Washington state charter public schools employ over double the number of Global Majority (BIPOC) teachers as compared to the statewide average. These educators along with their White identifying peers foster identity-affirming, community-rooted, and culturally-sustaining classrooms and ways of learning. It is crucial that teachers and school staff of the Global Majority are supported in their roles with the resources, community, and opportunities to support their professional development.
As a part of WA Charters’ school support services, charter public school staff and teachers are invited to join a program to build connections and strengthen support for each other in the workplace. These are the sector Racial Equity Identity Groups (REIGs); there are three affinity spaces and cohorts: White, Global Majority, and Black educators. Led by equity experts, the REIGs with participants from across the state come together in sessions throughout the school year to focus on community care.
#Throwback to February of this year!
WA Charters offered scholarships to participants in the Black and Global Majority Sector REIG cohorts to attend the Network for EdWork 2024 Convening hosted by Technology Access Foundation (TAF) in February.
The Network for EdWork (NWEW) aims to identify and dismantle racist institutionalized structures and practices within and around us through person-centered development and support for educators and leaders to activate the intentions, theories, and practices of liberation. Supporting and connecting BIPOC educators and leaders is essential to creating education spaces where students of color – and thereby, all students – thrive.
The NWEW 2024 convening was an intentional BIPOC centered space, aiming to support BIPOC educators and education leaders in imagining, healing, and building for liberation. The two-day gathering was dedicated to providing the tools and community to thrive, connect, develop partnerships, and advocate for change.
“I loved attending the convening! Seriously, it was such an inspiring experience connecting with fellow educators and soaking up all the insights.”
Angela Reyes, teacher at Catalyst Public Schools
Some Highlights!
Impactful Content
Our friends and partners at the True Measure Collaborative presented a thought-provoking session on disrupting the school to prison pipeline by changing the way we respond to behavioral challenges in the classroom.
Inspiring Speakers
Ruha Benjamin delivered the keynote: Educators As Imagination Incubators: Possibilities & Practices Toward Liberatory Education
“If inequity is woven into the very fabric of our societies, then that means each twist, coil, and code is a chance for us to weave new patterns, practices, and politics. The vastness of the problem will be its undoing once we accept that we are pattern makers,” she said.
Ruha inspired educators to empower their students’ critical thinking and explore meaning making skills in this evolving world.
Centering Community Care
The never-ending pull of productivity and self-care is often blurred. Bonita Lee hosted a workshop supporting authenticity and sharing brave space, exploring maintenance, self-care, community care and how they are intertwined, in a co-created space.
What’s next?
We encourage you to explore upcoming opportunities, workshops, events, and shared resources from the NWEW to continue our collective journey.