Summit 2009
The 2009 Summit for Courageous Conversation took place October 10–14 at the Hyatt Regency Baltimore Inner Harbor in Baltimore, Maryland. In "Charm City" we examined, embraced, and celebrated equity-focused anti-racist educational policy, programs, and practices that empower students, families, and educators. Through this national network of support we worked to extend our influence to disrupt the most devastating factor contributing to the diminished capacity of all children… systemic racism. This annual convention allows us to share research, perspectives and practices to celebrate our most successful strategies being executed in cities across the nation.
Below find the biographies of keynote speakers, distinguished, and national educators who presented at the summit.
Plenary Speaker
Glenn E. Singleton Glenn Eric Singleton is founder and president of Pacific Educational Group, Inc. (PEG). In 1992, he founded PEG to more closely support families in their transitions within and between K-12 and higher education. His company later grew into its intended mission of addressing systemic issues of educational inequity by providing guidance to districts on meeting the needs of underserved students of color. Working at all levels from superintendents to beginning teachers, PEG helps educators focus on heightening their awareness of institutional racism and developing effective strategies for eliminating racial educational disparities. In 1995, Singleton developed Beyond Diversity, a nationally recognized seminar aimed at helping educators identify, define and examine the powerful intersection of race and schooling. Today, thousands of seminar participants throughout the country practice the agreements and conditions of "Courageous Conversation" as they struggle to usher in culturally proficient curriculum, instruction, and assessment. |
 |
|
|
Ben Jealous Benjamin Jealous grew up believing that there was no higher calling than to further the cause of freedom in this country and in the world, a mindset he inherited from his parents and grandparents. Their drive for community betterment blazed the trail for Jealous' own deep commitment to social justice, public service, and human rights activism. As the 17th President and Chief Executive Officer of the NAACP, and the youngest person to hold the position in the organization's nearly 100 year history, Jealous is well positioned to answer the call. Jealous has also served as president of the Rosenberg Foundation, director of the U.S. Human Rights Program at Amnesty International, and executive director of the National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA), a federation of more than 200 black community newspapers. From his early days of organizing voter registration drives, through his studies at Columbia University and as a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford University, up to his nomination and election as NAACP president, Jealous has been motivated by civic duty and a constant need to improve the lives of America's underrepresented. |
 |
| James Loewen James Loewen's gripping retelling of American history as it should, and could, be taught, Lies My Teacher Told Me, has sold more than 800,000 copies and continues to inspire K-16 teachers to get students to challenge, rather than memorize, their textbooks. Loewen taught race relations for twenty years at the University of Vermont. Previously, he taught at predominantly black Tougaloo College in Mississippi. He now lives in Washington D.C., continuing his research on how Americans remember their past. Lies Across America: What Our Historic Sites Get Wrong came out in 1999. The Gustavus Myers Foundation named his latest book, Sundown Towns, a "Distinguished Book of 2005." Loewen's other books include Mississippi: Conflict and Change (co-authored), which won the Lillian Smith Award for Best Southern Nonfiction, but was rejected for public school text use by the State of Mississippi, leading to the path-breaking First Amendment lawsuit, Loewen et al. v. Turnipseed, et al. He also wrote The Mississippi Chinese: Between Black and White, Social Science in the Courtroom, and The Truth About Columbus. |
 |
| Gloria Ladson-Billings Gloria Ladson-Billings is the Kellner Family Chair in Urban Education and Professor of Curriculum and Instruction and Educational Policy Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She has concentrated her research on multicultural education, social studies, critical race theory and education, and culturally relevant pedagogy, and has won numerous scholarly awards. In 2005-06, Dr. Ladson-Billings served as president of the American Educational Research Association (AERA). In her April 2006 Presidential Address at the AERA annual meeting, she challenged the education community to reconceptualize the notion of the achievement gap and to begin thinking about the incredible "education debt" the U.S. has amassed at the expense of generations of children of color. Dr. Ladson-Billings is author of the critically acclaimed books, The Dreamkeepers: Successful Teachers of African American Children and Crossing Over to Canaan: The Journey of New Teachers in Diverse Classrooms. She has also written numerous journal articles and book chapters. |
 |
Summit Awards
Each year, Pacific Educational Group recognizes educators, family and community members who enthusiastically and unapologetically promote equity and racial justice in schools. Not only do these leaders engage, sustain, and deepen Courageous Conversation among a variety of constituencies, they also inspire and mobilize others to create the climate and conditions for equitable schools that enable all children to achieve at their highest levels.
- The Asa G. Hilliard Award for Outstanding Achievement in Racial Equity
- Summit Leadership Award
- Summit Learning & Teaching Award
- Summit Community Empowerment Award
- Summit Recognition Award (Honorable Mention)
Click Here to view a full list of Summit Award winners
|
Text Copyright 2011 Pacific Educational Group |
