Summer Institute
Congratulations to the Graduates of the 2024 Summer Institute!
Pre-service teachers from Navajo/Diné Nation, newly minted teachers from the Philippines in Tucson, a seasoned social studies teacher from Phoenix Central High School out to transform curriculum, PhD candidates of color researching teacher leadership, multi-racial K-3 teacher who endured racist attacks, school counselors from a Title 1 school, curriculum specialist dealing with school board bias and other committed, passionate Arizona educators… all grappled with what it truly means to be a culturally responsive educator.
During the 8-day, 12-hour sessions, Summer Institute participants were immersed in new resources, tools, technologies, lesson plans and rich discussions in a safe and healing community.
Participants unpacked their own hidden biases toward their BIPOC students. They delved into the Buffalo Public Schools’ cutting-edge emancipation curriculum and learned new “pivots” to make school curriculum culturally sustaining. They explored rich resources to teach history and culture of the often ignored Asian, Pacific Islander, Desi American (APIDA) people. Participants looked at underreported global news stories to connect students to their communities and the world.
Summer Institute graduates walked away with a new vision, and new possibilities for engaging the diverse students that make up Arizona K-12 classrooms…
Look for details about Summer Institute 2025 … coming soon!
We received more resources to incorporate yet another marginalized group into instruction. The quality and breadth of resources provided in each session are invaluable to new teachers…
We all have to learn how to best support students from all backgrounds. Instead of trying to ‘save’ our students… we have to serve them!
This has been the most emotional day for me so far – it has helped me remember my ‘why.’ Amplify student voices because they will most likely solve the world’s problems.
I am thankful for the perspectives brought forth in today’s session. My mind is spinning and I am questioning (in a good way) how to be a more culturally responsive teacher and how to become more knowledgeable about the culture of my students and families!
Summer Institute grads learned how students can create their own digital passion projects through the voices of refugee students from Meadowlark Elementary School 6th grade class in Salt Lake City.
Summer Institute grads learned how to expose students to meaningful global news stories like the migration of Guatemalans to the U.S. from former Arizona Daily Star reporter Perla Trevizo.
To learn more about the Summer Institute, see details here.