Teachers Return Energized from PoCC

“Valued,” “respected,” “hope,” and “oneness,” are just a few feelings of the National Association of Independent School's (NAIS) People of Color Conference (PoCC) attendees report upon their return. Four days may seem like a short time, but it is long enough for Lowell faculty and staff to join the PoCC family and feel the connection of shared experiences. This year's conference explored the theme “Equitable School and Inclusive Communities: Harmony, Discord, and the Notes in Between.” Lowell’s contingent represented all three divisions of the school and After Care.

Keynote speaker Shakil Choudry, co-founder of Anima Leadership and author of Deep Diversity: Overcoming Us vs. Them, discussed his 25 years of experience in diversity, equity, and community organizing. Choudry’s message led a list of speakers who engaged the audience and challenged their perspectives. Speakers like Luz Santana, co-director of the Right Question Institute, and Marian Wright Edelman, founder and president of the Children's Defense Fund, energized attendees.

After 10 years, Pre-Primary Teacher Denielle Hill returned to the conference and was not only impressed with the 6400 people in attendance but also moved by the way people opened themselves up to new possibilities. Reflecting on her personal and professional development, Denielle says, “going to workshops and having these conversations gives you a sense of what work has been done and what needs to be done.”

First timers Kindergarten Teacher Dave Foreman and Pre-Primary Teacher Ana Ardon both had transformative experiences in their affinity groups. In the Multiracial Heritage group, Dave experienced for the first time what it was like to be with a group of people who have similar experiences. The conversation went beyond discussing which box to check on a form when asked about race and into tricky family dynamics that shape many people who are of multiracial. “My story was the story of so many people [in the room], and it’s a [uniquely] American story,” he says. “This [was] a safe place to let it go,” says Ana who was challenged in the Latinx Heritage group with the question “When was the most recent time someone took your dignity away?”

Michelle Belton, director of diversity, inclusion, and equity initiatives, looks forward to implementing new techniques in her classroom like using visual materials to facilitate hard conversations. Seeing it as a merger between diversity and UDL approaches already in use in the Middle School, it’s “creating another way students can process content or display and work through it,” she says. She also looks forward to breaking the traditional classroom structures to encourage more equitable, inclusive, and democratic dialogue between students.

A feeling of pride connects Lowell’s PoCC attendees as they move into the next phase, bringing the message back to the Lowell community. “Lowell is revolutionary,” Ana says as she points out in Pre-Primary that most teachers are persons of color. That’s “extremely powerful” for children to see she says.

As participants continue to process the experience, many questions arise about how they can apply what they’ve learned back at Lowell. Most of all, Dave says, he’ll be reflecting on the question, “How can I be a better teacher?”


Lowell Faculty and Staff Attendees: