Every year, the Boston Debate League partners with students, teachers, and schools to dive deeply into a significant area of public policy. In the coming school year, students will be researching, writing, and debating about the many facets of criminal justice reform, from the high-level creation of policy to the ways those policies impact communities of color, immigrants, and others across the country.

Join the BDL and BU on May 13th for a discussion with Suffolk County District Attorney Rachael Rollins and BU Wheelock’s Willie Rodriguez, Clinical Instructor in Juvenile Justice and Advocacy, as they explore the role that punishment should play in our justice system. Are prisons obsolete? What crimes should be prosecuted, knowing the long-term implications?

BU Wheelock is honored to welcome Boston Public Schools and lead authors of the book Don’t Look Away: Embracing Anti-Bias Classrooms for a webinar on the importance of all early education professional leaning in as change agents in the lives of young children and their families.

Special guests from Boston Public Schools, Jason Sachs, Executive Director of Early Childhood and Marie Enochty, Program Manager for Early Childhood, will join authors, Iheoma Iruka, Stephanie Curenton, and Kerry-Ann Escayg, to discuss how educators in Boston and the state might learn from and use the book in their work.

The goal of this webinar is to ensure that participants understand and embrace anti-bias and anti-racist teaching approaches by creating affirming culturally-rich classroom environments that protect children from psychological trauma and create a space for healing.

Geared toward pre-K through elementary teachers, school and district leaders, coaches, trainers, and childcare providers, this webinar will also be recorded and made available on the BU Wheelock website.

Panelists:

Authors

Iheoma U. Iruka, Chief Research Innovation Officer & Director, HighScope Educational Research Foundation

Stephanie Curenton, Associate Professor, Boston University Wheelock College of Education and Human Development

Kerry-Ann Escayg, Assistant Professor, University of Nebraska at Omaha

Boston Public Schools

Jason Sachs, Executive Director of Early Childhood

Marie Enochty, Program Manager

Watch the Recording on Youtube!

Long hailed as the strongest economy in the world, COVID-19 forced what for many was a shocking revelation that the era of our robust U.S. stock market and period of unprecedented business profits did not increase income and access to decent work opportunities for the over 30 million Americans who recently lost their jobs.

While we can hope that many will find employment once the crisis passes or stabilizes, a second challenge to accessing decent work is the rise of a 4th Industrial Revolution (4th IR) and its advanced use of technology to how we work (e.g., artificial intelligence and machine learning; Schwab, 2012).

This workshop is for those who are ready to more effectively manage and expand their occupational and career opportunities. The workshop will describe the technical and deeper human skills that are high demand in this 4th IR and describe free-access and low-cost opportunities for developing those skills (Cappelli & Tavis, 2018; Lim-Lange & Lim-Lange, 2019; Schwab, 2012

Panelists:

Scott H. Solberg, Boston University Wheelock College of Education & Human Development.

Watch the Recording on Youtube!

Following an independent listening of the podcast The Sweet Spot: Where Social and Emotional Learning, Civics and Character Education, meet expert guests Louise Dubé (Executive Director of iCivics) and Marc Brackett (Founding Director of the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence) as well as Kern Partners in Character and Educational Leadership faculty members: Hardin Coleman, Karen Bohlin, Ariel Tichnor-Wagner, Deborah Farmer Kris. Join a Roundtable discussion further exploring the intersection of character education, social-emotional learning, and civic education.

Leading the conversation will be Hardin Coleman (Boston University), Karen Bohlin (Montrose School, LifeCompass Institute for Character & Leadership), and Deborah Farmer Kris (Montrose School, LifeCompass Institute for Character & Leadership). The Symposium will conclude with remarks by Thomas Lickona, an international leader in character education and the founding director of the Center for the 4th and 5th R.

Watch the Recording on Youtube!

Families of color are very active in their children’s literacy learning. As a result of this activity, an increasing number of family engagement programs are tailoring their content to honor families’ lived experiences and cultural knowledge to promote children’s literacy development at home.

This webinar will highlight three culturally sensitive family literacy programs for African American, immigrant, and Latinx families in early childhood, and discuss virtual ways to engage diverse families in their children’s learning. The goal of this webinar is to provide practical strategies for family engagement that involved embedding literacy practices within everyday routines, such as cooking and doing laundry.

