Changing Schools, Changing Lives
November 5-7
New Orleans, Louisiana
More than 1,000 members of the CES network came together in New Orleans to celebrate the 25th Anniversary of the Coalition of Essential Schools and remember the life and legacy of Theodore Sizer, which inspire us all to do the work of Changing Schools, and Changing Lives.
Thursday, November 5 began with a brief introduction to the local education context by Dr. Brian Beabout , Assistant Professor in the Educational Leadership Program at the University of New Orleans. Dr. Beabout discussed change through the lens of chaos by exploring the following questions: What happens during and after chaos when changes are sincerely sought? What can we learn about future efforts at change based on the chaotic events of the past? And what, if anything, might we learn about the general process of change that could prove useful, regardless of whether we face change in moments of chaos or in moments of calm? Participants were encouraged to reflect on these questions while examining the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in the New Orleans public schools.
Also on Thursday, November 5, in solidarity with the Dr. King Charter School, the first and still only public school to re-open in New Orleans Lower Ninth Ward after the devastation of Hurricane Katrina more than four years ago, 60 students and educators participated in the Paint the Change project, a Service-Learning experience co-created by CES National, the Crescent City Art Project and the Dr. King Charter School. Participants transformed the school landscape into a colorful and artistic place of learning and change while supporting the emotional healing of young people through the arts.
CES would like to thank State Farm for its sponsorship of this project and the entire Service-Learning strand at Fall Forum.
Thursday morning, November 5th also provided the opportunity for Fall Forum attendees to participate in any one of a variety of focused, day-long sessions. Please click here to read the detailed descriptions of each sesson.
Developing Professional Learning Communities Driven by the CES Common Principles; Facilitated by Catherine DeLaura, The DREAM Project and and Lisa Karlich, School of the Future
The Promise of the Senior Year: 35 Years of WISE Projects; Facilitated by Vic Leviatin, Deborah Harris, Toni Matthews, WISE Individualized Senior Experience (WISE Services) with WISE graduates, staff, school coordinators, mentors, administrators, and students.
We Are Family: Taking the Advisory Concept to a New Level; Facilitated by Barbara Yeatman and Kim Klepyck, Quest High School
Answering the Call to Service: A National Elementary Slice; Facilitated by Nancy Fenton, Michigan CES, Linda Green, Chesapeake CES, and Jeremy Bazur, Harmony School.
Fall Forum 2009 began with an excitig performance by the Dr. King Charter School Marching Band. Each of our speakers encouraged every participant to consider what it means to Change Schools in order to Change Lives in New Orleans and in the national context. Tyra Newell, Executive Director of New Leaders for New Schools in New Orleans discussed the local education context and change that is beginning to emerge. Chris “Kazi” Rolle supported a group of students in answering the question: “If you had the whole world listening, what would you have to say?” Harry Feder, President of the CES Executive Board, reflected on CES’s accomplishments over our 25 years, noting opportunities for new directions. Keynote speaker Gloria Ladson-Billings shared powerful remarks about the troubling state of educational equity in New Orleans and nationally while preparing and inspiring participants to take personal action to galvanize change.
The opening session concluded with remarks from CES Executive Director Lewis Cohen in remembrance of CES founder, Theodore R. Sizer, followed by Songs of Hope, a program developed by the Upper Darby High School Encore Choir from Drexel Hill Pennsylvania and performed with local New Orleans elementary school students.
Following the death of CES founder and Executive Board Chairman Emeritus Ted Sizer, many at Fall Forum remembered his leadership and inspiration throughout Fall Forum. On Friday, November 6, CES Executive Board member George Wood convened Fall Forum attendees in a gathering that encouraged conversation, reminiscence, and acknowledgment of Ted’s life and achievements. We invite you to continue toe conversation: click here to add your thoughts, memories, and gratitude to Ted.
Fall Forum offered participants over 200 workshops, interest groups, Critical Friends Conversations, and other sessions facilitated by CES educators sharing their expertise. In addition, Fall Forum featured a variety of sessions and speakers aimed at larger groups, including:
Grant Wiggins, Understanding by Design
Wokie Weah and Julia Sewell, Equity Leadership in Service-Learning
Jill Davidson and Laura Flaxman, Small Schools, Big Ideas
Deborah Meier and Jane Andrias, In Defense of Play
Chris "Kazi" Rolle, All Things Are Possible: How Hip Hop can Change Lives
Linda Nathan, The Hardest Questions Aren’t on the Test: Lessons from an Innovative Urban School
The Forum for Education and Democracy, Federal Education Policy for Equity and Engagement: The Federal Policy Landscape and Educator Action
Four Years Post-Katrina: A Critical Look at Educational Equity in New Orleans featuring New Orleans educators and education leaders
The Closing Session featuring antiracist author and activist, Tim Wise
For more about Fall Forum 2009’s featured speakers and sessions, please click here for Friday, November 6th’s offerings, and click here for Saturday, November 7th’s lineup.
