:00 AM 8:30 – 9:45 AM 8:30 – 9:45 AM 10:00 – 11:00 AM 11:15 AM – 1:00 PM
1:15 – 3:15 PM
Choir Rehearsal Affinity Group Session 3* Workshop Session D Student-Led Adult/Student Dialogues (by State/Region) PoCC/SDLC Closing Ceremonies with Special Recognition of Atlanta-Area Civil Rights Leaders and Keynote Address by Joy-Ann Reid Black Mecca Tour #3 (SUBJECT TO CHANGE)
SDLC Chaperone Orientation I (Choose one) SDLC Peer Facilitator Training (Dinner provided) SDLC Chaperone Orientation II (Choose one)
8:00 – 9:15 AM 9:30 – 10:45 AM 11:00 – 11:45 AM 12:00 – 12:45 PM 1:00 – 5:15 PM 3:00 – 3:45 PM 5:30 – 6:15 PM 6:30 – 8:15 PM 8:30 – 9:30 PM 9:45 – 10:00 PM 10:00 PM 11:00 PM
SDLC Peer Facilitator Training for Wednesday Night Late Arrivals SDLC Chaperone Orientation Session III (Choose one) PoCC/SDLC Opening Ceremonies with Bryan Stevenson SDLC Opening and Silent Movement Family Group Opening Student Luncheon Family/Home Groups Snack Break Student Dinner Family/Home Groups Affinity Groups Regional Groups Students Dismissed to Chaperones Hotel Curfew
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2016 Breakfast with Chaperones Morning Clearing SDLC Keynote Presentation with Zak Ebrahim 9:45 – 10:30 AM Talent Show 10:45 AM – 12:15 PM Affinity Groups 12:30 – 1:30 PM Student Luncheon 1:45 – 3:45 PM Family/Home Groups 3:45 – 4:00 PM Snack Break 4:00 – 5:15 PM Family/Home Groups Continue 5:30 – 6:15 PM Student Dinner 6:30 – 8:15 PM Family Groups 8:30 – 9:45 PM SDLC Closing Ceremonies 10:00 – 11:15 PM Student Dance (Games Option Provided) 11:30 PM Students Dismissed to Chaperones 12:00 AM Hotel Curfew
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 10, 2016 7:00 – 7:45 AM 8:30 – 9:45 AM 10:00 – 11:00 AM 11:15 AM – 1:00 PM
2:00 – 4:00 PM
Breakfast with Chaperones Affinity Group Session 3* Student-Led Adult/Student Dialogues (by State/Region) PoCC/SDLC Closing Ceremonies with Special Recognition of Atlanta-Area Civil Rights Leaders and Keynote Address by Joy-Ann Reid Closing Lunch (SUBJECT TO CHANGE)
* PoCC and SDLC combine for adult/student discussions within race/ethnicity and gender groupings.
PRE-CONFERENCE EVENTS FULL-DAY EQUITY SEMINARS The PoCC Leadership Institute for People of Color and Women AMANI REED Head of School, The School at Columbia University (NY)
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 7
JOE-JOE MCMANUS Executive Director,
8:30 AM – 4:30 PM
Rootstrong
Full Day: $195 (includes a light breakfast; lunch is on your own)
Gain powerful strategies to help you advance to the next level of leadership. This seminar, tailored for people of color and women, will employ the Everything DiSC Work of Leaders Profile. The profile is a premier research-based skills inventory that will provide you with a deeper understanding of your individual leadership strengths and style. This year’s seminar will also introduce a dynamic session with Rootstrong, an organization focused on excellence in multicultural leadership education and development. By exploring the Rootstrong leadership model, you will learn how your cultural roots inform your strengths. You will also find out how competencies ranging from professional excellence to cultural humility prove critical for local, organizational, and global leadership.
