PoCC Social Justice Summit: Waking up NAIS Schools

Keynote: Lezley McSpadden-Head
Panelists: Khyati Joshi, Brittany Packnett Cunningham, José Vilson, and Randall Dunn; moderated by Caroline G. Blackwell, NAIS

 EDUCATORS HAVE TO GET WITH THE PROGRAM

• It's not enough to participate in social justice (SJ) symbolically, we have to live anti-racist lives
• The change in the culture has to start with us
• We have to be so persuaded by our vision for justice and social change that we are unshakable in our resolve
• The time for change and influence is now, and it may not persist in the way we are currently experiencing
• We cannot allow the status quo to persist if we want to expect change
• Stop making feather headbands for Thanksgiving
• Stop saying that laws exist to protect everyone
• Look at what we are teaching: Critical lens
• There are ways in which 
• We have an opportunity now: Excellent education means that we have to lift each other's voices up and find ways to keep each other accountable

SOCIAL JUSTICE IN EDUCATION MEANS...

• A goal and a process; creating a more equitable society for all
• Equitable school environment
• Recognizing different social identities as well as your positionality relating to other identities
• We need to recognize that independent schools (IS) weren't made for Black and brown people
• They were made to separate white children from children of color
• Students of color have been made to feel as if they should be so grateful to participate in IS that they shouldn't raise their voices in advocating for what works best for them
• NONE OF US ARE FREE UNTIL WE ALL ARE FREE
• Starting point for these schools is white/Christian society--NOT NEUTRAL

How can schools charge tuition in affluent places and still align themselves with social justice causes?

• We can find models and ways to move the needle to work for our kids that can be applied elsewhere
• We can find ways to increase equity wherever we are
• Audre Lorde: The greatest sign of privilege is absorbing without use
• We have to be able to apply our learnings to education as a whole
• Causing trouble me be essential to some of the changes we want to implement
• Find allies in your schools, especially in administration
• Stay strategic--recognize the changes your school is ready to make and move into those spaces

KEYNOTE: Lezley McSpadden-Head (mother of Michael Brown)

• Necessary universal federal law that will fix the problem of police brutality
• Need to work together to create the future we want to see
• "If you made it to this month, then know that God saw fit for you to be present in the land of the living."