The Preschool to-Second-Grade Educator's Diversity Summit

As the Co-Director of the Race Institute for K-12 Educators, Ali Michael, Ph.D., works with schools and organizations across the country to help make research on race, Whiteness, and education more accessible and relevant to educators. In Fall 2022, Ali released her two most recent publications, including Our Problem, Our Path: Collective Anti-racism for White People, co-authored with Dr. Eleonora Bartoli (Corwin, 2022). Her other new release is the young adult adaptation of White Fragility, co-adapted with Toni Graves Williamson, entitled White Fragility: Why Understanding Racism Can be so Hard for White People (Beacon Press, 2022). Ali is the author of Raising Race Questions: Whiteness, Inquiry, and Education (Teachers College Press, 2015), and winner of the 2017 Society of Professors of Education Outstanding Book Award. She is co-editor of the bestselling Everyday White People Confront Racial and Social Injustice: 15 Stories (2015, Stylus Press), the bestselling Guide for White Women who Teach Black Boys (2017, Corwin Press), and Teaching Beautiful and Brilliant Black Girls (2021, Corwin Press). Ali sits on the editorial board of the journal Whiteness and Education. She teaches in the Diversity and Inclusion Program at Princeton University and the Equity Institutes for Higher Education at the University of Southern California. When she is not writing, speaking, or training, Ali strives to be an anti-racist co-parent to two amazing kids.

When she first graduated with her Ph.D., Ali explicitly veered away from teaching full-time in the academy because of her commitment to improving classrooms and schools by working with in-service teachers and administrators.  In 2012, she co-founded the Race Institute for K-12 Educators to provide a space for educators to do the deeply personal work of developing their own racial identities, on the premise that a teacher cannot support a student in their process of identity development if the teacher isn’t already immersed in their own racial identity journey.  The Race Institute is a growing network of more than 1200 educators who have been through the institute and who are working individually and collaboratively to build anti-racist schools.  What started as an attempt to build an affordable, local option for anti-racist professional development has turned into a program that is accessed by educators nationally.

Ali received her B.A. in political science and African Studies from Williams College, with highest honors awarded for her thesis in African Studies.  She received her M.A. in Anthropology and Education from Teachers College, Columbia University and her Ph.D. in Teacher Education from the University of Pennsylvania, where she was mentored by Dr. Howard Stevenson and Dr. Shaun Harper.  Her current research and writing focus on supporting teachers to mitigate the unintentional, pervasive effects of institutional and individual racism in their classrooms.  She also studies how White families racially socialize their children.

Ali has made two films, both of which portray students discussing their experiences of race.  She is also the author of “My Scar, My Road,” the biography of South African feminist activist Gertrude Nonzwakazi Sgwentu, which demonstrates the long-term effects of racism and White supremacy on one woman growing up under Apartheid.

Led by Mike Nowell, Woodshop/Sports Teacher at The School in Rose Valley.

Non-tool Users and Woodworking Neophytes – Decided early on in life that playing hand tools wasn’t for you? Experience how quickly SRV’s youngest children demonstrate adherence to safety guidelines, investment in their own ideas, and coordinative proficiency when given the opportunity to use full-sized tools in the Woodshop program.

Led by Paul Rule, Farm Committee Chair and Primary Circle Asst. Teacher at The School in Rose Valley

Come experience the morning in the life of an SRV student. The sheep are baaing for alfalfa, There are crops growing and eggs to be collected. If time permits, we may plant a few vegetable seedlings in the garden.

Led by Diane Luckman, Learning Specialist at The School in Rose Valley

Spend time with your colleagues paper folding, discussing fractions and reflecting on different ways we see things. Practicing how we understand other people’s perspectives helps maintain a growth mindset. Together we will reflect on how this relates to DEI work in the classroom.

Presenter/Facilitator: Ali Michael, Ph.D., The Race Institute for K-12 educators and Jillian Best Adler, Educational consultant

Join Ali and Jillian for a Q & A conversation to dive deeper into some of the key ideas in Ali’s keynote presentation.

Ali Michael, Ph.D: As the Co-Director of the Race Institute for K-12 Educators, Ali Michael, PhD, works with schools and organizations across the country to help make research on race, Whiteness, and education more accessible and relevant to educators. In Fall 2022, Ali released her two most recent publications, including Our Problem, Our Path: Collective Anti-racism for White People, co-authored with Dr. Eleonora Bartoli (Corwin, 2022). Her other new release is the young adult adaptation of White Fragility, co-adapted with Toni Graves Williamson, entitled White Fragility: Why Understanding Racism Can be so Hard for White People (Beacon Press, 2022). Ali is the author of Raising Race Questions: Whiteness, Inquiry, and Education (Teachers College Press, 2015), and winner of the 2017 Society of Professors of Education Outstanding Book Award. She is co-editor of the bestselling Everyday White People Confront Racial and Social Injustice: 15 Stories (2015, Stylus Press), the bestselling Guide for White Women who Teach Black Boys (2017, Corwin Press), and Teaching Beautiful and Brilliant Black Girls (2021, Corwin Press). Ali sits on the editorial board of the journal Whiteness and Education. She teaches in the Diversity and Inclusion Program at Princeton University and the Equity Institutes for Higher Education at the University of Southern California. When she is not writing, speaking, or training, Ali is striving to be an anti-racist co-parent to two amazing kids.

