Four members of the CSUS Cultural Proficiency Facilitators Team presented at the
National Race Amity Conference, held in Quincy, MA, on Saturday, November 21st. Manuel J. Fernandez, Tracey Pratt, Melanie Morrison, and Norah Connolly facilitated a workshop titled "Recharging as a Culturally Responsive Educator" during which participants shared their thoughts about and reactions to various scenarios that educators face when teaching students of diverse backgrounds. They also shared some ways in which the staff at CSUS continually develop their culturally responsive lenses through weekly seminars and ongoing development of a school culture that is committed to reaching all students through their unique experiences and identities.
The experience proved to be positive one. The participants were very interested in how Cultural Proficiency seminars were developed and were very engaged in small group and whole group discussions about how to respond to different situations in a more culturally responsive manner.
Click here to visit a website with the presentation that includes the slide show used to frame our discussion and a copy of the different scenarios, or vignettes, given to participants to spark discussions about what it takes to be a culturally responsive educator.