Be on the lookout for a monthly Compass article from your Equity Education Specialists with highlights of the equity work across the division and information about Culturally Responsive Credentialing. Your equity specialists for the year are Shay Carter-Shifflett, Steven Turner, Megan Washburn, and Leslie Wills-Taylor. Ayanna Mitchell is the new Director of Equity Education, working closely with Dr. Eric Irizarry, the new Director of Equity, Family, School and Community Relations. All of our equity leaders are in the Office of Community Engagement led by Assistant Superintendent, Dr. Daphne Keiser.
The Equity Specialist team serves all schools in the division and, to facilitate communication and collaboration, each school has one or two specialists assigned as liaison. Specialists are available to provide Professional Learning Community (PLC) and school-level support for Culturally Responsive Teaching practices and to assist in helping teachers work through the credentialing process. You may contact the full equity specialist team at ACPSEquitySpecialists@k12albemarle.org. In addition, each school has one or two educators serving as a Diversity Resource Teacher. Next month, we will share more about the work of our Diversity Resource Teachers.
Check out the dates below to see what is coming up related to your credentialing work, as well as holidays and observances that may be important to you, your students, and school families.
Professional Learning Offerings
- Are you looking to get a start on your credentialing work? Check out the August-September Asynchronous Materials.
- Wednesday, September 14: Diversity Resource Teacher Meet-and-Greet from 4:30 to 6 p.m.
- Week of September 19: Culturally Responsive Teaching and The Brain (Hammond) book studies begin: Register in the PLMS
- Upcoming: Culturally Responsive Teaching Division Cohort sessions on Wednesday, October 12 (elementary and secondary division cohorts offered): Register in the PLMS
Observance Calendar
- Hispanic Heritage Month: September 15 – October 15
- Labor Day: September 5
- Mexican Independence Day: September 16
- Rosh Hashanah: sunset on September 25 – nightfall on September 27