“Thank you for teaching Strengthening Belonging Classrooms. It was such a meaningful class! Great resources - especially for creating a student-centered classroom.”
“Robin is a fearless advocate for racial justice. She is a powerful ally who understands how to build trust and solidarity across communities.”
Building Belonging Classrooms (Foundation)
Danielson Framework: Cluster 2 (Learning Environment)
“Robin lends teachers welcomed support on how to be more racially sensitive. When she talks, they listen.”
This foundation course is designed for developing educators seeking to establish a culturally responsive community of learners who feel safe, seen and connected, especially for those students who are farthest away from educational justice. This course aims to provide you with joyful and practical strategies to employ at the beginning of the school year in order to form authentic relationships with students and their families.
Objectives
“Robin Russell, energetically and with humor, made the uncomfortable conversation about race appropriately uncomfortable. I left Robin’s session knowing we aren’t close to being done understanding how race in this country impacts us socially, politically and educationally or what to do about it. Robin gave me the courage, a deeper knowledge and new language that has given me the confidence to keep trying.”
Set up their classroom so that students feel safer and more welcome.
Establish a sense of belonging for each student in the first few weeks of school.
Begin forming authentic and meaningful connections with students and their families.
Strengthening Belonging Classrooms (Advanced)
Danielson Framework: Cluster 2 (Learning Environment)
This advanced session is designed for established educators seeking to enrich their culturally responsive community of learners and foster connections among students so they feel safer and more welcome in their classroom, especially for those students who are farthest away from educational justice. This course aims to provide you with practical and joyful strategies to employ in the first few months of the school year in order to deepen a sense of belonging for every student.
Objectives
Upon completion of the work, learners will be able to:
Deepen a sense of belonging for each student in the first few months of school.
Foster connections among students so they feel safer and more seen in their classroom.
Build authentic and meaningful relationships with students and their families.
Nurture student leadership and promote a student-centered classroom.
White Teachers of Black and Brown Children
Danielson Framework: Cluster 2 (Learning Environment)
“White teachers are often afraid to talk about our own whiteness and privilege and how schools are most supportive of white students. Robin creates a space to have these difficult conversations.”
In an educational system increasingly populated by students of color, the overwhelming majority of the teaching force continues to be comprised of white teachers. Unconscious bias and a lack of cultural awareness engender an ineffectual and often hurtful learning environment, especially for Black and Brown children. When teachers develop their racial literacy and increase their cultural understanding, they can establish belonging equitable classrooms.
This Professional Development Series includes:
An initial Whole-Group Presentation on how teachers’ implicit biases affect their students and perpetuate systemic racism.
“Robin has taught me critical elements to have when I address issues of cultural bias. Foremost is having a deeper understanding of my students.”
Four bimonthly Small-Group Sessions that provide interested teachers with a safe environment to:
o Examine and progress their racial literacy.
o Hone strategies to promote equity.
o Develop a culturally responsive, anti-bias curriculum.
An On-Call Resource that ensures participants have support as they develop their own confidence and wherewithal to manage real-time challenges.