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Welcome to the

Equity Collaborative!

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Thursday October 17th

3:30-5:00 pm

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SRJA Mission Statement

At the Burlington School District Racial Justice Academy, we represent student leadership. We speak out for the needs of ourselves, our peers and our community. Every student, teacher, and staff brings a unique gift to this space. We bring authentic experience, brilliance, diversity and meaningful engagement. We value racial justice, honesty, deep learning, change, and healing. We work to build connections, organize for action, and share in collective power.

  • We will share power with adults in authentic ways.
  • We will share hard truths to uncover and expose racial bias in school systems.
  • We will create transformative change and work towards a more just future.
  • We will insist that school leaders listen to us and value the work of the youth.
  • We will disrupt white supremacy power structures in our schools.
  • We will work to dismantle oppressive systems, policies and practices.
  • We will use our power to create culture shifts to bring about positive change in the Burlington school district.
  • We will be seen and we will be heard.

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Goals for our Time Together:

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*To build community

* To understand the concept and importance of thriving youth-adult partnerships

* To prioritize values for this work and co-create shared agreements

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Goals for Equity Collaborative

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  • Create a thriving community where members are seen as equity champions and beacons of this work
  • Identify bright spots across the district
  • Observe RP being used more in classrooms to create relationships and belonging
  • See ways that equity work is infused in schools
  • Create a working model of youth-adult partnership
  • Work with youth to follow through with Racial Justice Academy recommendations

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Agenda:

  • Stipend Paperwork
  • Name Stories
  • Setting the Stage: What is Youth-Adult Partnership (YAP)?
  • Values and Agreements
  • Circle on Youth-Adult Partnership
  • Reflection

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Name Stories

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Find a partner who you do not know well

Tell them a three minute story of your name

What does your name mean? How did you get your name? Do you use any other names? What did people call you when you were younger? Do you have a nickname? What’s your “teacher” name?

When both partners have told their stories, be prepared to introduce your partner to the full group. Share their role and something about their name story that stood out to you. Make sure to ask what pronouns they would like you to use to introduce them.

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What makes thriving youth-adult partnerships?

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VALUES --> AGREEMENTS

  • Identify Personal Values What values from the word bubble activity do you think are most important for us to honor in order to work effectively and respectfully together in youth-adult partnership? (choose no more than 2 optional: write on index cards)

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  • Small Groups Develop Agreements
    • Share personal values
    • Look for commonalities - Which values resonate most strongly with everyone in our group?
    • Write the value(s) down on chart paper and describe what it means in practical terms as a shared agreement. What does this value look like in action?
      • Example: Respect: Listening without interrupting and valuing everyone’s input.

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  • Share Out
    • Each group presents values and agreements to larger group. Shared speaking roles and arts integration encouraged!

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  • Finalize Agreements
    • Are there any agreements shared that are similar and could be combined?
    • Are there any additional values or agreements that need to be added or clarified?

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Youth Panel

  1. What are some examples of times when you have worked in partnership with adults that have worked well?

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  • What are some examples of times when it hasn’t worked out so well?

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  • What advice would you give adults seeking to work collaboratively with youth?

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Do.....

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  1. Actively search for underrepresented voices.
  2. Ensure the content is worthy of their time.
  3. Make space for active listening and ask specific questions designed for the youth to answer.
  4. Compensate them with money, community service hours or credit.
  5. Make accommodations for comfort level and accessibility.
  6. Prep adult teams for readiness.
  7. Inform students of what to expect and co-plan agendas as much as possible.
  8. Disrupt the power dynamic!!

Don’t.....

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  1. Tokenize students.
  2. Tap into the same student leaders who are frequently asked to step forward.
  3. Use educational jargon.
  4. Put the students as an afterthought. For example, avoid hearing from a bunch of adults and then saying, “I’d really like to hear from the students.”
  5. Talk too much.
  6. Break confidentiality or gossip.
  7. Invite one student representative to a table full of adults.

Dos and Don’ts of Youth Adult Partnership

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Circle on Youth/Adult Partnership

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YOUTH ORGANIZING- Emotional safety at BSD

By: Keke and Ali

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YOUTH ORGANIZING- SAFETY & STRESS IN THE BURLINGTON SCHOOL DISTRICT

By:Aidan, Diya & Arizona

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Youth Organizing - The Role of Accountability against Discrimination by Munira Hassan

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Youth Organizing

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Youth Leadership

Bella Listi & Debba Beynnon

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Thank you!

Please take a moment to fill out this exit ticket.

https://forms.gle/Sg6Dc1xHPJuzGjmJ6

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Win some SWAG!

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