Panelists:

Shana E. Rochester, AACTE/Holmes Postdoctoral Associate, Boston University

Jeanne Paratore, Professor Emerita, Boston University

>Diana Leyva, Associate Professor, University of Pittsburgh

Moderator:

Stephanie Curenton, Associate Professor, Boston University

Watch the Recording on Youtube!

Sponsored by Aspire Institute and in partnership with the Teacher Collaborative, the objective of this webinar is to hear firsthand experiences from educators who have found ways to engage online, but also to hear about early lessons for future planning, hybrid or remote in nature for K-12 students.

This webinar will highlight three culturally sensitive family literacy programs for African American, immigrant, and Latinx families in early childhood, and discuss virtual ways to engage diverse families in their children’s learning. The goal of this webinar is to provide practical strategies for family engagement that involved embedding literacy practices within everyday routines, such as cooking and doing laundry.

Panelists:

Chantei Alves, Boston Public Schools

Elly Berke, Boston Public Schools (ESL teacher at the Mattahunt School in Mattapan)

Takeru Nagayoshi, New Bedford Public Schools (2019 MA Teacher of Year & BU Wheelock 2019 Young Alumni Award Recipient)

Gene Reiber, Hanover Public Schools

Moderator:

Kenann McKenzie, Director, Aspire Institute, BU Wheelock College of Education and Human Development

Watch the Recording on Youtube!

We all have talent. But are you aware of how your talent and skills could transfer to higher-paying jobs? This webinar is designed for those who are stuck in a job, unemployed, or who recognize that they need to continuously fine-tune their skills and interests to keep pace with a fast-changing world of work.

This 90-minute webinar will explore:

• How to use your previous occupation history to explore your talent and skills and discover the myriad of occupations that align with those skills
• Identify training opportunities to add the skills needed to find higher-paying occupations
• Demystify connecting with two-year colleges as an efficient means for retooling and adding the skills needed to increase your employability
• Understand when and how to connect with certified career professionals
• Awareness of CareerOneStop Centers and how they can support your job search efforts
• Learn about the value of online career information systems to support your career management efforts
• Resources and strategies for individuals with disabilities

Boston University Center for Future Readiness, in collaboration with members of the American Psychological Association’s Society for Counseling and Vocational Psychology, the National Career Development Association (NCDA), North Shore Community College, and Boston Private Industry Council.

Panelists

Lorin Buksa, North Shore Community College

Abiola Dipeolu, Texas A&M University-Kingsville

Kathy Evans, NCDA

Carolyn Frantz, North Shore Community College

Sharon Givens, NCDA

Seth Hayden, NCDA

Angela McCabe, Boston Private Industry Council

Brian Rowe, intoCareers, University of Oregon

Moderator

V. Scott H. Solberg, Boston University Wheelock College of Education & Human Development

Watch the Recording on Youtube!

Early Education and Care in Massachusetts: Renegotiating a New Social Contract

As the Massachusetts economy reopens, and the demand for early education and care again rises, who is responsible for rebuilding a more equitable, accessible, and high-quality system? In light of the COVID-19 pandemic closures, society is being forced to reconcile the marginalized, inequitable, and underfunded early education and care sector with its essential function as a driver of the economy. The financial growth and stability of households, businesses, and municipalities rely on employees accessing early education and care. The question remains, what responsibility each sector has to sustain and strengthen the education and care sector – what is the early education and care social contract?

The panelists represent multiple sectors and will discuss their experiences of what is at stake. Children’s access to high-quality experiences, during 0 to five years, impacts their readiness for K-12, future career prospects, and their civic contributions to our society. Additionally, access to high-quality education and care influences their parents’ ability to work, maintain a stable household, flourish in their careers, and contribute quality work to their employers. Early education and care inform the quality of our educational systems, our workforce, and the health of our current and future economy and society. Considering these points, the panelists will discuss their perspectives on policies, innovations, and how business and government can contribute to the sector.

This webinar is being organized by the CERES Institute for Children and Youth at Boston University Wheelock College of Education and Development.

Panelists

Amy O’Leary, Director, Early Education for All, BU Wheelock College of Education & Human Development

James Morton, CEO of the YMCA of Greater Boston

Turahn Dorsey, Foundation Fellow, Eastern Bank Charitable Foundation

Beth Mattingly, Assistant Vice President, Community Development Research, Federal Reserve Bank of Boston

Kelly Pellagrini, Co-Founder, Charlestown Nursery School

Moderator

Pratima Patil, PhD Student, CPAHD Boston University Wheelock and Research Fellow, Boston Opportunity Agenda

Watch the recording here!

