Two Cohorts of Participation

Cohort 1: Creating a BIPOC Learning Community with Care & Collaboration

Description

This cohort is specifically designed to support a joyful learning community of teachers who are Black Indigenous, or People of Color (BIPOC), committed to strengthening our work towards educational justice. With care and collaboration, we will build a learning community where our multiple identities, cultures, and ancestral knowledges can be honored, affirmed, and sustained. We will reimagine what a transformative and more liberatory educational experience looks and feels like for ourselves and for our students. As part of that work we will explore language, frameworks, and tools to understand and challenge how white supremacy culture operates at the intersection of racism, ableism, and other forms of oppression. Together we will develop a connected community of BIPOC teachers, supporting one another through celebrations and challenges and learning from our strengths and curiosities.

Objectives

P-12 BIPOC teachers are invited to participate in this EduDesign cohort community to explore these questions with us:

• How do we honor our intersectional identities and ancestral backgrounds within the classroom? 

• How do the origins and history of schooling in the U.S. impact BIPOC students’ and teachers’ experiences? What do schools measure, and how does this compare to what we want our students to gain from schooling?

• How can we use the skills and understanding we are cultivating around racial justice to advance disability justice?

• How do we grow asset-based thinking about ourselves and our students in a white supremacist culture? How can we advocate for the specific needs of ourselves as BIPOC educators and our BIPOC students?

• How do we develop a community of care and collaborative mentorship with teachers across districts?

Cohort 2: Building Momentum for Justice in Schools

Description:

Open to all P-12+ teachers, together we will support each other in our professional commitments to justice work. We will consider how white supremacy culture enables racism, ableism, and other forms of oppression to permeate our schools. Through strategies and interrogating these intersecting forms of oppression, we will strengthen our confidence to grow spaces of intersectional liberation within our own school contexts. With opportunities to connect and grow with teachers across different districts, we will also explore ways to sustain ourselves, develop our justice work, and lift one another up.

Objectives:

P-12+ teachers are invited to participate in this EduDesign cohort community to explore these questions with us:

• How can we grow relationships, develop collective mentorship, and build community to lift each other up in our justice work? 

• How can we leverage an analysis of white supremacy culture to dismantle racism, ableism, and other forms of oppression?

• How can we effectively use an asset-based lens for our students, their families, and ourselves?

• How do we strengthen our professional commitment to justice work while working in schools that perpetuate oppression? 

• What can it look like to grow spaces of intersectional liberation in schools?

• How do we collectively sustain ourselves and maintain our wellbeing as we meet the needs of our students in educationally just ways?

Two Pathways Inside the Cohorts:

In order to better meet the needs of teachers at different places in their careers we’re also offering two pathways for participating in each of the two cohorts:

Pathway A: Available for teachers in the first 1-3 years of teaching as they acclimate to their new roles. We’ll be working on community building, navigating challenges, recognizing celebrations, and introducing frameworks and resources to support your teaching experience. Up to 12 clock hours

Two In-Person Saturdays: 9am-12pm PST + Four Online Saturdays: 9am-10:30am PST

Pathway B: Open to teachers in their 2nd year and beyond for a deeper learning experience. We’ll engage in all of the things mentioned above for Pathway A. In addition, we’ll have more time to delve into the frameworks and resources, and further explore implications for our practice. Up to 18 clock hours

Two In-Person Saturdays: 9am-12pm PST + Four Online Saturdays: 9am-12pm PST
Participants in both pathways of each cohort will meet together for the in-person October and April sessions. We will also meet together for the first half of each online session. At the mid-way point of our online sessions, participants in Pathway A will have completed the session for the day while participants in Pathway B will stay on to dive more deeply into the work. Each participant will choose the cohort and pathway that best suits them: First year teachers are encouraged to choose Pathway A. Second and third year teachers may choose between Pathways A & B. Teachers in their fourth year and beyond are invited to choose Pathway B.

Professional Learning Standards

National Board Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS):

• Teachers are committed to students and their learning

• Teachers think systematically about their practice and learn from experience

• Teachers are members of learning communities

Cultural Competency, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Standards:

• Understanding Self
• Understanding Others
• Responsiveness
• Relationships
• Communication
• Service
• Shared Expertise
• Collaboration
• Shared Decision-Making