After reviewing emerging themes from over 300 inquiry-based projects in two years. My peers and I collaborated to create a regional conference for the Cuyahoga County Educational Services Center (ESC) with 12 workshops focused on many issues in K-12 education. This authentic professional development was for K-12 students, families, community members, educators, and school leaders in Northeast Ohio. At the conference I presented on The Power of Home Visits. Which focused on not just building relationships with families, but building partnerships with families, school and community to work as a team to build a positive school community and to ensure success of all students.
My colleagues in conjunction with Akron Art Museum, hosted an art exhibit called "The Time is Now." I engaged with school community members regarding issues of equity, social justice, and reform. Also, I engaged in readings to deepen my understanding of social justice and equity. Then immersed myself in critical dialogue with peers, school leaders in the field, and community activists; reflected on my understandings through audio/video reflections; facilitated the creation of an equity audit team (i.e, children, families, teachers, school leaders, and community members) and conducted/presented a school-wide/district-wide equity audit.
I created a metaphor to represent how I understood what I was learning; worked with a community artist mentors to translate a social justice stance, based on a metaphor I created, and utilized my new ways of knowing and responding to school communities to create a symbolic piece through art making. Title of Art Work: The Course to Success Stance: The time is now to shift the focus from powerhouse schools and focus on students in poverty achieving success. Metaphor: Education is a game of miniature golf, some students achieve a hole in one easily, while others have distractions in their course to try and deter them from achieving success. To achieve success school leaders must remember that poverty looks different in every community. The society must invest in low economic families outside of schools in order to improve the learning and outcomes for the students inside of schools, also value the respect of students and their families’ proactive participants and contributors to their community to achieve success. (Marshall, Olivia 2010) The time is now to fight through the obstacles that come with poverty and achieve success for all students. Marshall, C. & Oliva, M. (2010). Leadership for social justice: Making revolutions in education (2nd ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson Education. |