Educators for Equity: Launching a new Professional Development partnership with InterFaith Works of CNY

Peaceful Schools and InterFaith Works of Central New York have teamed up to offer Educators for Equity, a strategic planning and development series to engage K-12 school districts in fostering cultural and racial equity and inclusion.

Peaceful Schools 25: Educators for Equity from Peaceful Schools on Vimeo.

As individuals and organizations across our society grapple with addressing bias and promoting racial and cultural equity, educators are engaged in crucial conversations about our role in promoting culturally responsive practices in our schools and communities. Peaceful Schools and InterFaith Works believe in approaching the work of ensuring racial and cultural equity through a process grounded in emotional resonance. Emotional resonance occurs when we are actively participating in an event which evokes a deeper empathic connection, providing meaning in a way that enables a person to authentically connect with another person’s experiences. The resonance approach is designed to engage educators in exploring identity and bias through a lens of self-reflection and provides an opportunity to explore the intersectionality of identity so that staff are prompted with a heightened awareness of the role they play in holding a space of equity, respecting race and ethnicity, as they are interacting with students.

This approach is supported by working to provide training participants with a balance of foundational knowledge and skill practice to support the learner’s ability to understand the rationale behind the “how” and the “why” of this work, so that they may apply knowledge and skills with purpose and integrity to the practice. Our presentations and materials build on individuals’ existing strengths while empowering participants to identify areas of personal growth that they seek to build.

Educators for Equity offers an array of options to support schools and districts in:

• Strategic planning for the structural systems and supports to ensure racial equity and culturally relevant practices within a culture of respect and inclusion;
• Racial equity dialogue to create the conditions for personal awareness and engagement in the actions of becoming anti-racist; and
• Collaboratively-designed personalized and individualized services adapted to enhance your school’s social, emotional and instructional structures to foster equity and inclusion in policy and practice.

Are your school leaders and staff looking to engage in structured conversations about racial equity and to implement school-wide culturally-inclusive practices? Contact us today!