Summer Equity Professional Development
Compiled by the Education Justice Coalition of Vermont with support from our community! Have something you’d like to add? Email alyssa.edjvt@gmail.com. Also check out many more summer classes at St. Michaels College and through the Center for Schools at Vermont State University. Thanks!
Special Education: Global Disability Studies - 3 Credits
UVM / Sefakor Komabu-Pomeyie, Ph.D
Dates: May 20, 2024 to August 9, 2024
I am so glad to invite you this Summer to the Global Disability Studies course under the Special Education Department at the University of Vermont. Are you a professional working with people from other cultures? Are you a graduate or undergraduate working with people with disabilities? Do you want to understand why disability is part of humanity? As a change agent, do you desire to improve your services to everyone equitably to meet the DEI goals? This is a 3 credit course to meet your professional development goals.
Ethical Leadership and Disability Policy Studies: Ethical Leadership and Disability Policy - 3 Credits
St. Michael’s College / Komabu-Pomeyie, S
Dates: M-Th, July 1 – July 18 (July 4 asynchronous), 1:00 – 4:00 pm Online
Disciplinary Literacy: Making Meaning in Equity-Centered Middle and Secondary - 3 Credits
St. Michael’s College / Wigglesworth, B.
Dates: T&TH 7/2-7/25 4:00PM-8:30PM
Multiple literacies are essential for deep content understanding and engagement. They empower us to create equitable communities. GED 530 will examine how explicit, discipline-specific literacy instruction provides students with tools to access, analyze, and communicate information in our world. Scientific data, historical photographs, multimodal texts, and mathematical problems will be explored. As readers, writers, thinkers, and educators, we’ll consider how to prioritize equity, evolving definitions of literacy and texts, relationships between digital technology and literacy, diverse literacy needs and corresponding pedagogical strategies, and techniques for evaluating resources. More info here
Developing Sustainable Practices Toward Equity & Healing in School Systems - 3 Credits
St. Michael's College / Rhiannon Kim
Dates:
M-F 7/8-7/12 Asynchronous
M-F 7/15-7/19- In-person - 9:00AM-3:00PM
M-F 7/22-7/26 - Asynchronous
The purpose of this course is both to challenge you and to expand your awareness of how systems of oppression operate within you, schools, and the broader society in order to be more equipped to disrupt harm at all levels. Creating the conditions for students and educators to thrive requires both self and system reflection. Youth of color, disabled youth, queer and trans youth have been persistently and consistently harmed and made invisible by systems of oppression. We cannot change systems if we are not aware of how we uphold practices, patterns, and habits that perpetuate harm. In this course, participants will engage in contemplative practices, small group discussions, and will develop a plan of action to bring with them after the course is over. Daily mindfulness and/or contemplative practices and a slow pedagogical pace are core components of this course. We will also explore the origins of mindfulness and restorative practices. Learn more and sign up here.
Antiracism: Critical Theory & Praxis - 3 Credits
St. Michael's College / Haslam, R. T
Dates: 6/4 & 6/11 4:30PM-7:30PM W, 6/5 & 6/12 Asynchronous, M-TH 6/17-6/27 4:30PM-7:30PM
This course employs racial reflexivity to explore the ways in which we are all stakeholders in the advancement of antiracist policies, ideologies, and social ways of being. We will employ critical reflexivity to intentionally attend to the context of knowledge construction, confront our own assumptions, and consider how social positionality affects one’s analysis of inequity and racism. Drawing upon critical consciousness theory (Friere, 1973) this course examines the dynamics of marginalization and oppression in creating and sustaining social inequity. Antiracist educators must reveal and disrupt racist and inequitable systems, policies, behaviors, language, and ideologies in the name of collective liberation. To this end, we will read and discuss the work of critical theorists, scholars, and authors to explore the fundamental questions they ask and address, and how they are relevant to antiracism in our own lives and pedagogical practice. More info here.
