Leading Equity

Bringin' Hip Hop Into Our Schools Virtual Summit

About Christian Chan, Ph.D.

Christian D. Chan (he, him, his), PhD, NCC is an Assistant Professor of Counseling at Idaho State University and President-Elect of the Association for Adult Development and Aging (AADA). His interests revolve around intersectionality; multiculturalism in counseling, supervision, and counselor education; social justice and activism; career development; critical research methodologies; intergenerational conflict in families; and couple, family, and group modalities with socialization/communication of culture and social identities. His prior professional experiences include case management with foster care adolescents, career development, higher education administration, and individual, couples, parent-child, group, and family counseling services. As a recent recipient of the AADA President’s Outstanding Service Award and ALGBTIC Ned Farley Service Award, he actively contributes to peer-reviewed publications in journals, books, and edited volumes and has conducted over 115 refereed presentations at the national, regional, and state levels.

Show Highlights

• Children and their mental health during COVID-19
• Having conversations about what is happening with our children
• Understanding and naming our experiences
• Keeping traditions within the home
• School counselor supports for students
• #scchat
• Different formats of teleservices
• FERPA and privacy with teleservices

Connect with Christian

Twitter: @christianxderek

Email: [email protected]

Additional Resources

#scchat

#counselored

Connect with me on Instagram: @sheldoneakins

Teaching Online: A Step-By-Step Course to Launch an Equitable Online Course

About Tonya Ward Singer

Tonya Ward Singer is a literacy and language consultant who helps K-12 educators transform teaching for equity and EL achievement. Teachers and administrators describe her work as groundbreaking, dynamic, practical, relevant, and impactful.

Tonya is the author of bestsellers EL Excellence Every Day and Opening Doors to Equity. She co-authored Breaking Down the Wall and EL and literacy curricula for major publishers including Scholastic, Pearson/Longman, and Oxford University Press. Tonya has taught across multiple grade levels as a core teacher, reading specialist, and EL specialist, and excels as an international consultant helping educators collaborate courageously for equity in literacy and high-level core learning.

Show Highlights

• What is EL Education?
• Connecting EL Education and Equity
• Strategies that educators can implement immediately
• Differentiation in EL

Connect with Tonya

Twitter: @TonyaWardSinger

Website: www.tonyasinger.com

Additional Resources

Essentials for EL Excellence

EL Excellence Every Day

Opening Doors to Equity

Breaking Down the Wall

Connect with me on Instagram: @sheldoneakins

Teaching Online: A Step-By-Step Course to Launch an Equitable Online Course

About Evan Whitehead

Evan Whitehead has been in the field of education for more than 20 years spanning three decades and is currently the director of special services for a PK–8 school district in Illinois. In his current role, Evan oversees all federal programs (special education, McKinney-Vento, English learners, and Title I); early childhood education; multi-tiered system of support (MTSS); social emotional learning, family and community engagement; health services; continuous improvement; and equity, diversity, and cultural competency.

Show Highlights

• Free and Reduced Lunch programs while schools are closed
• Opportunities for mobile hotspots for limited income families
• Technology hardware options for families in need
• Transitioning to online learning
• An opportunity for change

Connect with Evan

[email protected]

Twitter: @EvanWhitehead00

Connect with me on Instagram: @sheldoneakins

Teaching Online: A Step-By-Step Course to Launch an Equitable Online Course

Soundhari Balaguru, PhD - Director of Social Emotional Learning & Mental Health

Soundhari Balaguru, PhD is a clinical psychologist who has worked with schools and districts/networks to build effective student support systems, which includes addressing the socio-emotional and mental health needs of their students, for 15 years.  Formerly at Boston Children’s Hospital/Harvard Medical School, she worked on-site in turnaround, exam, and charter schools, to build their capacities to close the racial/economic opportunity gap. As founding Director of Social-Emotional Learning & Mental Health at Caliber: ChangeMakers Academy (CMA), a diverse K-8 in Vallejo, CA, she is reimagining education with SEL and Restorative Practices.  She develops innovative and equitable circle curricula, systems, trainings, and leadership practices that facilitate growth of social-emotional competencies for students and staff. She is a proud member of a school team that is dedicated to validating and affirming student’s ethnic/cultural identities, providing a rigorous academic education, and promoting holistic social-emotional growth in their students. ‘Dr. Soundhari’ believes that a caring school community is one in which students, teachers, leaders, and families treat one another with empathy, accept that people will make mistakes, and support each other in becoming their best selves.    