At Fall Forum, CES released Small Schools, Big Ideas: The Essential Guide to Successful School Transformation, our latest book showcasing the achievements and wisdom of the CES network. Written by current and former CES staffers Jill Davidson, Laura Flaxman, and Mara Benitez, Small Schools Big Ideas powerfully communicates the efforts of CES educators, school leaders, students and community members as they work to create great schools for all students based on and inspired by the CES Common Principles. Thanks to all who purchased the book, and if you don’t have your copy yet, please order at Amazon or your favorite online or local bookseller.
On Thursday, November 5th, nearly 70 youth from across the CES network of schools around the country participated in the annual Youth Forum. This year’s youth Forum was facilitated Nationally recognized hip-hop artist, star of the award winning documentary film, “The Hip Hop Project,” and powerfully inspirational speaker Chris “Kazi” Rolle, who supported students in exploring the essential question: “If you had the whole world listening, what would you have to say?”. Kazi shared his inspiring personal story as proof that “All Things Are Possible” and supported youth participants to use visualization and writing techniques to unlock messages they want to share to the world!
Fall Forum in New Orleans featured the first annual CES Youth Film Festival to showcase the talent and creativity of our young people. The film festival featured student made documentaries and short works of fiction produced by students from the REACH Youth Media Project, Educational Video Center, Youth in Focus and The Met School. We hope to make this an annual event at Fall Forum.
Throughout the rest of the Fall Forum, young people continued to make valuable contributions by participating and engaging meaningfully with each other and with adults by leading workshops, facilitating Critical Friends Conversations, and participating in discussions with adults about the future of their schools and the redefinition of public education across the country. Youth engaged as critical friends, journalists, and leaders.
Matthew Brown, long-time CES Youth Leader and alumni from the High School for Recording Arts (HSRA) in Saint Paul, Minnesota facilitated a reflection session on Saturday, November 7th, to give all the youth who participated in Fall Forum the opportunity to come together one final time to develop specific action steps for how they will continue to stay connected with each other to support youth leadership in schools across the country. CLICK HERE to visit the new CES Youth Facebook page to learn more about opportunities for youth to continue participating in the movement to Change Schools, and Change Lives.
The Fall Forum Closing Session began with CES Executive Director, Lewis Cohen discussing the great strides towards explicitly working for educational equity that CES has taken in the recent years and acknowledging how far we all still have to go in this work. The closing featured a keynote by Tim Wise. Among the most prominent anti-racist authors and activists in the country, Wise critiqued the notion of colorblindness and demonstrated the importance of color-conscious remedies that take into account our individual identities and how they have shaped our own personal experiences and perceptions. Wise argued that addressing racial inequity in education in New Orleans and throughout the country requires a clear understanding of the role racism continues to play in the maintenance of disparities between white Americans and Americans of color.
The closing session ended with CES Executive Director, Lewis Cohen, announcing San Francisco the site for 2010 CES Fall Forum.
For Fall Forum attendees seeking to connect with others, obtain materials from session facilitators, and extend the relationships begun or continued in New Orleans, the online Fall Forum Program Guide remains available. Whether you joined us in New Orleans or not, you can use the online Program guide to review sessions, obtain facilitator and participant e-mails, look up attendees by name, state, city, or school/organization, and more. Use this document to find others in the CES network who can help you create equitable, personalized, and academically challenging schools for all students.
Fall Forum in New Orleans provided us the opportunity to develop meaningful relationships with many New Orleans educators and education leaders who are engaging in powerful and innovative work for educational equity and community development that radically transforms the relationship between communities, schools and the young people they serve. With these new and emerging partnerships, a new center is developing in New Orleans to support putting the CES Common Principles into practice in schools, classrooms communities across New Orleans by serving as a catalyst for the creative, disruptive innovation that will transform public education in New Orleans and throughout the country.
CES will bring Fall Forum to San Francisco, California, November 10-13, 2010. Fall Forum 2010 in San Francisco promises more unique opportunities and with powerful exchanges of information and support. We hope to see you there!
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