Fairport dedicated its Dec. 23 conference day for faculty, administration and staff to provide a shared vision of Fairport’s commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion.
Other goals for the day focused on the following:
- Establishing a “mindset” regarding equity work and its importance for students and families.
- Establishing districtwide “norms” for having crucial conversations
- Introducing the idea that we must begin by doing our “own work” and start to articulate our own personal identities around diversity, equity and inclusion.
The day kicked off with a welcome and introduction by Superintendent Brett Provenzano, along with district leaders. The morning session featured Keynote Speaker Nancy Sung Shelton, M.A., senior consultant, Cultural Competence & Health Equity at Coordinated Care Services, Inc. (CCSI) who presented on the topic of Having Courageous Conversations. For more information about the work of CCSI, visit: https://www.ccsi.org/Consulting/Cultural-Linguistic-Competence.
Staff completed the day by engaging in breakout small group sessions, focusing on how to shift our mindset to be courageous in difficult conversation about diversity, as well as engaging in an interactive activity to begin to explore how our mindset influences our behavior.
Photo Caption: Keynote Speaker Nancy Sung Shelton (left) and Superintendent Brett Provenzano (right).