About this session
Thursday, 1:40 PM - 3:10 PM
Transforming U.S. Education Systems: Centering Diverse Approaches to better Serve Children, Youth, and their Families
U.S. education systems have been built on values that no longer align nor support the needs of the diverse student populations that they serve. This “status quo” is being challenged by education leaders, researchers, and practitioners that continually engage with school systems to transform them through research, policy, and practice initiatives. In line with SRCD’s strategic goals to 1) advance developmental science, 2) integrate diversity, and 3) build capacity, the overarching goal of this session is for SRCD members to learn specific strategies for transforming school systems that can better serve the development of children, youth, and their families. Children and youth spend a large part of their lives and experience many key developmental milestones while attending school. For this reason, it is important for developmental scientists to discuss how to support children and youth’s development in schools.
The panel will be led by Dr. Lorena Aceves, a Latina scholar who is currently a research scientist in the education department at Child Trends. Dr. Aceves previously served as an intern with the U.S. Department of Education’s Institute of Education Sciences’ National Center for Education Research (IES/NCER), the Office of Planning, Evaluation, and Policy Development, and the White House Initiative on Education Excellence for Hispanics. She has experience working in federal and applied spaces focused on transforming school systems to better serve diverse students and families.
This 90-minute session will be split into two segments 60 minutes for the conversation among the panelists and 30 minutes for Q&A from the audience. In the first 60 minutes, the invited panelists will share specific examples focused on how they have 1) perceived school systems to change across time and within their diverse professional experiences and 2) used their day-to-day work to transform the ways that school systems serve diverse students and families. In the last 30 minutes of the session, panel attendees will have the opportunity to join the conversation by having the opportunity to ask their own questions and together with panelist to identify key actionable next steps.
Here are sample questions that will be addressed by the panelists:
1. How has your current professional position helped transform school system(s)?
2. From your experience, what is the most tangible and active way to infuse change within a school system?
3. Tell us about ways you challenge the education systems you navigate and engage with?
The panel will bring together education leaders from many unique backgrounds and paths. Below is a short biography of each confirmed panelist and the expertise they bring to panel that will situate their responses to the questions.
Samantha Holquist, PhD, is a senior research scientist at Child Trends and an expert in community-engaged research methods, improvement science, and implementation science. She partners with youth, practitioners, communities, and policymakers to develop more equitable and just systems that better meet youth and community needs. At Child Trends, Samantha leads work that centers youth, practitioner, and community voices in systemic change and creating safer, more equitable communities. Her recent work helps education and justice systems address challenges and implement interventions to enhance youth success, particularly for traditionally underserved but historically resilient populations. Samantha recognizes the importance of valid and reliable data in guiding improvement efforts; partners with youth, practitioners, and communities to create strength-based measures that uplift youths’ unique experiences, values, and norms; and contributes to the evidence base on the transformative impacts of youth, practitioner, and community partnerships in driving systemic change.
Kent Pekel, PhD, is Superintendent of schools in Rochester, Minnesota. Dr. Pekel is an educational leader who has worked at the school, district, state, federal, and university levels. Throughout his diverse career, he has sought to bridge research, practice, and policy to help all young people thrive. Prior to joining Rochester Public Schools, Dr. Pekel spent nine years as President and CEO of Search Institute, an internationally recognized not-for-profit organization that conducts applied research that promotes positive youth development and advances equity. Before joining Search Institute in 2012, Dr. Pekel was the founding Executive Director of the University of Minnesota’s College Readiness Consortium and Executive Director of Research and Development in the Saint Paul Public Schools.
Asha Canady is a Senior Program Officer at the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative where she leads district partnership and evidence generation portfolios for the foundation. Asha is an experienced educator and joined the foundation after a successful career as a school-based practitioner including roles as a school leader, instructional coach and a secondary English Teacher. Asha imagines an education system that offers young people a joyous, engaging, rigorous and affirming education. She believes this is possible by partnering with caregivers, centering the whole child, and advocating for evidence based instructional practices. Asha lives in San Francisco where she enjoys tennis lessons, learning new things and live music.
