The annual Dismantling Systemic Racism conference, sponsored by the SERC Foundation in collaboration with the State Education Resource Center (SERC), is a conference on the importance of racial equity in education. Calvin Terrell, founder and lead facilitator of Social Centric in Phoenix, AZ, is the keynote presenter, and Aaron Jafferis, playwright, teacher and founder of The Word youth program in New Haven, CT, will be the lunch speaker. The conference supports educators, families, and community leaders to better serve Connecticut’s students and their families, particularly Black and Brown students, but also students learning English and students with disabilities through advocacy and the development, implementation, and sustainability of innovative, culturally relevant programming.

A collaboration of SERC and the SERC Foundation: To learn more about the opportunities for and benefits of sponsorship, please click here.

Conference Resources:

• Increasing the Diversity of Connecticut’s Educator Workforce

  Dismantling Systemic Racism Conference overview.

• Five Common Situations

  Read each scenario about a common situation in a middle or high school classroom. Then answer the questions with ideas about what to do in that scenario, imagining that you are the teacher.

• Embracing the Struggle: Effectively Building Relationships in High Schools

  Presentation By: #embracethestruggle of techboston academy: Vanessa Benoit, Deion Haughton, Casey Moir, Khari Sanon, Jada Sharpe Winslow

• Equity Audit Sample Statements – Educator Survey

  The Discovery Center is working with local and national partners to develop an Equity Audit Assessment. This document contains sample statements that can be used to identify areas of strength and opportunities for growth within your school and district.

• EISCA: Equity-Informed School Climate Assessment

  This document helps assess the experiences--educational, emotional and social--of students, families, and staff (in Manchester Public Schools) through the lens of racial equity and identify to what extent district and school policy, practice, and culture impact students with marginalized identities, so we can create sustainable changes to ensure equity for each student.

• Rewind Skit Scenarios - Embracing the Struggle: Effectively Building Relationships in High Schools

  This document provides activities for groups. Your group should start by reading the scenario provided. Then you will determine the worst and best way to respond in this scenario. You will be responsible for presenting the scenario, followed by the worst case. Then you’ll “rewind” and show the best case response after.

• Educational Equity and School Climate: A Plan for Action

  Presentation by The Discovery Center and Manchester Public Schools

• Student Suggestions for How Teachers Can React to Difficult Circumstances

  Student thoughts on Being Aware/Sensitive To Problems Outside of School, Responding to a Disruptive Situation & Relating and Talking to Students.

• Technical vs. Adaptive Challenges

  Deficit Focus vs. Systems Focus. The single biggest failure of leadership is to treat people like they are broken instead of fixing the system. Download this document to learn more.