Mission and Belonging: Professional Development at SCH

On Monday, SCH's staff and faculty took the morning to engage in work around belonging with Lana Asucion and Talia Titus from The Wells Collective. In the afternoon, a team of SCH faculty and staff workshop facilitators created space for us to learn how to foster belonging in our own community, and additionally, how to fill our own cups through initiatives centered around diversity, equity, inclusion, and wellness.

Lana and Talia worked with the room of 200+ employees, creating an environment lead with curiosity, love, and an understanding that listening is just as important as participating. Cultivating Anti-Racism + Belong Through Curriculum was ambitious to unpack in one morning session, however, it centered around the concept of "how to create the curb-cut"—the metaphorical cut in a sidewalk that is meant to support someone who cannot cross the street unless the cement meets the street—"curb-cut effect" underscores the foundational belief that we, as one nation, rise together or fall.

The Wells Collective coached staff and faculty to collaborate on worksheets and discussions that spanned from racism to anti-racism matrix scenarios to belonging and commitment through acceptance, resistance, retreat, emergence, and integrative awareness. 

After a round of applause for Lania and Talia, each employee was asked to join a series of workshops lead by their fellow colleagues that ran the gambit, each an hour long, where they engaged with one-and-other in a classroom setting. Below is just a sampling of the 13 courses offered to SCH faculty & staff: 

• Creating an Inclusive Classroom Space, by Daria Maidenbaum
• A Space to BREATHE, by Laura Cortes & Kevin Engleman
• Fostering "Voice" through Culturally Responsive Teaching, by Martha Crowell & Karen Kolkka
• Gratitude through Journaling, Meditation, and Movement, by BA Fish
• Meet Them Where They Are: Targeting Support for Struggling Students, by Liz O'Flannagan
• Protecting Your Peace: FlouriSCHing, by Frank Jackson
• Restorative Yoga, by Leslee Frye

Thank you to all, including our parent community, for allowing this important work to take place. We all came away from the day with a little more perspective and a lot to consider when entering the classroom, meeting room, or arena that everyone bring a different seat to the table; should we consider, to bend down or rise up, meeting our friends, coworkers, students, peers where they need to be met.