Creating an Equity Toolkit: Strategies for Individualizing Paths to College and Career Success
Location
Bowie C
Focused Area
Improving School Climate for Youth-At-Risk
Relevance to Focused Area
By the end of this workshop, participants will be able to: (1) Clearly identify how equity relates to their work in guiding students to make choices regarding success outcomes and post-secondary opportunities (Strand I); (2) Effectively develop a personal framework for Ubuntu education that connects theoretical principles of community and reciprocity to practical strategies for meeting the needs of all students within the current structures of school and community-based organizations (Strand II); (3) Create their own equity toolkits to take back to their workplaces, which will include efficient and effective strategies for individualizing paths to college and career success for all students, including those least served by our current systems (Strand I)
Primary Strand
Academic Achievement & School Leadership
Relevance to Primary Strand
By the end of this workshop, participants will be able to: (1) Clearly identify how equity relates to their work in guiding students to make choices regarding success outcomes and post-secondary opportunities (Strand I); (2) Effectively develop a personal framework for Ubuntu education that connects theoretical principles of community and reciprocity to practical strategies for meeting the needs of all students within the current structures of school and community-based organizations (Strand II); (3) Create their own equity toolkits to take back to their workplaces, which will include efficient and effective strategies for individualizing paths to college and career success for all students, including those least served by our current systems (Strand I)
Brief Program Description
This interactive workshop will look at how we avoid tracking students and help them identify and pursue postsecondary paths that reflect their unique aspirations, strengths, and needs. Participants will learn strategies for individualizing paths to college and career success and will leave this session with practical, research-based strategies for creating equity toolkits rooted in strength-based and equitable practices.
Summary
According to the National Center of Educational Statistics (2015), by the year 2020, 65 percent of all jobs will require some form of postsecondary education or training. Research also supports the need for more comprehensive, holistic, and long-range programs to ensure that students’ post-secondary paths are aligned with individual student interests, strengths, and goals. This interactive workshop will take a critically reflective look at a fundamental question of our work – how do we avoid tracking students and instead help them identify and pursue postsecondary paths that reflect their unique aspirations, strengths, and needs? Participants will have the opportunity to develop a deeper understanding of the intersection between who we are, what we believe, and what we do and to look at the impact that our own beliefs and experiences have on our professional practices related to creating postsecondary opportunities for all students. Using foundational principles from the fields of social justice, equity pedagogy, and Ubuntu education, this session will delve into the current challenges facing our ability to effectively create pathways to college and career success for all youth and will provide practical and research-based strategies for creating equity toolkits as a means of ensuring that the decisions we make regarding students’ postsecondary opportunities are rooted in strength-based and equitable practices.
Evidence
This workshop will particularly focus on strategies to meet the needs of our most disenfranchised, underserved, and at-risk youth. Participants will engage in a case study simulation and roundtable and jigsaw discussions, among other hands-on activities, to help them create strategies that will work within the frameworks of their existing programs. The session will provide tools that programs can share with families to expand upon program work. Using recent national data, participants will leave with recommendations for best practices to enhance the future postsecondary opportunities of the youth they serve, and will be equipped with strategies and resources they can use immediately with their youth and families. This workshop aligns with best practices in school and community programs that include: (1) a strength-based approach to programming that fosters the relationships and opportunities for all youth to thrive; (2) opportunities for youth to improve their responsibility, autonomy, and leadership; (3) programming that is culturally appropriate and linguistically sensitive; (4) a focus on opportunities for college, career readiness, vocational preparation, and workforce development.
Format
Individual Presentation
Biographical Sketch
Dr. Marina Gillmore is an educator, author, and social justice thought leader who has built her career around working with youth and teaching, training, researching and writing about equity, social justice, belief and value exploration, and self-efficacy. She holds a doctorate in Leadership for Educational Justice and has conducted award-winning research on the underserved youth in urban environments. Her work as a scholar-practitioner in the field of social justice comes from her passion for deconstructing the complexities of injustices in our society and using the power of the personal story to incite deep conversations and transformations centered around how our perceptions and belief systems impact everything we do. A teacher at heart, Dr. Gillmore has taught extensively in traditional and non-traditional settings at the K-12 and university levels
Start Date
10-26-2017 2:00 PM
End Date
10-26-2017 3:15 PM
Recommended Citation
Gillmore, Dr. Marina V., "Creating an Equity Toolkit: Strategies for Individualizing Paths to College and Career Success" (2017). National Youth-At-Risk Conference, West (2015-2017). 8.
https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/nyar_vegas/2017/2017/8
Creating an Equity Toolkit: Strategies for Individualizing Paths to College and Career Success
Bowie C
This interactive workshop will look at how we avoid tracking students and help them identify and pursue postsecondary paths that reflect their unique aspirations, strengths, and needs. Participants will learn strategies for individualizing paths to college and career success and will leave this session with practical, research-based strategies for creating equity toolkits rooted in strength-based and equitable practices.