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This unique seminar offers state-of-theart leadership development strategies, in-the-moment leadership coaching, and peer exchange and feedback. The encouraging atmosphere is designed to nurture and propel a compelling vision for fulfilling your career goals. The seminar will include in-depth reflection on independent school leadership and the specific differences for leaders of color and women. You will engage in facilitated dialogue with education leaders who will share milestones from their career paths as proven steps for building a career of long-term leadership and personal and professional growth. Topics will include working effectively with a mentor, acquiring the critical skills heads of school wish they had before assuming their positions, and developing professional growth plans. You will also come away with tips for incorporating session takeaways to further your own leadership development. SPONSORED BY CALWEST EDUCATORS PLACEMENT
Seeking Cultural Competence in Hiring: Practical Methods and Strategies for Identifying the Administrators, Staff, and Faculty Needed in 21st Century Independent Schools CRIS CLIFFORD CULLINAN ALiVE: Actual Leadership in Vital Equity RUTH JURGENSEN Francis W. Parker School (IL) KATHRYN KAISER The School at Columbia University (NY) STEVE MORRIS San Francisco School (CA) BELINDA NICHOLSON The School at Columbia University (NY)
Independent schools can no longer afford to hire faculty, administrators, and other staff who are not culturally competent. Lack of cultural competence directly affects the environment for students; it leads to lower achievement rates for underrepresented individuals and miseducation and poor role modeling for all. Hiring without cultural competence in mind also leads directly to problems with retention. Without shared responsibility for inclusion and equity, the overworked few who possess the necessary skills will often want to leave as soon as other opportunities become available.
should include ways to evaluate candidates’ actual knowledge, skills, and abilities to work effectively, respectfully, and inclusively with all current and future members of your school community — colleagues, students, parents, alumni, and community members. Your processes should also differentiate knowledgeable candidates from those who lack these critical skills.
initiatives. Diversity cannot just be about admitting a diverse student body. It must involve establishing truly equitable programs that ensure success for all students. How can your school leverage different cognitive styles and cultural backgrounds to create more successful pathways to student success? Which instructional practices best create multiple pathways to that success?
This seminar is designed to provide you with effective tools to adapt to your own school. Working with other participants, you will identify various dimensions of cultural competence and focus on the ones that represent the most critical needs for positions in your particular school. You will also learn practical methods and strategies, including ways to design appropriate advertisements, improve paper screening procedures, and write effective interview and reference questions.
This pre-conference experience will leverage the diverse backgrounds and expertise of Kapono Ciotti, CEO and head of school at Wai’alae School, and Jennifer Klein, director of professional development at the World Leadership School. Bring your own experiences, successes, and challenges to the table as you engage in a design thinking lab setting. You will explore a new framework for education and apply instructional strategies such as design thinking and project-based learning to create multiple pathways to student success. You’ll also explore principles related to cultural competencies and learn how these critical skills are foundational for every educator.
From Access to Success: Using Cognition, Culture, Design Thinking, and Instructional Practice to Improve Equitable Outcomes for Diverse Students KAPONO CIOTTI Wai’alae Elementary School (HI)
JENNIFER D. KLEIN World Leadership
For all these reasons, your school should view hiring for any position as an opportunity to improve cultural competency at every level. Your hiring processes
School (CO)
What does success for students look like in an era of focus on student access? This question is of vital importance as schools begin and nurture diversity
#NAISPoCC | #NAISSDLC
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PRE-CONFERENCE EVENTS FULL-DAY EQUITY SEMINARS CONTINUED Not in My School! How White Supremacy and White Privilege Undermine Best Intentions WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 7
EDDIE MOORE, JR. The Privilege Institute DEBBIE IRVING Educator and Author
8:30 AM – 4:30 PM Full Day: $195 (includes a light breakfast; lunch is on your own)
How do current racial events and tensions drive school communities apart? How can you use them instead as teachable, community-building moments?
In this seminar, you will explore a new tool to analyze racial and other systems of oppression; engage in activities to deepen understanding of the origin of differences, their manifestation in recent events, and how they obstruct efforts of equity; and expand your confidence in engaging in systemic school change to increase a positive school environment, particularly for students of color in independent schools. You’ll also prepare an action plan to create tangible goals — short and long term, personal and systemic.
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HAZEL SYMONETTE University of Wisconsin-Madison
The recent surge in highly visible racial incidents and a deeply polarized hatefilled political landscape affects students differently along racial lines. Your independent school has a unique opportunity to deepen understanding and campus engagement. This interactive and challenging session explores how today’s headline stories relate to the impact of power, privilege, and oppression on student and family engagement, teacher preparation, curriculum development, and everyday campus interactions.
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Educators as BoundarySpanning Excellence Facilitators: Maximizing Self-Efficacy for Equity and Social Justice
This interactive workshop will introduce the Integral Educator Model, a holistic protocol for systematic inquiry and reflective practice. This model facilitates and supports boundary-spanning communications and social relations at multiple levels: self-to-self (intrapersonal), self-to-others (interpersonal), and self-to-systems (social structures and processes). The Integral Educator Model enhances self empathy and social empathy by helping you mindfully discern and stand in your own perspectives while imaginatively standing in and engaging others’ perspectives. This seminar will benefit educators in the classroom and beyond who are — or want to become — more learner- and learning-centered. Together with the other participants, you will deepen your understanding of yourself as an educator as you mindfully engage assessment and evaluation practices to enhance interpersonal validity — the soundness and trustworthiness of the uses of self as knower, inquirer, and engager of others and systems.
