How do we achieve equitable inclusion in our public schools?

Saturday, May 13, 2017

Rutgers Law School

123 Washington Street

Newark, NJ

REGISTRATION IS NOW CLOSED.

How can we achieve and maintain inclusive, equitable, integrated public schools in New Jersey?   What are the best practices for ensuring that our schools educate our children holistically, in ways that are attentive to their needs, experiences, and backgrounds?  This day-long conference will explore these questions through panels of educators, researchers, parents, students, community members, organizers, and advocates. 

8:00-9:00 a.m.:  Registration

9:00-9:15 a.m.: Welcome and Opening remarks, Elise Boddie, Professor of Law, Rutgers School of Law

9:15-10:15 a.m.: “Creating Inclusive Educational Environments:  The Layered Challenges of Poverty, Health, Undocumented Status, and Special Needs”

Confirmed panelists: 

• Esther Canty-Barnes, Clinical Professor of Law and Director of the Education and Health Law Clinic, Rutgers Law School
• Randi Mandelbaum, Clinical Professor of Law and Director, Child Advocacy Clinic, Rutgers Law School
• Jennifer Rosen Valverde, Legal Director, Health, Education, Advocacy, and Law Collaborative and Clinical Professor of Law, Rutgers Law School
• Jeena Shah, Visiting Assistant Clinical Professor of Law (moderator)

10:15-11:15 am:  “Educating Students in Newark Public Schools for Success”

Confirmed panelists:

• Mary Bennett, Coalition for Effective Public Schools and former principal, Shabazz High School
• Sharnee Brown, Principal, Central High School
• Jose Velasquez, Retired Educator with 28 years of experience teaching at Central and University High Schools in Newark; Founder of the Thurgood Marshall Law Academy at University High School
• Roger Leon, Assistant Superintendent of Administration, Newark Public Schools; former principal, University High School

11:15-11:30 Break

11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m: “Examining the Systems that Drive Inequity in Public Education and What We Can Do About It, Part I”

Confirmed panelists:

• Dr. Crystal Belle, Rutgers University-Newark, Department of Urban Education, Director of Teacher Education
• Dr. Domingo Morel, Assistant Professor, Rutgers University-Newark, Department of Political Science, Global Urban Studies/Urban Systems
• David Troutt, Professor of Law, Rutgers Law School; Founding Director of the Rutgers Center on Law, Inequality & Metropolitan Equity (CLiME) and the Trauma, Schools, and Poverty Project
• Dr. Julia Rubin, Associate Professor, Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy, Rutgers University

12:30-1:15 Lunch and Keynote Speaker John Brittain

John Brittain is a Professor of Law at the University of District of Columbia, David A. Clarke School of Law.  Among his many prior achievements, he has been the Dean of the Thurgood Marshall School of Law at Texas Southern University.  He was also the former Chief Counsel and Senior Deputy Director of the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law in Washington, D.C. and a lead lawyer in the landmark school desegregation case, Sheff v. O’Neill.

1:15-1:30 Break

1:30-2:30 p.m. “What Matters Most to Students and to Parents:  Community Perspectives on Equity and Inclusion”

Confirmed panelists:

• Roberto Cabanas, Organizer, NJ Communities United
• Junius Williams, Director of the Abbott Leadership Institute

2:30-3:30 pm:   “Examining the Systems that Drive Inequity in Public Education and What We Can Do About It, Part II:  National Policies and Practices that Challenge School Segregation”

Confirmed panelists:

• Michael Alves, President, Alves Consulting Group; Educational Planner with over three decades of experience designing policies that promote diversity in public schools
• Halley Potter, Senior Fellow, The Century Foundation
• Sarah Camiscoli, Co-Founder and Co-Director, IntegrateNYC4me

3:30-3:45 Break

3:45-4:45 “Exploring Statewide Initiatives to Promote Equity and Inclusion in Public Schools in New Jersey”

Confirmed panelists:

• Debra Jennings, Executive Co-Director, Statewide Parent Advocacy Network New Jersey
• Paul Scully, Executive Director, Building One America
• Dr. Ryan Coughlan, Instructor, Guttman Community College; Co-Author, Remedying Segregation:How New Jersey’s Morris School District Chose to Make Diversity Work
• Dr. Frank Freyre, former president, Latino Action Network

4:45-5:00 pm Closing Remarks

Lunch will be provided for participants who pre-register.