Asha Canady - School Leader, Caliber ChangeMakers Academy

Asha is a Northern California native and was fortunate to return to the area after completing a Masters Degree at the University of Michigan in Education, Leadership and Policy. Asha has had a diverse career in education, including being a high school English teacher, a Fulbright Scholar in Athens, Greece and the Founding Middle-School English Teacher at Caliber: ChangeMakers Academy. Asha is currently the Upper School Principal of CMA whose mission is to equitably provide rigorous learning opportunities for historically underserved students.

Show Highlights

• The relationship between Restorative Justice and Social-Emotional Learning
• Integrating RJ and SEL into school
• Examples of RJ and SEL working together
• Some challenges with RJ and SEL

Connect with Soundhari

[email protected]

Connect with Asha

[email protected]

Connect with me on Twitter @sheldoneakins

About Danielle Thompson-Ochoa, Ph.D.

Prior to arriving at Gallaudet University, I was a former School Counselor for Pre-K to Grade 12 in Honolulu, Hawai’i. I pursued my Ph.D. while working as a school counselor.  I am a National Certified School Counselor (NCSC) and a National Certified Counselor (NCC).  I also have K-12 School Counselor license in Virginia, Maryland, and Hawai’i. 

I am a native of Trinidad (Trinidad and Tobago) in the West Indies and relocated to United States of America at the age of 17 for college.  I am a proud mom of two CODA kids!  

What I love about my department, (Department of Counseling): teaching/ watching her students succeed in becoming phenomenal Counselors.

When I have a quiet moment, I enjoy scrapbooking, watching comedy movies, and baking gluten free cupcakes. 

I also love playing board games with my kids and friends. My favorite board games are monopoly and scrabble.

I love to travel, I have a bucket list I plan to complete before I reach 100 years old!

Show Highlights

• The significance of developing SEL in Deaf Education
• How SEL competencies and skills are underdeveloped in DHH children
• The role of SEL in DHH students’ academic success
• Strategies for supporting DHH students with SEL

About Kate Kennedy

Kate Kennedy is a school leadership and education policy scholar, focused on politics and equity in K-12 public education. Specific topics of interest include social-emotional learning, care, and teachers' unions. Kate is a former teacher and now a doctoral candidate at the USC Rossier School of Education. 

Show Highlights

• School Leaders Focusing on Social-Emotional Learning
• 6 Key Considerations of Social-Emotional Learning
• Measuring Social-Emotional Learning
• Checking for Bias
• Inclusion of Staff, Leaders, and Communities
• Framework for School Leaders Serving Diverse Learners
• Interviewing Potential Candidates with SEL-Related Questions

Connect with Kate

[email protected]

Twitter: @katetothek

Additional Resources

Centering Equity and Caring in Leadership for Social-Emotional Learning: Toward a Conceptual Framework for Diverse Learner

Connect with me on Twitter @sheldoneakins

About Cheryl Wright, Ph.D.

Dr. Cheryl Wright is a lecturer at the University of Kansas, a retired instructional coach, and K-12 educator of over 40 years. Her passions lie in multiculturalism and student-centered pedagogy. She holds a B.S. Degree in Speech/Language Pathology from Ball State University, an M.S. Degree in Special Education and a Ph.D. In Curriculum and Teaching from the University of Kansas. She has published articles through ASCD and supports the use of reflective practice to “grapple” with difficult issues and promote critical thinking. Current projects include collaboration with the Global Oneness Project and the “powerful role” of stories in education.

