Dr. Marcos Pizarro presenting to teachers & students at B.A.S.E. H.S.
For New York City educators, it has been over a month since we have last been in our classrooms to teach. For us and so many schools around the nation, we are now teaching online in our homes. Although this has been challenging, we are doing it. I am proud to be part of a profession who can adapt.
Students leading a workshop for teachers.
As we continue, so does the show! Normally, most educators would be attending conferences around the country. Since we are at home, this episode is bringing the conference to you. Bronx Academy for Software Engineering (BASE), a New York City Public High School, ran its second annual conference entitled Radical Acts: Loving, Caring, Listening, and Learning last May. In the previous episode, I showcased the hard work the organizers demonstrated to bring the conference to life. It all began from spending two weeks with other educators around the country at the Hollyhock Fellowship Program at Stanford University. After being inspired by the presentations and speakers, BASE teachers and administrators decided to apply what they learned to their school.
B.A.S.E. student volunteers.
For this episode, the keynote speaker of the day, Professor and chair of Chicano & Chicana Studies at San Jose State University,Dr. Marcos Pizarro shared why teachers of colors are needed in education. He is the co-coordinator of The Institute for Teachers of Color Committed to Racial Justice (ITOC) and the coordinator of M.A.E.S.T.R.X.S., a social justice organization dedicated to transformative education in Latinx schools. Despite a jam-packed day of workshops and discussions, I was able to talk to teachers who led insightful conversations and to those in attendance. They include Richard Sheppard from Partnership to Uplift Community Schools (PUC) in California, Jennifer Queenan from Sunset Park High School, Milacor Cajulis from BASE and her sister Isa Cajulis, Leah Royster from BASE, and Cree Pendergrass from Middle School/High School 368. I also had chance to talk to Joshua Lee, a former students of BASE and received tech assistance from seniors Jose Hernandez and Starlen. BASE‘s Saturday conference was empowering for all those involved.
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