Day 64 - Burlington Students Attend IDEAS Conference - Ms. Chang - BHS Art Department

This post first appeared on Ms. Chang's Blog

On Saturday, November 22, Marisa Lee,  Jovan Sematimba, Jamiru Kasozi, Kavya Sebastian, Ashwini Chauhan, Rima Patel, Jahir Williams, and Minji Kim attended the IDEAS Conference at Wheelock College. 

Special thanks to Burlington Administration for signing on to IDEAS and supporting students!

Initiatives for Developing Equity and Achievement for Students (IDEAS), a program of EDCO, facilitated a Student Leadership Conference for  11th, and 12th grade students from member high schools. The purpose of the conference was to engage students from a range of racial and ethnic backgrounds in conversations on issues of racism, intolerance, discrimination, and allied behavior.

GOALS OF CONFERENCE:

• To provide students with the opportunity to learn from each other and build      community within and across racial/ethnic groups
• To recognize different forms of discrimination and racism in our schools and society
• To recognize and challenge stereotypes
• To explore and understand the many aspects of identity
• To provide the opportunity for students to have affinity group conversations
• To recognize the importance of advocacy and being an ally for others
• To be able to inform districts about how students from different racial/ethnic groups perceive their school experience

"The conference was such an incredible experience, and a lot of fun! Meeting kids from other towns and hearing their stories made you feel inspired to make a difference. It may have taken up my Saturday, but it was SO worth it!" Kavya, Grade 11
Here are links to some resources.
IDEAS 
http://www.tolerance.org/blog/pocket-guide-makes-it-easy-speak