Session 1
What Is An Anti Racist School?
The conference begins with the necessary question of what is an anti-racist school. The answers are many, spanning restorative justice, authentic assessment, the role of unions, rest as a form of resistance, and of course the national campaign organizing for racial justice in education, Black Lives Matter at School.
Presenters At A Glance
Culturally Relevant Assessment
Sign up for an interactive session where we will delve into diverse methods for authentic assessment in various subjects, infused with the principles of culturally relevant pedagogy. Throughout the session, we will unravel the process of designing and assessing student learning experiences in the classroom. During the session, teachers will have a chance to be in community together and design a new assessment for this upcoming school year.
Presenter Bio:
Daisha Brabham (she/her/hers)
Daisha Brabham is a public historian, curriculum writer, and teacher educator. She holds a B.S. in Secondary Education from Southern Connecticut State University and an MA in Public History from the Royal Holloway University of London, where she researched transnational black resistance movements and black feminist print culture. She recently transitioned out of the classroom to join the Gilder Lehman Center at Yale University as the Director of Education and Public Outreach. She is also an adjunct faculty member at Southern Connecticut State University in the History and Secondary Education department and a steering committee member of the Anti-Racist Teaching and Collective. In addition to writing curriculum, she has facilitated several professional development opportunities and served as a panelist for various webinars and conferences to share strategies on anti-racist, culturally relevant pedagogy.
NHFT & Recovery for All: Building Power for a More Equitable Connecticut
Join NHFT President Leslie Blatteau and CT Recovery for All Director Puya Gerami for an interactive session where we unpack the reality of inequality in our state and work together to organize for a more equitable Connecticut. We will discuss the current economic reality of “two Connecticuts” and how this divide impacts educators, students, and families in New Haven. We will look back at our work both inside and outside of the Capitol during the 2023 legislative session and look ahead for how we can stay engaged in the ongoing fight for economic justice. We will also discuss the concept of Bargaining for the Common Good and work together to involve more educators in this crucial organizing work. When union and community members come together to work for long term structural change, we can build a city and state where everyone thrives.
Presenter Bios:
Leslie Blatteau (she/her/hers)
Leslie Blatteau has been an NHPS social studies teacher and union member since 2007. She is in her second year as President of the New Haven Federation of Teachers. During this period, NHFT has addressed teacher retention, wellbeing, working conditions, and learning conditions. Recently, NHFT negotiated a strong contract for members, securing historic raises and ensuring NHFT’s seat at the table for ongoing collaboration. Leslie prioritizes engagement and activism, as well as partnership with students, parents, and families, as we build a coalition to fight for the schools our communities deserve. Before becoming NHFT President, Leslie worked at Metropolitan. Through reflection, collaboration, and support from community organizations, Leslie strived to create an anti-racist and student-centered classroom. Leslie lives in the Hill with her husband Jim and their daughter Francine. She is a NHPS parent and member of the PTO at Hill Central School where Francine will be entering 3rd grade.
Puya Gerami (he/him)
Puya Gerami (he/him) is an Iranian-American who was born and raised in eastern CT and has lived in New Haven for the last decade. He is the director of Recovery For All, a statewide coalition of nearly 70 unions, community organizations, and faith groups committed to the long-term mission of eliminating Connecticut’s extreme racial, economic, and gender inequities.
Rest Practices For Our Classrooms
You are warmly invited to a space to practice, study, and plan rest together. We will explore rest for ourselves, our students, and our communities. Our session will be grounded in Tricia Hersey’s work on @thenapministry and her book, Rest Is Resistance, which frames rest as an anti-racist practice. We will ask how we can deepen rest through conversations with our colleagues and experimentation in partnership with our students. Examples of rest practices from covid and post-covid classrooms will be shared. We will imagine roles for creativity, comfort, play, and nature in our schools. Time will be reserved to collaboratively plan for experimentation with rest with softness and solidarity. Rest must be experienced, so come ready to be cozy.
