PEDC's 7th Annual Educator Diversity Virtual Summit

This workshop explores how families, educators, and community members can collaborate to promote culturally responsive and inclusive learning environments. This workshop provides strategies for advocating for curriculum that reflects diverse histories, identities, and perspectives. Participants will learn how to engage with schools effectively, navigate policy discussions, and support equitable education for all students.

My session will discuss how educator diversity is the biggest need in addressing the teacher shortage crisis. We will discuss how understanding education policy is pivotal and the pathways everyone can take to increase diversity in their schools. We will discuss how intersectionality can be a bridge for diverse educators to form alliances. I will share tools, ideas, and my experience as an organizer/advocate that helped me advocate for policies and change in my former district.

White Americans, especially teachers, are also likely to adopt a colorblind approach and to display fragility around more difficult conversations about their complicity in white supremacy. Storytelling has been used in other peace and reconciliation processes to promote social healing. This research examines the impact of integration of a racial identity development narrative and the construction of a counter-narrative on preservice and in-service educators' understanding and insight into their own privilege and the ways that systemic oppression impacts their students. Participants included students who identify as white and were enrolled in undergraduate and graduate programs in education at a small, northeastern, private college.

This training will define and give understanding of racial bullying. The participants will gain a deeper understanding of the impact and consequences, while learning prevention, intervention, and cultural responsiveness strategies. The participants will engage in small group activities to create action steps to help parents and educators collaborate to fight racial bullying.

This research presentation shares emerging findings from a qualitative study examining how Black families contribute to the development of children’s mathematical identity through everyday experiences and interactions. Data from family focus groups and workshops highlight how routine activities, entrepreneurial practices, and family dialogue create meaningful opportunities for mathematical thinking. The findings illuminate themes of joy, belonging, and cultural relevance as important influences on how students come to see themselves as capable mathematicians. Implications for educators and researchers will be discussed, particularly in relation to family engagement and culturally sustaining approaches to mathematics education.

Students with varying levels of disabilities often face significant challenges as they transition from high school to post-secondary life, whether academically, socially, or professionally. These barriers may stem from the lack of available post-secondary resources, identifying safe & appropriate spaces of support, or navigating complex college systems without the same scaffolds and tools of their K-12 settings. This workshop is designed to empower secondary educators to address these challenges head-on within their classrooms, be a resource of support, and engage families along the transition process. Through culturally-informed storytelling & discussion, participants will explore, collaborate, and identify common post-graduation obstacles, develop practical strategies, and prepare exceptional students for a pathway of independence and success beyond graduation, whether that’s earning a degree or pursuing other dreams.