January 31, 2019
Let’s Talk About It
From the Executive Director
Have an idea? Let’s talk about it! Join an upcoming conversation with the Executive Director. Make your voice heard SRI. Whether it’s something we haven’t thought about during Fall Meeting, an upcoming Equity Retreat, the latest issues in education regarding equity that we should be talking about, or a new webinar you’d like to see, I want to know what you think – and so does the SRI board of directors. Over the next few months, I’ll be listening to your insights, taking notes, and turning your opinions into action.
Please take advantage of one or all of the Let’s Talk About It sessions. They will be held the first Wednesday of each month beginning February 6, 2019. I’m looking forward to engaging and informative dialogue.
– Deirdre Williams, SRI Excuetive Director
Equity First Retreats
For the past three years, SRI has held an annual series of retreats that help affiliates and facilitators dive deeper into understanding the ‘equity and excellence’ piece of our mission. This year, we will host three Equity First retreats around the country, providing participants an opportunity to think about the connection between equity and excellence, collaborative and reflective practice, identity and bias, and how that all connects to our work as practitioners.
Here are a few takeaways from last year’s participants after spending two days learning with and from one another:
“I want to hold on to that this journey is ongoing and that having questions is good and that challenging and questioning your own facilitation is good. Especially asking how does my racial identity impact my practice?”
“Although I tend to be apprehensive when it comes to discussing current race issues with students, it is time to step-up and shed my inhibitions.”
“My hope is that through community and kindness we can affect change – even tiny change is progress. I hope that I continue to examine and question my identity and how my racial identity impacts my choices.”
“What’s on my mind as a result of the work: I am thinking and will continue to think about for some time, the idea that sometimes not taking the risk – not acting – is actually riskier (or worse) than the thing I’m afraid of. I am also thinking about how generous the participants of this retreat are. I received some of the most authentic, useful feedback I think I’ve ever received in my career today. What a GIFT!”
Are you looking for an experience where you can delve more deeply into what equity means for you in your practice? Register to attend one of the Equity First retreats. Registration is open now, and space in each location is limited. Secure your spot and register today!
Teacher Development Grants
The McCarthey Dressman Education Foundation is offering Teacher Development Grants to support small teams of teachers in the formation and implementation of groundbreaking k-12 classroom instruction. The grants provide opportunities for teachers to integrate fresh strategies that encourage critical inquiry and to observe their effects on students. Teachers have the opportunity to reflect and write about their projects, as well as to share their results with other teachers. The Foundation awards grants to individuals in amounts up to $10,000 per year for a maximum of $30,000 over three years.
We think these grants could support work by SRI affiliates enacting the SRI Mission around equity and collaborative and reflective practices. we would be happy to partner with you to support your professional learning should you decide to pursue this grant opportunity. Please note these grants are meant for licensed k-12 teachers employed in public or private schools.
Learn More About Teacher Development Grants
Please connect with Deirdre Williams, deirdre@schoolreforminitiative.org, if you would like to partner with SRI in designing a grant application.
The HistoryMakers
We know the power of personal stories. They are crucial to capturing history and truly getting to understand each other as humans. We would like to share an important collection of personal stories from African Americans.
The HistoryMakers was founded to address the lack of documentation and preservation of the African American historical record. It captures – one person at a time – the untold personal stories of both well-known and unsung African Americans, and creates a priceless video collection giving those involved their special place in history. The testimonies captured in The HistoryMakers Collection – conducted in homes and offices across the United States and abroad – reveal the broad scope of narratives of African American men and women who have made significant contributions to American life, history, and culture during the 19th, 20th, and 21st centuries. Many of these contributions have largely been untold and unrecorded; and, as a result, are still largely “unknown”. They are “America’s Missing Stories.”
The HistoryMakers is now the single largest collection of African American first-person video oral history testimony in the world. The HistoryMakers is committed to preserving, developing, and providing easy access to its internationally recognized archival collection of thousands of African American video oral histories. By recording the stories of both the well-known and unsung from diverse backgrounds, The HistoryMakers seeks to preserve and elevate the cultural equity of the African American community, as well as to increase the cultural understanding of present and future generations.
Visit the History Makers Archive
Culturally-Relevant Recruitment, Retention, and Responsibility Webinar
February 6; February 20; March 6, 2019 – 12:15PM Eastern
Cost: $95 for the series for SRI affiliates; $125 for non-affiliates
Join SRI and Dr. Liza Talusan (LT Coaching and Consulting, LLC) for a 3-part series on culturally relevant attitudes, behaviors, and actions that support recruitment, retention, and responsibility towards employees from institutionally underrepresented backgrounds.
- Part 1 will focus on why diversity, equity, and inclusion matters in the hiring process. We will go over the big questions that you and your institution should be asking itself about why you would engage in a culturally relevant process.
- Part 2 will focus on creating a more inclusive process that pays attention to the foundation of why we do this work together.
- Finally, Part 3 will explore the big questions around whether the culture, climate and behaviors of your institution are prepared to support and authentically engage with communities from institutionally underrepresented backgrounds.
More Information and Registration
Do you have news to share? Interesting things happening in your area? Please let us know so we can share with our community! Email Chris Jones, chris@schoolreforminitiative.org.
Thank you,
Deirdre Williams, Kari Thierer, and Chris Jones
On behalf of School Reform Initiative