Juan Andrés Ouviña is a Latino first generation American, urban High School English literature teacher, and a PhD student in the Family Science and Human Development department of Montclair State University. He holds an undergraduate degree in English literature and a K-12 English teaching certification from Montclair State University, and a master’s degree in the Teaching of English from Teachers College Columbia University. Juan has written a high school level curriculum focused on diversity and empowerment and led several writing workshops for high school students and international graduate students. He has also worked with a diverse group of students including several English language learners, and students with special needs. Juan’s research focuses on mentorship experiences and empowerment of Latino immigrant young men. He examines the way communities, upbringing, schools, and translingual and transcultural experiences can influence empowerment as it relates to this population.
The end goal of this session is for SRCD attendees to situate the important contextual role that schools play in the development of children and youth, especially those that have been marginalized by this system; and to take away ways that we can use to developmental science to help transform school systems to better serve children and youth.
U.S. education systems have been built on values that no longer align nor support the needs of the diverse student populations that they serve. This “status quo” is being challenged by education leaders, researchers, and practitioners that continually engage with school systems to transform them through research, policy, and practice initiatives. In line with SRCD’s strategic goals to 1) advance developmental science, 2) integrate diversity, and 3) build capacity, the overarching goal of this session is for SRCD members to learn specific strategies for transforming school systems that can better serve the development of children, youth, and their families. Children and youth spend a large part of their lives and experience many key developmental milestones while attending school. For this reason, it is important for developmental scientists to discuss how to support children and youth’s development in schools.
This session will be led by Dr. Lorena Aceves, an education research scientist at Child Trends, who will ask the panelists thought-provoking questions about how to transform our school systems using research, policy, and practice. The conversation roundtable panelists will include Samantha Holquist, PhD, a senior research scientist at Child Trends; Kent Pekel, PhD, Superintendent of schools in Rochester, Minnesota; Asha Canady, Senior Program Officer at the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative; and Juan Andrés Ouviña, a Latino first generation American, urban High School English literature teacher, and a PhD student in the Family Science and Human Development department of Montclair State University. U.S. education systems have been built on values that no longer align nor support the needs of the diverse student populations that they serve. This “status quo” is being challenged by education leaders, researchers, and practitioners that continually engage with school systems to transform them through research, policy, and practice initiatives. In line with SRCD’s strategic goals to 1) advance developmental science, 2) integrate diversity, and 3) build capacity, the overarching goal of this session is for SRCD members to learn specific strategies for transforming school systems that can better serve the development of children, youth, and their families. Children and youth spend a large part of their lives and experience many key developmental milestones while attending school. For this reason, it is important for developmental scientists to discuss how to support children and youth’s development in schools.
This session will be led by Dr. Lorena Aceves, an education research scientist at Child Trends, who will ask the panelists thought-provoking questions about how to transform our school systems using research, policy, and practice. The conversation roundtable panelists will include Samantha Holquist, PhD, a senior research scientist at Child Trends; Kent Pekel, PhD, Superintendent of schools in Rochester, Minnesota; Asha Canady, Senior Program Officer at the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative; and Juan Andrés Ouviña, a Latino first generation American, urban High School English literature teacher, and a PhD student in the Family Science and Human Development department of Montclair State University.
Session moderator |
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Lorena Aceves, Ph.D., Child Trends, United States |
Panelists |
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Dr. Samantha Holquist, Ph.D., Child Trends -Minnesota |
Dr. Kent S. Pekel, Rochester Public Schools , United States |
Asha Canady, Chan Zuckerberg Initiative , United States |
Juan Andres Ouviña, Montclair State University , United States |
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Transforming U.S. Education Systems: Centering Diverse Approaches to better Serve Children, Youth, and their Families
Description
Primary Panel | Panel 8. Education, Schooling |
Session Type | Conversation Roundtable |
Session Location | Level 2 - Minneapolis Convention Center |