Curriculum & Instruction: Queer Studies in Education - 3 Credit Hours
Summer Pennell
Dates: July 1, 2024 to August 9, 2024
This course is designed for educators, administrators, school staff, counselors, and others interested in queer issues in education. Readings will primarily come from birth-12 education, but there are also options to study higher education issues. There will also be opportunities to engage in ungraded discussions and resource sharing with your classmates and instructor. Additionally, with your permission, materials created in this course will be posted for other education professionals to use in their own settings. This course is rigorous and will likely challenge your thinking. Queer studies in education will give students an overview of three topics related to queer studies in education: 1. The history of LGBTQ+ people and topics in education in the US. We will cover legislation against and in support of LGBTQ+ classroom teachers, as well as LGBTQ+ topics. Contemporary examples will also be discussed to critically examine how our past continues to impact our present, and consider how we can support LGBTQ+ colleagues, students, families, and ourselves. 2. Including LGBTQ+ people and issues in curriculum, policies, and other school material. We will look at examples and frameworks for including LGBTQ+ people in the curriculum. This inclusivity can encompass classroom policies, indicating to LGBTQ+ families and students they are welcome, teaching about LGBTQ+ issues (civil rights, healthcare, family structures, etc.) and/or LGBTQ+ figures (historical figures, activists, etc.). 3. Using a queer pedagogy framework to rethink your professional approaches and materials. Queer pedagogy is an approach to teaching and education that questions norms, boundaries, and structures. It can be used to frame lessons on LGBTQ+ people, but it can also be used to rethink any topic taught in your classroom. This unit will include conceptual readings on queer pedagogy as a concept, and examples of it in practice. 4. Supporting LGBTQ+ people in educational settings using the theoretical framework of queer cultural capital. This includes teachers and other education professionals, students, families, and communities. Sign up and learn more here.
Restore & Connect Writing Retreats for Educators of Color
Location: Washington, D.C., Chicago, and Portland, Oregon
The Restore & Connect Writing Retreats will serve as a respite for educators of color committed to social justice teaching in K-12 classrooms. Teachers will write poetry and narratives about social justice school/teaching life, articles about theory and practice grounded in classroom lessons, and/or opinion pieces about issues in the teaching of writing or education. Participants will be guided through a joy-filled, creative process that allows them to hone their writing craft, build community with other educators, and engage with writing as a tool for political education. We're particularly looking for educators interested in writing stories related to school safety, teaching Reconstruction, arts education, education policy, and disability justice, but are also open to other topics.
Each accepted participant will receive a $250 stipend and a Rethinking Schools magazine subscription or book of their choice. Learn more here.
Math and Diversity
St. Michael's College / Moy, E.
Dates: M&W 6/24-7/17 4:00PM-8:30PM
This course will explore theories, ideas and practices for teaching math to students with diverse characteristics at the PK-8 levels. Students will investigate current literature on cultural, pedagogical and developmental issues related to how children learn mathematics in the four selected areas of diversity: math and students with special needs, math and students with math disabilities, math and students in poverty, and math and students who are speakers of other languages (ESL). More info here.
Landmark College
Dates: Ongoing
They have many online and in person opportunities to learn about how to better support students with learning disabilities. Learn more and sign up here.
A Sneak Peek: What Works in Math Differentiation and Intervention
Kateri Thunder, Ph.D.
Date: Tuesday, June 25, 2024 9:00 AM 3:30 PM
Join us for a sneak peek as we examine what works and doesn’t work for math differentiation and intervention. In this institute, we will use brain and math research to answer the question: How do we select the right task at the right moment to meet students’ needs? We will unpack the foundational ideas for differentiation and then examine strategies for differentiating math tasks based on readiness and interest. Together, we will tackle questions like: When should I use whole group or small group learning? How should I form my small groups? We will analyze instructional strategies for differentiation, including tiered and parallel tasks, open questions, choice boards, and stations. And, we will preview effective evidence-based instructional strategies for math intervention. Learn more and sign up here.
