Protocols We Used
Texts we Read
- A selection from ‘Between the World and Me’ by Ta-Nehisi Coates
- What ‘white folks who teach in the hood’ get wrong about education by Kenya Downs, featured on PBS.org
- Changing the Discourse in Schools by Eubanks, Parish & Smith (this is a longer selection)
- How White People Subtly Reinforce White Supremacy When They Laugh at Black Names
Houston SRI affiliate, Alisha Breakfield, shared her reflection and take-aways from the event.
As I reflected on the retreat, and the State of SRI Address in particular, quite a few thoughts came to mind. The great news was that after 20+ years, SRI is still thriving and striving to improve collaboration among professionals for the benefit of students.
My big take away was that we need a greater level of participation. It is great that teachers and administrators are utilizing the protocols; however, there is a next step of participation that SRI needs. At the retreat, we learned that SRI is working to improve the webpage and provide greater access to meet the needs of facilitators. However, feedback from facilitators on their need is necessary to make those improvements. Many of us have been working with SRI for many years and are doing some things to facilitate this work with participants, and the question that remains is ‘what can SRI do to help?’
This question actually presented a different question to me, ‘What can I do to help?’ The primary request was for feedback – I/We can do that! What else can we do? We can become affiliates and encourage others to register as SRI affiliates so that they are receiving updated information. More importantly, talk about SRI and the benefits and successes that you have experienced because of your use or involvement with SRI.
If we actively answer ‘what can I do to help’, it will answer their question of ‘what can SRI do to help’. As I listened to and observed veteran facilitators, some of whom were founding members of SRI, they epitomized a passion for effective and organized collaboration.
I was so appreciative for the opportunity to learn from each of the attendees. Thank you for the experience. I look forward to the next time we meet.
