| On April 25-26, 2008, BayCES cohosted On Our Watch: Preparing Urban Students for Life, Leadership, and Academic Excellence, with EXCEL High School and the School Redesign Network at Stanford University (SRN:LEADS). Over 250 educators, parents, community members and students from across the country attended the Urban Small Schools Symposium to work together toward creating equitable and high-achieving urban small schools through powerful teaching and learning strategies. The Symposium kicked off bright and early Friday morning as over sixty conference participants attended tours of small schools in Oakland and San Francisco. "I enjoyed visiting schools that allowed students to speak and lead," said one participant.  Dr. Pedro Noguera, Professor at New York University's Steinhardt School of Education, presented the keynote speech on Friday evening. Pedro discussed the work in his new book, The Trouble With Black Boys: And Other Reflections on Race, Equity, and the Future of Public Education. "Friday night was very festive and inspiring," reflected another participant. Dr. Linda Darling-Hammond, Co-Executive Director of the School Redesign Network at Stanford University, presented the opening plenary address on Saturday morning, "Re-imagining Urban Education: Creating Schools that Work for All Students." Another participant noted, "Linda Darling-Hammond's presentation was great - very informative and motivating."  Workshops commenced early Saturday morning at EXCEL High School in West Oakland. Over 40 workshops were offered covering a range of issues relevant to creating high-achieving and equitable small schools. Workshops fell under four different strands: Classroom Teaching and Learning; Parent Engagement, Advocacy and Leadership; Student Focused Workshops; and Culture and Rituals. "There were so many presentations to choose from, I had difficulty deciding," was a prevailing sentiment among participants. Sample workshops included: Ghosts in the Machine: The Pedagogy and Politics of Whiteness in Urban Small Schools. Presented by Jackie Jenkins, Arise High School/Stanford University and Shane Safir, Stanford School Redesign Network, Envision School, and June Jordan School for Equity. This workshop asked participants to explore how “Whiteness,” a historically unnamed and invisible racial category, matters in the design, leadership, teaching, learning, mentoring, and collaboration that happen on a daily basis at urban small schools. Click here to download a tool from the workshop. Emotional Balance and Conflict Resolution. Presented by Loma Flowers, M.D. and Ruth Thomas, Ph.D. of Equilibrium Dynamics. An overview of the basic dynamics that we all experience in coordinating feelings, thinking, judgments and actions in everyday life - skills known as "emotional competence." Click here for the Powerpoint Presentation from this workshop.
 Planning has already begun for the next Urban Small Schools Symposium! Thank you to all who attended this year's Symposium and we hope to see you next year. Stay tuned for more details.
   |
