January Montgomery Institute

Leading to Organize – Cultural Competence/Social Justice

To support affiliates that have an interest in developing a more effective and meaningful teacher support in the area of cultural competence and social justice, the Montgomery Institute is hosting a session January 14 – 17, 2016, to share Montgomery County Education Association’s model for culturally responsive teaching.

As educators, we want the best for students and seek ways to meet the needs of all learners in our classrooms. Yet, in our schools today, we often struggle with troubling questions about equity, access and fair play—questions that are not easy to answer in isolation from colleagues or simply through self- reflection.  MCEA has stepped up to help our members acquire new skills and perspectives on the challenging work of becoming culturally responsive practitioners. We have created a ground-breaking partnership with McDaniel College to offer a five-course, 15-credit graduate certificate in the theory, research and practice of culturally responsive teaching—Equity and Excellence in Education.

We will explore the genesis of this program and how MCEA member leaders developed and now lead our work. 

Teams will:

Understand the model MCEA developed and implementedUse organizing skills and strategies to develop a plan to begin designing a program for your districtDevelop a story to advocate for professional development offerings that enhance professional practice and the quality of professionals and improve student learningIncrease awareness of NEA resources to support professional growth opportunities

APPLICATIONS:

Applications are being accepted from affiliate teams via the following link: http://goo.gl/forms/ykQmWMcI2H

The application process also requires a letter of support.  Details are explained in the online application form.

Participants should not make travel arrangements until after a letter of acceptance is received.

Deadline for submitting applications is COB ET November 30th

Selected teams will be notified by December 7, 2015.

LOCATION:

This training opportunity will take place Thursday, January 14th through Sunday, January 17th at the Montgomery County Education Association Center for Teacher Leadership in Rockville, MD. 

TRAVEL:

NEA will provide scholarships for affiliate teams consisting of 5 participants.  The scholarship will cover the hotel costs, breakfast, lunch and snacks on days the Institute is in session, and transportation from the hotel to the MCEA Conference Center.

All additional travel costs are the responsibility of the local and are not covered by the scholarship.  Participants are expected to cover their own flight and transportation costs.

Participants will be expected to arrive on Wednesday, January 13th. The training concludes on Sunday, January 17th at approximately 12:00pm EST. Please plan your departure flights on January 17th for at least 2:00pm EST, or later to give yourselves enough travel time after the end of the training session.  Participants should use Washington Reagan National Airport.

Participants should not make travel arrangements until after a letter of acceptance is received.

Teams:  We encourage careful, intentional consideration of the make-up of teams and attention should be given to establishing a team that reflects diversity in ethnicity, gender, age and roles and responsibilities.  We recognize that each organization has unique needs, so teams could include: association members, leaders, committee members, association staff and managers, and school district representatives.  Teams should consist of individuals that can advance the project in their organization and will be expected to share their progress and success after the training.  Funding via scholarship is available for teams of 5 participants.  If space is available and the affiliate assumes the expense, additional team members may be welcomed.

Linda A. Manny

Organizational Specialist

Montgomery Institute

NEA Center for Organizing

 Ellen Holmes, NBCT

Coordinator 

Montgomery Institute

MCEA

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