Advancing Human and Civil Rights Through Effective Listening: A Social Justice Imperative
The Genius of Hip-Hop: Rhyme and Reason in the Classroom
JOHN IGWEBUIKE Alcorn State University
Northern Arizona University
FREDERICK W. GOODING, JR.
Education for Transformation: The Keys to Releasing the Genius of African American Students CHIKE AKUA Teacher Transformation Institute
Educators spend extensive time and resources instructing learners to read, speak, and write. But how much time do they devote to enabling students to truly listen to and understand other human beings with dignity and respect? This seminar explores the rarely discussed art, skill, and practice of effective listening. It acknowledges listening as a radical social justice tool to advance human dignity, understanding, and respect. This seminar is for anyone interested in doing a deep dive into radical listening and start a listening revolution that creates a just, empathetic, and respectbased society. The session uses experiential activities and exercises that focus on alertness, awareness, and attention. You will identify personal listening habits that inhibit or enhance social justice; learn to critically spot exclusive language, stereotypes, and biases; and practice amplifying the voice of others through active listening strategies and techniques. You will also co-construct policies and solutions that spur listening equity within organizations, including your school.
Have you ever listened to hip-hop? Or watched a hip-hop video on TV? Have you listened to someone recite rhymes while they listened intently with their headphones on — or even wondered why they do? If so, you will love this session. This dynamic workshop grows out of the principle that hip-hop performs an important social function and, consequently, so do the mental images hip-hop generates. We start by examining why hip-hop holds such an important place in our culture and exploring its mass market global appeal. We will also seek to understand how something so controversial and marginal could become so mainstream and central. This session infuses historical contextualization as a backdrop against exploration of particular genres, artists, styles, sounds, images, and rhetorical techniques within the hip-hop movement. By exploring the various literary, musical, and methodological techniques hiphop uses, you will better hear and feel the messages, meanings, and impact of this artistic form. You will be introduced to six primary themes that encompass real hip-hop, or hiphopetypes, and use case studies and applied analysis to understand how to connect with today’s students more effectively through this powerful medium.
What methods do master teachers use to reach and teach African American students? What role do teachers’ and students’ cultural knowledge play in producing excellence in African American students? How can you use culture as a bridge rather than a barrier to produce excellence in all students? Educational research is clear and compelling: Culture is the key — the critical mediating factor in increasing achievement for African Americans and other students of color. This session is carefully designed to help educators and leaders move from cultural consciousness to cultural competence. You will be introduced to proven strategies that connect culture and learning and lead to greater student interest, engagement, and achievement. Your presenter is award-winning educator, author, and international speaker Chike Akua. He will draw on his best-selling book, Education for Transformation: The Keys to Releasing the Genius of African American Students. Explore new ways of engaging students that will make them more critical, analytical, and reflective about the world around them and within them. You’ll leave with practical strategies and resources to take your teaching to the next level.
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PRE-CONFERENCE EVENTS HALF-DAY EQUITY SEMINARS Presenting Like a Boss: What Every Novice Workshop Presenter Needs to Know
Beyond the Why and into the How: Inclusive Classroom Practices ROSETTA LEE Seattle Girls’ School (WA)
ANGELA N. BROWN The Pike School (MA) WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 7
8:30 AM – 1:00 PM Half Day: $95 (includes a light breakfast)
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Despite numerous opportunities to present at annual conferences, only a small percentage of a school’s faculty and staff submit workshop proposals. Some educators don’t believe their ideas are workshop worthy. Others’ fears of public speaking hinder them from sharing their ideas. Still others are interested but unsure about how to get their supervisors’ support, navigate the proposal-writing process, or design compelling workshops that will engage their audience. If you’re a first-time presenter, this session will equip you with the tools to address your public speaking concerns, create compelling workshop proposals, and design interactive workshops that highlight your expertise. Through small-group discussions and partner sessions, you will define your presentation goals and complete a workshop proposal. Then you’ll create and deliver your three-minute “presenter stump speech” to gain constructive feedback.
