EDTalksMN

Dr. Courtney Bell-Duncan, a passionate educator, education consultant and founder of Courtney S. Bell Consulting LLC, works to co-create educational equity solutions with PreK-12 educational institutions. While serving as a classroom teacher, she witnessed the power of caring relationships and high expectations for children. She later went on to become an educational leader and consultant with the goal of spreading her love of education more broadly. A proud graduate of North High Community High School, Courtney attended the University of Minnesota, where she completed her BA in Sociology, her M.Ed in Curriculum and Instruction and Ph.D. In Education Policy and Leadership. In 2018 she was a finalist for the 2018 Minnesota Teacher of the Year Award. In this talk, Courtney will discuss how culturally responsive pedagogy has the power to counter and actively disarm epistemic violence against K-12 schools. She will also lay a foundation for transformational shifts in thinking about culture in schools and the broader society. This virtual EDTalk was live streamed online on Feb. 8, 2021.

EDTalks is a lively series of community conversations about public education and related issues that impact our young people.

Each EDTalks features two compelling, short presentations by cutting-edge educators, youth advocates, students, artists or community leaders.

EDTalks is supported by a generous grant from the Bush Foundation.

This EDTalks is titled “Let’s Talk About Race in School” Our featured speaker is Derek Francis. Derek Francis is a passionate and experienced school counselor who approaches his work from a proactive and equity-based space.  He currently serves as the manager of counseling services for Minneapolis Public Schools, where he specializes in helping students and staff build trusting cross-cultural relationships. He has presented at conferences throughout the country including the American School Counselors Association, Minnesota School Counselors Association, Texas School Counselors Association and Wisconsin School Counselors Association. He recently led a webinar for over 20,000 U.S. counselors and educators on “Proactive School Counseling After a Major Racial Incident.” Derek’s published work includes contributions to Contemporary Case Studies in School Counseling, a recent blog entitled “This Is Not A Fire Drill – Supporting students after George Floyd” and articles for the American School Counselors Association and American School Board Journal. In this EDTalk, Minneapolis Public Schools counseling services manager Derek Francis will talk about the critical importance of talking about race in our classrooms, and offer some strategies on how to do it right. This virtual EDTalk was live streamed online on Feb. 8, 2021.

EDTalks is a lively series of community conversations about public education and related issues that impact our young people.

Each EDTalks features two compelling, short presentations by cutting-edge educators, youth advocates, students, artists or community leaders.

EDTalks is supported by a generous grant from the Bush Foundation.

This EDTalks is titled “Developing an Equity Leadership Identity” Our featured speaker is Dr. Lanise Block. Dr. Block is a highly experienced educator who has served as a teacher, program coordinator, content lead for K-12 social studies, technology integration specialist and strategic project administrator. She is currently an adjunct professor at of the University of St. Thomas School of Education, Hamline University’s Center for Excellence in Urban Teaching, Metropolitan State University’s School of Urban Education and Augsburg School of Education. Her research interests include the digital divide, advocacy and inclusion. Dr. Block is also the founder of Sankore Counsulting, which fosters creative leadership in organizations and builds capacity in equity, diversity and innovation from the classroom to the boardroom. She holds a B.A. from Drake University and master’s and doctorate degrees in education from the University of St. Thomas. This virtual EDTalk was live streamed online on January 14, 2021.

EDTalks is a lively series of community conversations about public education and related issues that impact our young people.

Each EDTalks features two compelling, short presentations by cutting-edge educators, youth advocates, students, artists or community leaders.

EDTalks is supported by generous grants from the Bush Foundation and Comcast.

This EDTalks is titled “Where is Mental Health in Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Work?” Our featured speaker is Jamil Stamschror-Lott. Jamil is a mental health professional who practices psychotherapy with individuals, hosts community healing sessions, and works with businesses to incorporate mental health, diversity and inclusion through a therapeutic lens. Jamil and his wife Sara co-founded Creative Kuponya, an organization that focuses on out-of-the-box, community-based and creative methodologies to bring about healing for individuals, communities and businesses.  Jamil also teaches diversity and equity courses in Augsburg University’s graduate social work program. He has been named a Mentor of the Year by New Lens Urban Mentoring, and received Marquette University’s Young Alumni of the Year award in 2014. He holds a B.A. in sociology from Marquette University and a master’s degree in clinical social work from Augsburg University. This virtual EDTalk was live streamed online on January 14, 2021.

EDTalks is a lively series of community conversations about public education and related issues that impact our young people.

Each EDTalks features two compelling, short presentations by cutting-edge educators, youth advocates, students, artists or community leaders.

EDTalks is supported by generous grants from the Bush Foundation and Comcast.

This EDTalks is titled “Developing an Equity Leadership Identity” Our featured speaker is Dr. Lanise Block. Dr. Block is a highly experienced educator who has served as a teacher, program coordinator, content lead for K-12 social studies, technology integration specialist and strategic project administrator. She is currently an adjunct professor at of the University of St. Thomas School of Education, Hamline University’s Center for Excellence in Urban Teaching, Metropolitan State University’s School of Urban Education and Augsburg School of Education. Her research interests include the digital divide, advocacy and inclusion. Dr. Block is also the founder of Sankore Counsulting, which fosters creative leadership in organizations and builds capacity in equity, diversity and innovation from the classroom to the boardroom. She holds a B.A. from Drake University and master’s and doctorate degrees in education from the University of St. Thomas. This virtual EDTalk was live streamed online on January 14, 2021.

