Skyline College has made a commitment to rethink and be intentional about the way we engage teaching and learning. In an effort to remain true to this commitment, on Friday, November 2, 2018, Skyline College invited some of the nation’s leading scholars and practitioners on educational equity to share their theories and strategies. The program opened with welcome remarks from Lasana Hotep, the Dean of Student Equity and Support Programs, Jesse Raskin from the Center for Transformative Teaching and Learning, and Skyline College President Dr. Regina Stanback Stroud.
The Equity Summit featured seven 15 minute equity talks addressing topics ranging from a transformative framework for STEM education and shaping institutional equity. This style of concise and dynamic presentations kept the audience energized and engaged throughout the day. Six of the speakers engaged in dialogue on two Equity Plenary Sessions: “Applying Equity Theories” and “Art, Community Activism and Education.” All of the speakers shared a wealth of knowledge informed by their areas of expertise, personal narratives and values are grounded in racial equity and social transformation. This format, alternating between short talks and plenary sessions, made for a community-oriented and intellectually stimulating experience adding a modern twist to the traditional model of a professional development conference.
The Equity Summit is an experience designed to increase knowledge around educational equity and share best practices for culturally relevant teaching, advocacy and leadership. Over 500 educators, practitioners and community members from throughout California were in attendance representing community colleges, four year universities, local businesses and organizations. During the Summit, Dean Hotep announced the new “The Equity Institute,” an organization that administers institutional assessments, publishes research and facilitates professional development opportunities for organizations committed to showing up different in the areas of culture, race, gender and institutional equity.
The event culminated with a keynote address from Dr. Ibram X. Kendi, Award-Winning Historian, New York Times Best-Selling Author, Professor of History and International Relations and the Founding Director of the Antiracist Research and Policy Center at the American University in Washington D.C.
A participant from the University of Nevada, Reno shared, “This was a great summit. In a time when you can be consumed by the tumultuous and unsettling state of our country, we had a chance to breath. You made us feel at home and part of a collective community of caring, loving and progressive professionals.”
Article by Katrina Pantig | Photo by Zaw Min Khant