We know about the startling opportunity gap in education and society. We’ve learned about identity, culture, communication, and power and how they bring privilege to some and disenfranchise others. We are convinced of why diversity and inclusion are important. But we are unsure about how intention transforms itself into positive impact on student lives. How do we turn commitment into action? What are some strategies and best practices to help us become the educators with whom all children thrive? Come to this session and find out.
SCHOOL VISITS
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 7
8:30 AM – 1:00 PM $50 (Departures will take place from the GWCC, Building A) School Visits allow independent and special-focus schools to host conference attendees for tours and conversation about each institution’s unique mission and culture. School visits also allow participants and hosts to engage in an idea exchange about the ways in which equity, diversity, and multicultural education are manifested in school life and culture. You may choose one school to visit.
Atlanta Girls’ School with Atlanta Speech School (shared campus) Atlanta Girls’ School’s curriculum and culture emerge from a distinct vision of what girls must learn, individually and collectively, to become thoughtful and capable leaders. The school achieves this by using proven and emerging educational techniques tailored to how girls learn, and by integrating bigpicture thinking, high expectations, and leading-edge technologies. Positioned at the intersection of brain science and social science, the Atlanta Speech School brings about transformative change in the lives of children and adults through research-based practices, innovation, advocacy, and partnerships with other organizations. The goal is to help each child at the school and every child in Georgia acquire the language and literacy abilities essential for deciding their own futures.
Woodward Academy
Atlanta International School
Now in its second century of fostering excellence, character, and opportunity, Woodward Academy is the largest independent school in the continental United States. It has 2,700 students spanning two campuses on 133 acres in metro Atlanta. Students develop a deep respect for difference as they collaborate with peers from more than 100 ZIP codes and a broad array of religious, ethnic, and cultural backgrounds.
Atlanta International School sets out to meet the challenges and opportunities of a fast-changing world. It develops students to be responsible citizens and to have flexible intellectual competence, self-discipline, and a global outlook. AIS provides an independent, international, and multilingual education within the framework of the International Baccalaureate (IB) curriculum. The school offers STEM- and STEAM-endorsed and bilingual diplomas in addition to the prestigious IB diploma.
The Children’s School This is a progressive school serving students from age 3 through sixth grade in a diverse community in midtown Atlanta. Grounded in principles of excellence, innovation, and play, the school believes a diverse community is an educational imperative. It also believes that children value the multiple perspectives they receive from peers who bring experiences shaped by differences in race, ethnicity, family structure, socioeconomic status, religion, and other cultural identifiers.
Lovett School and Trinity School (combined visit) The Lovett School serves children from kindergarten through 12th grade. Lovett takes advantage of its proximity to the city of Atlanta by providing students with a range of curricular and co-curricular avenues to engage with the people and institutions that contribute to the city’s rich diversity. Trinity School is a co-ed elementary school serving children from age 3 through sixth grade. Integrated throughout the curriculum, diversity is celebrated year-round. Students are encouraged to bring their full selves to school, to ask questions, and to be accepting of each other’s differences as an integral part of a learning community.
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SDLC LEADERSHIP
TEAM WELCOME With excitement, warmth, passion, and purpose, we invite you and your students to Atlanta for the 23rd annual NAIS Student Diversity Leadership Conference (SDLC).
RODNEY GLASGOW Head of Middle School and Chief Diversity Officer St. Andrew’s Episcopal School (MD) SDLC Chair and Lead Curriculum Facilitator
OSCAR GONZALEZ Director, Teacher and Program Development Generation Teach (CO) SDLC Lead Logistics Facilitator
COLLINUS NEWSOME Policy Advisor, Office of the Superintendent Aurora Public Schools (CO) SDLC Lead Faculty Facilitator
Throughout the school year, students in independent schools work hard to educate their peers around issues of equity and justice. You support them in that work, and SDLC is an extension of that support. SDLC is known for its positive impact on the students who participate and the schools they represent. They use the techniques of dialogue, experiential learning, and cross-cultural and interpersonal exchange that have characterized SDLC over nearly a quarter of a century. In Atlanta, our theme Dreaming Out Loud: Waking Up to a New Era of Civil Rights will call us to explore the rich history of civil rights as inspiration for grappling with the modern issues of inclusion that face our schools, our nation, and our world today. SDLC stands in strong partnership with the common mission of all of our schools: to educate students for global citizenship and ethical leadership. By developing students who practice empathy in action and seek wisdom from meaningful interaction across multiple perspectives, SDLC’s faculty of adult educators and college activists (who are also SDLC alumni!) are pleased to serve your student delegates over our three days together. More than 80 years ago, Atlanta gave birth to Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and his legacy of motivating youth to take positive and peaceful action. We now go to that place and seek the source of that energy, reminded of Dr. King’s famous adage, “The time is always right to do what is right.” We look forward to our time together. We hope to see you there.