Neurodiversity: A Framework for Teaching and Learning
VT-HEC / Hannah Markos
Dates:
7/11/2024: 10:30 AM - 12:30 PM (synchronous online class)
7/18/2024: 10:30 AM - 12:30 PM (synchronous online class)
7/25/2024: 10:30 AM - 12:30 PM (synchronous online class)
8/1/2024: 10:30 AM - 12:30 PM (synchronous online class)
This course will offer an introduction to the Neurodiversity movement, including its origins, history, evolution, key concepts, and vocabulary. Participants will have an opportunity to use their new learning to inform teaching practices both in service to students receiving special education and in honoring the neurodiversity inherently present in all spaces where students learn.
Participants will engage in small and large group work with an emphasis on active learning. Students will reflect on their new learning and application of course concepts to their existing professional practice. Learn more and sign up here.
The Learner’s Perspective: Engage in Designing Learning Tools and Lessons with the Incorporation of Multicultural Children's Literature
Laura Terry
July 1 - August 26, 2024
Diverse Minds & Inclusive Hearts: A Journey to Cultural Competence and Neurodiversity in Education
Ben White, Ed.D.
May 13 – June 30, 2024, Online.
Dive into a transformative journey with a course designed for educators and educational leaders aiming to champion inclusivity and support in today’s diverse classrooms and schools. This course offers an in-depth exploration of cultural competency and neurodiversity, equipping participants with the knowledge and tools to create learning environments that acknowledge, respect, and celebrate the unique backgrounds and learning needs of all students. Participants will engage with both theoretical frameworks and practical strategies, learning to apply Universal Design for Learning (UDL) principles and culturally responsive teaching techniques. The goal is to cultivate classrooms and schools that are equitable, engaging, and fully responsive to the diverse experiences of students. Learn more here.
Trauma Informed Social Learning
Julie Erdelyi, M.A.,
June 24 - 27, 2024, Online.
The Trauma-Informed Social Learning Course focuses on defining, identifying, and understanding children’s developmental experiences—such as early adversity or autism—that negatively impact typical social development. Our goal is to help teachers and programs protect vulnerable learners and provide the knowledge and support needed for robust instruction in social-emotional learning. Learn more here.
When Writing is Hard: Written Language Disorders and Dysgraphia
Melissa Farrall, Ph.D.
July 23 - August 8, 2024, Online.
Writing can be challenging, and our understanding of the writing process impacts how we teach, assess, and respond to our students. Participants will leave this course with an understanding of how writing develops, the root causes of most writing problems, tools for progress monitoring, and areas of support that children require to express their thoughts on paper. Learn more here.
Creating and Sustaining Equitable Communities
Middle Grades Collaborative
June 24-June 28, 2024, hybrid
The focus of this summer's institute is Creating and Sustaining Equitable Communities and will include rich opportunities to draw connections between this theme and your teaching goals using Gholdy Muhammad's Unearthing Joy. Learn more here.
Vermont Energy Education Program Summer Institute
Vermont Energy Education Program
June 24-28th
How can we make climate learning accessible, hands-on, and solutions-focused while still meeting or exceeding your standards? Come work and play with us in the White Mountains of NH as we tackle these questions together. You will plan a curriculum that cultivates hope and brings students meaningful learning opportunities to tackle relevant climate solutions for their community. Open to all educators, any grade, any subject, anywhere in the world. Learn more here.
MindPlay’s Comprehensive Reading Course
Blanche Podhajski and Nancy Mather
Available on demand
The MindPlay Comprehensive Reading Course was developed by a team of leading literacy experts to give educators a strong foundation in reading science. The course is open to anyone seeking to expand their knowledge of effective reading and spelling instruction. Through presentations by experts, instructional videos, teaching demonstrations, sample lessons, classroom activities, supplemental materials, and pre- and post-tests that assess learning, you’ll gain a solid understanding of what it takes to provide systematic and explicit reading instruction, also known as structured literacy. Learn more here.
