Submitted by DuBoi McCarty, Student Development and Stephanie Whalen, Academy Chair, English & Interdisciplinary Studies
You may have heard something about a collaborative project related to equity taking place between Harper and our sender school districts. Our Community of Practice, The Art of Teaching for Equity, has planned an equity literacy project and recruited participants through the Northwest Educational Council for Student Success (NECSS), which is a partnership that brings Districts 211, 214, and 220 together to support college and career readiness. This spring semester, we will host three focused workshops to build a lexicon supported by research and contextual examples to promote understanding of inequalities experienced by students throughout all levels of their education. Next year, the resource will be used to support professional development efforts identified through the workshops as most critical for our students.
To date, the collaborative effort includes nineteen educators (including administrators, teachers, social workers, professional developers, and other staff) from our sender schools, an additional 10 from Harper, and one from NIU. Dr. Joseph Flynn, Associate Director of Academic Affairs, Center for Black Studies at NIU will be a lead facilitator for the workshops, and participants will develop material to add to the resource based on the topics that connect most closely to their concerns, starting with descriptions of issues they see taking place in their schools. We would welcome more participants who have knowledge and expertise that would allow them to contribute to the project. The workshop dates are January 29, February 26, and March 19. If you are interested in joining us, please contact DuBoi McCarty (dmccarty@harpercollege.edu) or Stephanie Whalen (swhalen@harpercollege.edu) for more information.