Find SDLC forms, rules, and regulations at pocc.nais.org.
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STUDENT DIVERSITY LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE SDLC is a multiracial, multicultural gathering of upper school student leaders (grades 9-12) from across the U.S. SDLC focuses on self-reflecting, forming allies, and building community. Led by a diverse team of trained adult and peer facilitators, participants will develop effective cross-cultural communication skills and better understand the nature and development of effective strategies for social justice. They will also practice expression through the arts and learn networking principles and strategies. In addition to large-group sessions, SDLC “family groups” and “home groups” allow for small-group, often intense, dialogue and sharing. You can find more information at pocc.nais.org.
SDLC REGISTRATION SDLC sells out quickly each year. Here is important information to keep in mind as you make your plans. All forms are at pocc.nais.org. Who is eligible to attend: SDLC is open only to independent school students who are part of a member-school delegation, authorized by said school’s administration, and chaperoned by said school personnel. How many students attend SDLC: The conference is limited to 1,600 studentparticipants. NAIS accepts registrants on a first-come, first-served basis. How many of your school’s students may register: A maximum of six (6) students may register from any given school. NAIS strictly enforces this sixstudent registration limit. What you must do to make sure your students are correctly registered: All necessary forms for your entire student delegation must be completely filled out and submitted together at the time of registration. Otherwise, their registrations will not be processed and their spaces will not be reserved. Note that your students’ forms are not complete without required signatures from parents or guardians, so obtain the signatures before you get ready to upload your forms.
REMINDERS:
++All students attending must be
enrolled at the school listed on their documents, and they must all be chaperoned by faculty personnel from that school. ++If your school brings fewer than six students to the conference, you may not give, share, or otherwise attempt to delegate so-called “unused spaces” to other schools. ++Any transgression of the six-students-per-school limit — or any other violations of the terms of the SDLC participation agreements between NAIS and delegate school, parent, or guardian — will nullify your school’s (and student’s) participation in the conference. ++If your students’ forms are not complete, your students’ spaces are not reserved.
DIVERSITY 201 Returning students who are not serving as peer facilitators may join an advanced family group called Diversity 201. Diversity 201 is a specialized experience designed to allow returning participants to dig deeper into issues of identity, power, privilege, and allyship. Diversity 201 is limited to 100 participants, with no more than two (2) participants from the same school.
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HOTEL AND TRAVEL
INFORMATION HOTEL INFORMATION
GETTING TO THE CONFERENCE CENTER
Omni CNN Center Atlanta Headquarters Hotel
GWCC Building A is centrally located in the heart of downtown Atlanta. It is accessible via car, shuttle, and taxi from Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport. It is also within walking distance of the conference hotels.
100 CNN Center, Atlanta, GA 30303 Single/Double: $201
MORE INFORMATION For more detailed directions and information about the Georgia World Congress Center, please visit gwcc.com. For more details about hotel rates and bookings, please visit pocc.nais.org/registration.
Embassy Suites Atlanta — Centennial Olympic Park
267 Marietta Street, Atlanta, GA 30313 Single/Double: $189 Westin Peachtree Plaza
210 Peachtree Street, NW, Atlanta, GA 30303 Single/Double: $169
GETTING TO THE CONFERENCE Getting to and traveling around Atlanta is easy, convenient, and affordable. All PoCC programming will take place at the Georgia World Congress Center (GWCC), Building A. All SDLC programming will take place at the Omni CNN Center Hotel. Georgia World Congress Center (GWCC), Building A
285 Andrew Young International Boulevard, NW, Atlanta, GA 30313 Omni CNN Center Hotel
100 CNN Center, NW, Atlanta, GA 30303
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PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION INFORMATION
The Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA) is Atlanta’s public transportation system. MARTA is made up of a bus and rail system that connects all parts of Atlanta. A single $2.50 fare covers one-way bus or train trips, including transfers. The station for GWCC Building A is the Dome/GWCC/Philips Arena/ CNN Center Station. If you are coming from HartsfieldJackson Atlanta International Airport, MARTA has a rail station located at the north end of the airport, near baggage claim. This service offers the quickest and least expensive way to get to and from the airport to downtown Atlanta.
CONFERENCE
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