EDTalks is a lively series of community conversations about public education and related issues that impact our young people.

Each EDTalks features two compelling, short presentations by cutting-edge educators, youth advocates, students, artists or community leaders.

EDTalks is supported by generous grants from the Bush Foundation and Comcast.

EDTalks: From "Adequate" to "Quality" by EDTalksMN

There’s a clear connection between academic failure, delinquency and crime. Students who aren’t proficient in reading by fourth grade are four times more likely to drop out of high school. And students who drop out of high school are over three times more likely to be arrested in their lifetime. When 85% of children in our juvenile court system are not literate, this is a clarion call to action. Dr. Artika Tyner will share strategies to promote literacy and end the school to prison pipeline, and provide details on her new book and community outreach program, Leaders are Readers, which promotes literacy, raises cultural awareness and fosters leadership development. You’ll come away feeling a greater sense of urgency to make change and gain new tools to make a difference in your community.

Presenter: Dr. Artika R. Tyner is a passionate educator, author and advocate for justice. A professor at the University of St. Thomas School of Law, she is founding director of the school’s Center on Race, Leadership and Social Justice, where she trains students to serve as social engineers and create new inroads to justice and freedom. Artika also provides leadership development coaching and resources for young people and adults, organizes policy campaigns, fosters restorative justice practices, develops social entrepreneurship initiatives, and promotes asset-based community development. The founder of Planting People Growing Justice, she has been featured in a variety of media outlets and has received over two dozen awards for her leadership and service from the American Bar Association and several other organizations.

This EDTalk was livestreamed on October 5, 2020.

EDTalks is co-sponsored by AchieveMpls and The Citizens League, with generous support from the Bush Foundation and Comcast. Audio production by www.callsign51.com. Learn more at www.achievempls.org/edtalks or follow us on Twitter at #EDTalksMN.

Too often our education systems work to “fix” black male students rather than recognizing the systemic racism inherent in these systems and the tremendous harm they inflict on students. The Minneapolis Public Schools Office of Black Student Achievement (OBSA, formerly Office of Black Male Student Achievement) was created in 2014 to address our city’s wide racial disparities in education and provide targeted support for black students. Director Michael Walker will explore common misperceptions of black males, how these beliefs shape education practices, and how OBSA engages students, families, teachers and community members to provide support, build confidence and change outcomes for these young people.

Presenter: Michael Walker is a highly experienced leader in youth development and assisting black youth to achieve success. As the inaugural director for the Office for Black Male Student Achievement (now the Office for Black Student Achievement), he works to expand support and change outcomes for black students in Minneapolis Public Schools. Michael is former assistant principal and dean of students at Roosevelt High School, has served as a Career & College Center coordinator for AchieveMpls, and directed the Black Achievers program at the YMCA of Minneapolis and Greater St. Paul, where he managed programs focusing on social, academic, athletic and employment skills for youth. A graduate of Minneapolis Public Schools, he holds a master’s degree in counseling from the University of Wisconsin River Falls.

This EDTalk was livestreamed on October 5, 2020.

EDTalks is co-sponsored by AchieveMpls and The Citizens League, with generous support from the Bush Foundation and Comcast. Audio production by www.callsign51.com. Learn more at www.achievempls.org/edtalks or follow us on Twitter at #EDTalksMN.

Author Junauda Petrus-Nasah shares her journey of researching queerness within Black American and Black Caribbean culture for her young adult novel, The Stars and The Blackness Between Them, which is about queer young Black love across the diaspora, mass incarceration, astrology, ancestral magic, Whitney Houston and trusting your sacredness despite oppression and heartbreak. Junauda’s work is inspired by the absence of examples of herself within popular text as a young person and how that has played out in both her life and her work.

This EDTalk was recorded in front of a live audience at Icehouse in Minneapolis on March 2, 2020.

EDTalks is co-sponsored by AchieveMpls and The Citizens League, with generous support from the Bush Foundation and Comcast. Audio production by https://www.soundspowerful.com. Learn more at www.achievempls.org/edtalks or follow us on Twitter at #EDTalksMN.

Youth who identify as girls face broad challenges such as sexual harassment, barriers to academic success and unique health disparities, compounded by the intersections of race, sexual orientation, ability, and socioeconomic class. Data shows there is a tremendous need for programming and policies that focus solely on the needs of girls and young women to compensate for the gender stereotypes present in our communities and the gender inequities built into our systems, including the education system. Girls Inc. is a national expert in girls-only and pro-girls programming and inspires all girls to be strong, smart, and bold. In this EDTalk, Louise and Sophie, two youth leaders at Girls Inc. at YWCA Minneapolis, and Elena, Girls Inc. after-school coordinator, talk about what we can all learn about the impacts of gender-specific programming, as well as ways to create pro-girl environments in gendered and co-ed spaces.

This EDTalk was recorded in front of a live audience at Icehouse in Minneapolis on March 2, 2020.

EDTalks is co-sponsored by AchieveMpls and The Citizens League, with generous support from the Bush Foundation and Comcast. Audio production by https://www.soundspowerful.com. Learn more at www.achievempls.org/edtalks or follow us on Twitter at #EDTalksMN.