FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
INDIANAPOLIS — The Great Lakes Equity Center, in collaboration with the Indiana Civil Rights Commission and Indiana University School of Education at Indianapolis, will offer the Fall 2014 Equity Leaders Institute: Ensuring Civil Rights in Education Through Cross-Agency Partnerships on Sept. 15 and 16. The institute will be in the IUPUI Campus Center.
This is the third institute the Great Lakes Equity Center has sponsored. This year the center is expanding the institute’s reach by partnering with local, state and federal agencies, inviting notable scholars and practitioners to facilitate sessions on critical civil rights topics, and increasing capacity to over 100 participants.
Educators, community members and educational consultants will hear from keynote speaker Mary Hanna-Weir, senior attorney in Office for Civil Rights at the U.S Department of Education, as well as engage in learning sessions with scholars and practitioners with expertise in the fields of educational equity, civil rights and school improvement during the two-day event. The fall institute focuses on leveraging partnerships to ensure the civil rights of all students.
“This year marks the 60th anniversary of Brown versus the Board of Education, the landmark Supreme Court decision that mandated equal access to quality public education for all children,” said Seena Skelton, director of the Great Lakes Equity Center. “Guaranteeing that all students have access to, and make progress in, high-quality effective education continues to be the civil rights issue of today. This year’s Equity Leaders Institute provides an opportunity for educators and community members to examine strategies for increasing schools’ capacity to ensure the civil rights of all students and promote educational equity.”
In addition to learning sessions, the institute will feature a viewing of Enrique Aleman’s documentary “Stolen Education” at 4:30 p.m. on Sept. 15 in Lilly Auditorium. The documentary shares the stories of eight Mexican-Americans who testified against discriminatory Texas school practices.
Registration for the institute is $175. Registration and information about scholarship opportunities are available online. There are a limited number of need-based scholarships. Scholarship applications are also available on the website.
The Great Lakes Equity Center is one of 10 regional Equity Assistance Centers funded by the U.S. Department of Education. It provides technical assistance, resources and professional learning opportunities related to equity, civil rights and systemic school reform throughout the six-state region of Illinois,Indiana,Michigan, Minnesota,Ohio, andWisconsin.