Presenter Bio:
Rabiya Kassam-Clay (she/her)
Rabiya Kassam-Clay (she/her) has taught for 15 years in Philadelphia, Mexico City, and now in Los Angeles at Marshall High School. Her classes have included world history, United States history and government, composition, and literature. Rabiya earned a M.S.Ed. from the University of Pennsylvania. She coached Breakthrough Collaborative teaching fellows, and founded the Flux Teacher Institute, a collective of expert teachers who provided workshops on source evaluation, sketchnoting, public spaces to over 300 participants. Rabiya is an educational advisor for Monument Lab and writes curriculum including for 1919 by Eve Ewing and There are Trans People Here by H. Melt. She is an inaugural Zinn Education Project Prentiss Charney Fellow. Rabiya is a lifelong devotee of science fiction and poetry, a native plants educator, and a proud UTLA member. Find out what she is up to in the classroom by visiting @welcomebrilliantminds
Teaching For Black Lives
In this session we will examine fundamental principles of teaching for Black lives that include not only antiracist pedagogy but also collective organizing in unions and with communities around the Black Lives Matter at School week of action.
Presenter Bio:
Jesse Hagopian (he/him)
Jesse Hagopian’s African ancestors survived the middle passage and enslavement on plantations in Mississippi and Louisiana. Jesse is a high school teacher in Seattle, an editor for Rethinking Schools magazine, an organizer with Black Lives Matter at School, and serves on the leadership team of the Zinn Education Project. Jesse is the author of the forthcoming book from Haymarket Books, "Teach Truth: The Attack on Critical Race Theory and the Struggle for Antiracist Education," editor of "More Than a Score: The New Uprising Against High Stakes Testing," and the co-editor of the books, "Teaching for Black Lives," "Black Lives Matter at School," and "Teachers Unions and Social Justice."
Understanding the Intersectionality
of Ethnic/Racial Identity
A transformative workshop that delves into the complexities of Afro-Latine ethnic and racial identity, while shedding light on their impact on mental well-being. This is a research based workshop that will include interactive discussions and personal reflections, participants will gain insights and tools to better support Afro-Latine students' identity development and well-being.
Presenter Bio:
Dr. Natalie Muñoz (she/her/ella)
Dr. Natalie Muñoz is a recent alumna of the School of Social Work at Howard University. Dr. Muñoz is a proud Afro-Latina, born and raised in New York City. For the past 15 years, she has played a key role in the retention of underserved students in higher education, enhancing academic success for low-income students and promoting social justice on college campuses. Her dissertation focuses on how HBCUs contribute to the ethnic/racial identity development and mental health of Afro-Latine college students. Dr. Muñoz recently accepted a position at Rutgers University as an Assistant Professor in the University School of Arts and Sciences-Newark Department of Social Work. She self-cares by dancing bachata, being in community with family and friends and cycling.
Youth Justice in Practice: Moving from Restorative Circles to Restorative Systems
In this session, participants will gain an understanding of how sustained restorative practices can support the development of restorative systems within a school. The first half of the session will include a virtual community-building circle and an examination of how the ‘social discipline window’ can inform restorative work within school communities. In the second half of the session, the presenters will share their unique experience developing and teaching a new course entitled Youth Justice in Practice, and facilitating the Metro Youth Justice Panel, a youth-led restorative justice panel at MBA.
Presenter Bios:
Julia Miller (she/her)
Julia Miller (she/her) is a New Haven Public School teacher, parent and alum. She has been teaching Social Studies for 16 years, first in Brooklyn, and for the last eight years at Metropolitan Business Academy. At Metro, Julia currently teaches Civics and Youth Justice in Practice, a senior law elective grounded in restorative and transformative justice. In this role, she co-designed and launched the Metro Youth Justice Panel (MYJP), a student-run restorative justice accountability initiative in the school. Julia additionally completed her Sixth Year Certificate in Educational Leadership at Southern Connecticut State University this past year.
Steve Staysniak (he/him)
Steve is entering his 13th year as an English and Social Studies teacher at Metropolitan Business Academy, a public magnet high school in New Haven and this year will be his 18th year in the profession overall. Currently Steve teaches 9th grade English, Journalism, and a senior capstone class focused on developing students’ capacity to facilitate youth-led restorative hearings called Youth Justice in Practice. Steve has held various leadership positions in his school, district and local including acting as the senior class advisor, serving on his schools mastery-based learning transition team, sitting on the school’s school governance committee, which he currently chairs, acting as a lead-teacher in the ongoing development of performance based assessments in the English department at the district level, and holding the position of Trustee in his local, NHFT 933, where is is also co-chair of the labor committee. Steve and his family live in New Haven.