A group of 21 Penn Charter students and faculty attended the NAIS (National Association of Independent Schools) People of Color Conference and Student Diversity Leadership Conference in Denver, Colo., described as "the flagship of NAIS’s commitment to equity and justice in teaching, learning, and sustainability for independent schools."
In addition to attending the conference, Penn Charter teachers Jaysen Rosario and Cory Moy, with Janique Timmons, former PC faculty member and current Lower School Director at Greene Hill School, were selected to present a session on “Code-Switching at School Translated: How Asian, Black, & Latine Voices Remain Authentic & Not.”
"It was wildly successful," Moy said. "We were given the largest room available. Not only did they fill in every seat, but they filled in all of the floor space around the seating and stood all along the walls. People were cracking up at our jokes, sharing deeply, some even crying as they shared their authentic stories. It was magical."
Six Upper School students attended the Student Diversity Leadership Conference, which has been held in parallel with the People of Color Conference since its inception in 1993. Mimi Ohemeng, an 11th grade student attendee, highlighted the speech of Sekou Andrews, a spoken word poet who had performed for President Obama: “He encouraged us to rock the boat and advocate for change even when it is difficult for us and others around us, which set the tone for the event.”
Eva Kothari, also an 11th grade student, said they participated in affinity groups, where they could choose how they identify. “There were 80 to 100 people in that room who identified as South Asian,” Eva shared. “It was powerful to see other people that looked like me and had similar experiences as me, and I felt I could relate to those students differently than others.”