2025 Symposium Program

Gesu School’s 27th Annual Symposium on Education

Keynote Speaker | Dr. Eddie Glaude, Jr. James S. McDonnell Distinguished University Professor of African American Studies Princeton University

Moderator | Dr. Howard Stevenson Constance Clayton Professor of Urban Education University of Pennsylvania

January 30, 2025

Welcome Welcome to Gesu School’s Symposium on Education. As a pioneer in urban education, Gesu is constantly focused on identifying new ways to better serve our students, while remaining committed to sharing key learnings and supporting educators’ hard work and creativity. This year’s Symposium topic is Teaching Civil Discourse in Our Current Society. I am pleased to welcome Dr. Eddie Glaude, Jr. to lead tonight’s conversation as keynote speaker and Dr. Howard Stevenson as moderator of the Q&A session.

Teaching children to listen thoughtfully to others, ask questions, and value other opinions, especially when they disagree, is central to encouraging civil discourse.

How do educational institutions, teachers, and individuals empower children to develop these skills? For schools to become spaces where civil discourse is practiced, and can flourish, they must be intentional in teaching children how to exchange ideas in ways that seek to expand knowledge and understanding. The Symposium offers strategies to teach students to engage mindfully with pressing topics and with each other.

We hope that you find today’s conversation impactful and that our work generates new ideas to inspire educators and benefit children in our region and across the nation. Thank you for joining us!

Peace and blessings,

Bryan Carter | President and CEO, Gesu School

Gesu School relies on the generosity of sponsors and donors to support both the Symposium and the education we provide to 400 children. We invite you to support our mission by visiting gesuschool.org or scanning the QR code.

Thank you!

Eddie Glaude, Jr., Ph.D. Keynote Speaker One of the nation’s most prominent scholars, Dr. Glaude is an author, political commentator, public intellectual and passionate educator who examines the complex dynamics of the American experience. Glaude is the James S. McDonnell Distinguished University Professor at Princeton University. He frequently appears in the media, as a columnist for TIME magazine, and as an MSNBC contributor. In his writing and speaking, Dr. Glaude is an American critic in the tradition of James Baldwin and Ralph Waldo Emerson, confronting history and bringing our nation’s complexities, vulnerabilities, and hope into full view.

Howard Stevenson, Ph.D. Moderator Dr. Stevenson is the Constance Clayton Professor of Urban Education, Professor of Africana Studies, in the Human Development & Quantitative Methods Division of the Graduate School of Education at the University of Pennsylvania. He is the Executive Director of the Racial Empowerment Collaborative, a research, program development, and training center that brings together community leaders, researchers, authority figures, families, and youth to study and promote racial literacy and health in schools and neighborhoods.

Program WELCOME AND INTRODUCTION Naim, 8th Grade, Gesu School

KEYNOTE ADDRESS Dr. Eddie Glaude, Jr. Princeton University

AUDIENCE Q&A Dr. Howard Stevenson University of Pennsylvania

CLOSING REMARKS Bryan Carter President and CEO, Gesu School

VIP RECEPTION Gesu Library, First Floor

Management Team Bryan H. Carter, President and CEO

Carolynn Thompson, Chief Financial Officer

Alana D. Lee, Principal

Ed Beckett, Vice President for Mission, Identity, and Inclusion

Robert S. Weinstein, Vice President of Institutional Advancement

Mark Smith, Director of Facilities

Gesu’s Mission Gesu School, an independent Catholic school located in North Philadelphia, is recognized as a national model for urban education.

Gesu provides holistic education to 400 children in grades Pre-K through 8. Inspired by the Jesuit and IHM traditions of social justice, faith, creative hope, and love, Gesu School’s mission is to help students to transcend all forms of poverty by providing a comprehensive, innovative education. We empower our students to develop their strengths, overcome challenges, and become positive, engaged members of the community and the world.

Thank You to Our Sponsors!

Presenting Sponsor

Valedictorian Sponsor

Maguire Foundation

The Solomon Family

Salutatorian Sponsors

Friend Sponsors

Kerry and Rod Henkels

St. Joseph’s University ACEJU Fellowship Program

Kate Hovde and Ken Kulak Greg Rigdon and Molly Murphy

@GesuSchool

@GesuSchool

Go Forward Education Foundation

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