The Work of Belonging: Creating a Welcoming Community for All

Told through student voice from the presenter’s Master’s Degree research project, this session emphasizes the authority and ability the school board has in its policy-making and resource allocation roles, and identifies how policies may unintentionally hinder a student’s ability to be successful.

It helps Boards understand that they can significantly impact student achievement by using that authority in an informed, thoughtful manner, in partnership with their communities and the district’s leadership team. It empowers Boards to take the lead in ensuring all students have an opportunity to learn.

Explore the power wheel and interpersonal dynamics that come from working with people who are different from us. In particular, understand the ways we are different from each other impact success in the workplace. Whether you are looking to strengthen your relationships with current staff, diversify your workforce, or both, this course will support your skills and extend your journey further down the path of inclusivity.

We will walk through new standards for serving the whole school community and share an overview of one district’s four-year strategy to implement them.

In 2022, the Professional Educators Standards Board released standards for districts in creating equal education opportunity for all students. Due to the depth of the standards, our implementation plan involved focusing on one area per year and working to build the collective capacity of our teams. This workshop will introduce participants to the standards and provide resources and indicators for each area.

As we talk about how to make a welcoming learning environment for all students, there is a perception that not everyone has a place in the conversation.

Within the realm of DEIB, people who identify in certain ways feel that they may not have a voice in DEIB work. There is a perception that only people who identify as underrepresented or marginalized have a voice in the equity conversation. But when we unpack the idea of voice to include a broad perspective of our background, lived experiences, talents, and personal interests, we find that everyone has something meaningful to contribute. We're better able to speak our authentic voice instead of simply being an echo chamber for the larger messages floating around our communities. 

Join us for a warm-hearted, inclusive exploration of these important ideas. Through becoming more aware of and confident in our voice, we improve our ability to minimize concerns raised through groupthink and echo chambers, and increase our ability to lead these conversations in ways that benefit our students, families, staff, and larger community.

What is important to you as a person and a leader? How do you link those values with your work? Identifying what is most important to us and those on our teams helps promote buy-in, commitment, and fulfillment. 

In this highly interactive and reflective session, we will provide time for public leaders to take a deeper look at our personal and professional values and how those values show up. We’ll also discuss ways to maximize our influence by communicating those values effectively with colleagues and your community. 

Our students increasingly come from many different backgrounds and experiences. Educators and leaders are expected to support students in maintaining their own identity while simultaneously teaching to educational standards.

With the continued growth of diversity within our communities, there have been shifts in focus which include an expectation for educators and leaders to support students in maintaining their own cultural identity while simultaneously teaching to educational standards. A challenge with this shift is a perceived need for staff to become culture experts. 

Let's unpack what’s needed to build a school community where all students feel they belong. We may often hear the phrase, "preaching to the choir" … but, unlike a choir we don't often gather numerous times in advance, referencing the same material in preparation for our performance. Working to generate shared understanding and common language can help build bridges both conceptually and interpersonally to ensure our efforts are aligned and purposeful.

One size fits all does not apply to efforts to promote student success across our school communities. Every school community has varying levels of socioeconomic status, belief systems, and global interests, which means developing a framework that is specific for those needs.

This session will provide insights on how to develop a framework, mission, vision, and tool chest for moving this work forward.