Show Highlights

• Civil Rights Movement
• Marching with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
• Defining Resilience
• Enabling Students
• Motivating Students
• Fostering Essential Connections
• Modeling Positive Behavior

Connect with Cheryl

[email protected]

Additional Resources

Turning Reluctance into Resilience

Civil Rights on the North Shore

Three Pillars for Supporting Resilience

15 Culturally Responsive Teaching Strategies

Connect with me on Twitter @sheldoneakins

About Lewis A. Eakins, PhD, CPP

Lewis A. Eakins, PhD, CPP has over 35 years of law enforcement, private investigations, security consulting, and emergency management experience. He is currently the Chief Security Officer & Director of Public Safety at Idaho State University.  Dr. Eakins was formerly the Chief of Police at Oakwood University in Huntsville, AL; a Captain with the METRO Transit Police in Houston, TX; and the Assistant Chief of Police at Texas Southern University, also in Houston, TX.

Dr. Eakins has a B.S. in Criminal Justice from Athens State University, a M.S. in Security Management from Bellevue University, and a PhD in Public Policy and Administration with a concentration in Homeland Security Policy and Coordination from Walden University. He is a sought after presenter nationally and internationally on the topics of emergency operations planning, active shooter prevention and response, and police bias.

Show Highlights

• Lockdown Protocol
• Testing the Emergency Operations Plan
• Training Programs
• Active Shooter Events
• Arming Teachers
• REMS TA Center
• Lockdown Aftermath Strategies

Connect with Lewis

[email protected]

Twitter: @LewisEakins

Additional Resources

Readiness and Emergency Management for Schools (REMS)

Connect with me on Twitter @sheldoneakins

School Leadership Series: Immersing Cultural Responsiveness

About Joel Bocanegra, Ph.D., NCSP

Dr. Bocanegra graduated with his PhD in educational psychology with a concentration in school psychology from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. He is an Associate Professor in the Department of School Psychology and Educational Leadership at Idaho State University. He teaches Clinical School Psychology, Multicultural Issues in School Psychology, and Cognitive Behavioral Interventions courses, among others. He is a noted scholar on multicultural issues and diversity recruitment. He co-chaired a national recruitment committee and works extensively with minority youth and underserved youth populations.  His scholarly work includes: creating an impetus for diversity/minority recruitment, understanding the factors associated with minority students entering school psychology, analyzing the effectiveness of recruitment interventions, establishing best practices for recruitment, etc.

Show Highlights

• Lack of Research in School Psychology
• Shortage of School Psychologists
• Representation of School Psychologists of Color
• Representing School Psychologists
• Helping Children Sooner
• Assessment and Bilingualism

Connect with Joel

[email protected]

Additional Resources

Overcoming the Gap Between Diversity Recruitment Research and Practice

Undergraduate Psychology Students’ Knowledge and Exposure to School Psychology: Suggestions for Diversifying the Field

Investigation of Social Cognitive Career Theory for Minority Recruitment in School Psychology

Connect with me on Twitter @sheldoneakins

School Leadership Series: Immersing Cultural Responsiveness

About Nicole DeWitt

Nicole DeWitt has been in education since 2002 and has served as a classroom teacher, AVID instructor, English Learner Coordinator, and intervention developer prior to becoming a site administrator. Helping students achieve their goals while addressing academic and social-emotional needs has always been her number one priority, and she truly enjoys developing systems of support to ensure equity and access for all students. Her work establishing social-emotional supports at the high school level has been featured at the San Diego County Equity Symposium and California Student Mental Health and Wellness Conference. 

Show Highlights

• Case Study 1: Arturo
• Case Study 2: Lisa
• Providing the right support for students social/emotional needs
• Schoolwide structures that we can implement for social/emotional support
• What should be the main focuses of ALL services

Connect with Nicole DeWitt

Twitter: @DeNdewitt

Additional Resources

Meeting the Social-Emotional Needs of ALL Students

Connect with me on Twitter @sheldoneakins