PROGRAM SCHEDULE
Wednesday, August 14
Thursday, August 15
'AROUND THE TABLE' CONFERENCE SESSIONS
Introduction to Trauma Informed Education Practices
Speaker: Kyle Quadros
During this introductory session, we will explore adverse childhood experiences and they physiological and neurological alter the human mind and body. This session will explore trauma's impact on how students learn and behave. Participants will leave with tangible interventions they can use immediately, but more importantly, they will leave with an understanding of how every interaction directly helps shape the developing brain.
Building Racially & Culturally Safe Spaces
Speakers: Victoria Restler & Adrienne C. Goss
This interactive session will lead participants through an examination of belief systems that shape how we experience and respond to race and culture. Scenarios involving classroom and youth organization contexts will be used to provide opportunities to apply and reflect on the content of the workshop.
Using Restorative Practices to Increase Student Engagement
Speaker: Chace Baptista
“Problem” behaviors are opportunities to teach and practice socially engaged learning. In this session, you’ll learn new ways to create a more positive school culture using a Restorative Practices approach. Employing affective statements and proactive community building activities, participants will gain clear, respectful, and equitable methods they can use to promote mutual respect, positive classroom culture, and increase student engagement.
7x7s Presentations
Speakers: Jay Chattelle, Eli Nixon, Keith Ranaldi, Antonia Lara Sanchez, Anna Snyder, Ysanel Torres, Valerie Tutson & Shaffany Terrell
Around the Table’s 7X7’s are inspired by a PechaKucha format. This lively segment of Around the Table features 7 individual artists, educators, and youth workers. Each presenter will show 7 images and will speak for 7 minutes about their art practice and their work with young people. 3 minutes will be set aside for each presenter to take audience questions.
Funding Classroom Projects
Speaker: Maggie Anderson
RISCA’s Project Grants in Education (PGE) program provides program support to artists and cultural organizations collaborating with schools and other educational entities. You will learn from RISCA’s Arts in Education Director how one can successfully apply to these grants that can help increase access to high quality curriculum-based arts learning in schools, foster the professional development of arts educators, engage families and community members in arts learning for students, and help to ensure that students are able to demonstrate proficiency in one or more artistic disciplines upon graduation.
Creating Takes Courage: Social Justice & Art Education
Speaker: Aarav Sundaresh
How do you incorporate social justice within your class or workshop? In this session, you will learn different ways to teach culturally relevant content to youth as we discuss curricula building, youth voice, and responsive practices for social and racial equity.
Teaching Artist 101
Speaker: Michelle Nugent
Interested in becoming a teaching artist? Unsure of what it entails? Learn about the very basics of the field. Hear about what a teaching artist's work is like, what the foundational requirements and professional development hurdles are, and more!
Equitable Contract Creation
Speaker: Mollie Flanagan
In this session we will take a look at creating partnership agreements that more fairly respond to the needs of independent artists when they work with large institutions. Learn how to navigate administrative hierarchies, advocate for a fair wage in the arts, and anticipate what employers in arts and education expect from teaching artists during different phases of the work.
Implicit Bias Training
Speaker: Melissa Bowler
Implicit bias, or unconscious bias, is the thoughts and feelings we have in an unconscious and unaware state that affect – positively or negatively – our actions and attitudes towards people or stereotypes. Due to different experiences and varying cultural backgrounds, we all harbor implicit bias. In this session, you will explore implicit bias through participatory exercises led by Melissa Bowler that can help increase your bias awareness to promote a more inclusive culture that helps to reduce the amount of bias in your school, workplace, and daily life.
At the Drawing Board
Group Facilitators:
Christina Alderman
Mia Thompson
Andrea Pérez Bessin
Shannon Fogel
Justine Mainville
Guest Funders Panel:
Maggie Anderson, RISCA
Micah Salkind, Providence Arts, Culture & Tourism
Nancy Wolanski, Grantmakers Council of RI
In this final workshop of Around the Table Conference, we will reflect upon the sessions we’ve attended and use what we have learned to develop potential project plans in response to prompts that are site-specific, partnership organization specific, and age specific. As we collaborate in small groups, ideas from this workshop session will become an open source reference for teaching artists and educators to use in their own practices. Topics relating to project management, curriculum development, budgeting, and funding research will also be addressed. In the second half of this session, small groups will present their project plans to our Guest Funders Panel for constructive feedback and guidance.
