Coffee and Conversations: Addressing SEAD through a Racial Equity Lens

On June 24th, the Core Advocate Network, in partnership with the Education Trust, invited educators to participate in a conversation about the intersection of social emotional and academic development and racial equity in classrooms. This topic, while always essential, is a critical component of the work for the fall of 2020 in the wake of the disruptions caused by COVID-19 in the spring of 2020.

It is incumbent upon all of us as educators to  support our students in making sense of the exacerbated inequities confronting us at this time. This discussion was intended to offer ideas for what it will take to unequivocally support students of color and their families in returning to school after having experienced not only a global pandemic, but also the latest outpouring of anguish at the systemic devaluation of Black life in this country.  

Attached you will find a video of the introductory presentation in which Nancy Duchesneau, a doctoral fellow at the Education Trust, shares findings from  an Education Trust study that engaged students and families of color across the country to understand their perspectives of school efforts to support social emotional development for their students, and what they believe schools should do to holistically support students of color. Ms.  Duchesneau raises that the way social emotional learning has been implemented in many schools-- devoid of the important context of student identity--presents significant issues. The Education Trust has developed a vision for addressing this that centers on racial equity and the integration of social-emotional efforts into academics (SEAD). We hope this video will support others in engaging in the necessary converations and hard work of critically reflecting on current practices as a way to better serve all students.

Interested in opportunities to learn from other educators?  Take the Core Advocate survey to learn about upcoming Coffee and Conversations and other free events. Have a topic in mind for further discussion or feedback about the event?  We want to hear from you! Please reach out to Joy  Delizo-Osborne.