Fostering Belonging in Our Classroom Communities

WITH RANDOLPH CARTER

A workshop for educators, administrators, board members, and staff exploring the benefits of anti-bias education and the equitable teaching practices that lead to healthy school environments

DEIJ acronyms have evolved over the past 20+ years, adding new names for aspects of diversity and equity as our understanding of the complexities of change evolves. DEIJ (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Justice) is now DEIJ-B, bringing the important concept of Belonging into our vision and our work.

Belonging is an experience held by both students and teachers, but which extends also to parents, school employees, and the community served. Without Belonging, many students assimilate and miss the opportunity to be their true selves.

Hosted by Sunbridge’s director of education and organizational culture, Meggan Gill, and facilitated by noted educator and social activist Randolph Carter, Fostering Belonging in Our School Communities will address several evolving principles that are central to the creation of safe, inclusive, and productive school environments. The workshop will provide participants with both the historical shifts that have brought us to this place and space for you to self-assess and determine where you are on this continuum of change. Participants will use equity-pedagogy-based tools that can be integrated into your current practice with the intended outcome of improved practice.

The workshop will cover:

• Definitions and terms
• Concepts of equity-based teaching
• An exercise in self-location using the IAT
• Interaction with other colleagues and community-building to extend beyond the workshop
• Developing a plan to be implemented in your own community

NOTE: Registered participants will be given pre-workshop reading and assignments, which will prepare you to gain the most from this workshop. You are also strongly encouraged to have attended Sunbridge’s Calling It Like It Is: Uncovering and Dismantling Racism in the Waldorf Movement or another introductory DEI workshop.

This workshop takes place March 15-16 in live Zoom sessions. Sessions will not be recorded.
Friday evening, March 15: 7:00pm-8:30pm ET
Saturday, March 16: 10:30am-12pm and 12:30-2:00pm ET

Click here for more information and to register.

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As both the founder of East Ed and a member of the Black Panther Party, Randolph Carter has devoted his career to promoting equity and diversity in education and communities. Randolph was a Fellow in the Harvard University School Leadership Program, Graduate School of Education, where he received a master’s degree in education with a school leadership qualification, and is currently a doctoral student in the School of Education Leadership and Change at Fielding University. Previously in his career, he was a middle school reading specialist, an English teacher, a school administrator, and the director of diversity at the National Association of Independent Schools. During his tenure at NAIS, he led the creation of the People of Color Conference, worked to create safe spaces for non-binary students and adults, and created diversity-hiring fairs to increase the diversity of school employees. Randolph currently serves on several independent school boards of directors and supports community equity by serving on boards of community-based organizations. His publications include peer-reviewed articles and book reviews published in national journals. A co-founder of Alma Partners, he is a Waldorf alumni parent.