Jackie Robinson, Muhammad Ali, and the United States Women’s Soccer Team are among a long lineup of athletes and teams who have utilized their platforms to fight for equality throughout history. Despite these tremendous efforts, sport continues to mirror society. Youth sports specifically, continues to be riddled with inequities and is a story of opportunity or, lack thereof. Inequities are reflected in access and participation for historically marginalized and underrepresented populations, messaging to athletes of different racial groups regarding their value to society and projected outcomes, and treatment of youth athletes who struggle with mental health concerns or physical disabilities.

As youth and coaches return to the fields and courts from COVID-19, sport can be better. It must be better.

Given the 6.5 million coaches in the United States and the engaging nature of sport for young people, sport can be utilized as a training ground for physical health, social justice, and mental health if the coach takes the role of educator.

The purpose of this webinar is to share context and actionable steps and strategies for those involved in the lives of young people including but not limited to parents, teachers, coaches, administrators, and those designing larger systems can use sport as a skill builder for inclusive, anti-racist, and compassionate citizenship.

Panelists

Rebekah Roulier, LMHC, COO, CAS’06, Wheelock’10,’13 (Doc Wayne Youth Services)

John McCarthy, Wheelock’98,’04 (BU Wheelock College of Education & Human Development)

Cristian Guzman, MA, Wheelock’18 (New York Mets, Bilingual Mental Performance Coach)

Joshua Salter, Ed.M., Wheelock ’15 (He is Me Institute)

Watch the Recording Here!

This 60-minute panel discussion includes researchers and family members who collaborated on a longitudinal study of the experiences of immigrant families of children with disabilities, which resulted in the book, Affirming Disability: Strengths-Based Portraits of Culturally Diverse Families .

Panelists will share their stories and describe perspectives of the research and writing process and how they have been responding to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Panelists

Zach Rossetti, BU Wheelock

Janet Sauer, Lesley University

Oanh Thi Thu Bui, Founder of the Circle of Vietnamese Parents

Susan Ou, Federation for Children with Special Needs

Punita Arora, Writer

Kimiya Sohrab Maghzi, University of Redlands, School of Education

Webinar Recording

The 2019-2020 school year was severely disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic and, without the right preparation and intervention, the 2020-2021 school year stands to put the continuity of children’s education further at risk. Our most vulnerable students stand to lose the most and are more likely to fall behind — and in some cases, stay behind — if planning doesn’t take place with their needs and challenges in mind.

Stand for Children has identified evidence-based actions school districts can take to keep the academic success and emotional well-being of students at the forefront as decisions are made ahead of the incoming academic year. The Preventing a Lost School Year Guide was developed by experts at Stand with content based on case studies and research. The recommendations featured in this guide focus on motivating students and engaging families, two absolutely crucial areas that are too often overlooked (and the lack of mention of them in almost all of the blueprints to date is illustrative of that oversight), and do so with a combination of rigor and practicality that make them timely and useful for every district and CMO leader in the country.

David J. Chard, Dean ad interim of BU Wheelock College of Education & Human Development will speak with Jonah Edelman, Co-Founder, and CEO of Stand for Children to discuss the research and best practices that informed this guide as well as the recommendations and tactics schools should execute to maximize success for students in the new academic year.

Watch the Recording Here!

The mental health consequences of COVID-19 for youth are expected to be substantial. Some early studies show increases in anxiety, depression, and substance use, as well as isolation and loneliness caused by social distancing. Moreover, for decades studies have found that youth of color and low-income youth less often access community-based mental health services than their peers; these youth are also most impacted by COVID-19 and the related financial crisis. When schools reopen this fall, whether in-person or remotely, it will be critical for school staff to support student mental health and wellness – and, specifically, address disparities and gaps in mental health service access that may be exacerbated by COVID-19.

Please join us for this 60-minute webinar to discuss how schools can support student mental health as they re-open this fall, with a focus on addressing disparities in access to mental health services.

Panelists:

Jennifer Greif Green, BU Wheelock

Sharon Hoover, Co-Director of the University of Maryland National Center for School Mental Health

, Instructor Disparities Research Unit, Department of Medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School

Jill Battal, Data and Research Coordinator for the Boston Public Schools Comprehensive Behavioral Health Model (CBHM)

Watch the Recording Here!