Jillian Best Adler: Jillian has years of experience leading training and facilitating group learning within the early childhood education community.  Jillian is PQAS certified in Pennsylvania and specializes in workshops on Introduction to Talking about Race and Racism with Young Children, Understanding Your Values, Identifying Your Biases, Evaluating Your Classroom Materials with an Eye towards Social Justice, and more. 

Facilitator Name: Michelle Podulka
School/Organization: Abington Friends School

Research tells us that when we adjust for other factors, such as socio-economic status, white and black children present in kindergarten with the same math readiness. Why then, as our students move up the grades, do more and more black students move away from advanced mathematics? This year I was granted an educational fellowship from Abington Friends to explore the research around how students of color learn and how we can change our early childhood and lower school curriculum to work towards success for all our students. In this workshop, I will present what I have learned and how we are working towards changing our math curriculum. There will be multiple entry points for conversation and reflection as we share what can be done in all our curriculums to close this gap. 

Michelle Podulka is an elementary school educator with over twenty-five years of experience in the private and public school setting. During her tenure with the Philadelphia School District, she taught third, fourth, and sixth grades. In her seventeen years at Abington Friends School, she has been the Lower School Diversity Coordinator, Lower School Librarian, Lower and Middle School Technology Integration Teacher and a classroom teacher for third and fourth grades. Additionally, Michelle has worked with the Power, Identity, and Social Change class in the upper school. Michelle is a certified SEED facilitator and has presented at multiple conferences on diversity, learning, and best practices. 

Facilitator Name: Mahnaz Maqbool, Speech-Language Pathologist MS CCC-SLP, DIR/Floortime Expert Training Leader and Mary Beth Crawford, MPT, IMC, DIR-FT, IASIS-certified, Physical Therapist, DIRFloortime Expert Training Leader, IASIS practitioner
School/Organization: Baby Steps Therapy

An introduction to the DIRFloortime approach. DIR stands for Developmental, Individual-differences, Relationship-based (DIR) model and Floortime is the practice of the DIR approach. DIR is a research-based, well-established and respectful framework used by a wide range of occupational, speech and physical therapists, as well as by psychotherapists, mental health practitioners and educators worldwide. It is a strengths-based approach, which emphasizes the relational nature of development, and is founded on neuroscience. Gaining and understanding of this model can support educators to attune and understand the unique make-up of the individuals that they work with. The DIR model describes a child’s social and emotional developmental capacities, individual differences (including sensory processing, visual

spatial thinking, expressive and receptive communication, to name a few), and the necessary role that relationships and affectual/ emotional interactions have on a child’s global development (sensory, motor, emotional, academic and beyond). The principles of DIR are applicable for all individuals. However, it is a particularly useful model for professionals who strive to support and scaffold developmental growth in others who experience developmental challenges. This includes neurodivergent individuals, as well as those individuals who may have diagnoses of autism, regulatory challenges, developmental disabilities, ADHD, executive functioning challenges and other learning disabilities. We intend to share why it is essential to look at a child’s unique profile with respect and harness the power of a trusting Relationship to support the development of their sensory, motor and social/ emotional skills.

Mahnaz Maqbool Graduated in 1998 from Boston University with a Master in Speech Language Pathology and has worked in private practice and public schools for the last 25 years. She frequently lectures and mentors students in local and international institutions. She has lived across the United States in Massachusetts, Michigan, Maryland, New Jersey and finally settled in Pennsylvania in 2005. Her focus has been on Autism, Developmental Language Disorders, apraxia of speech, reading and written expression. Mahnaz has advanced training in DIR/Floortime and PROMPT. Mahnaz has a particular interest in narrative formulation and how it relates to the development of self. Mahnaz has a passion for working with children and believes that children are not a collection of diagnoses but unique individuals with their own interests, personalities and strengths. Her unique focus is the developmental model of therapy where individual differences are celebrated and the child is led through each developmental milestone of language development. Mahnaz believes that the success of therapy is through building a strong relationship with the child and those in their world. Only when an emotional bond is well formed is the child and family ready and available to learn. Mahnaz is a bilingual therapist in Urdu/Hindi.

Mary Beth Crawford, MPT, IMC, CEIM received a B.S. in Biology from Villanova University in 1997. In 2000 she graduated summa cum laude from Medical College of Pennsylvania and Hahnemann University with a Master of Physical Therapy. Mary Beth began using the DIRFloortime® approach to PT in 2004, when she attended a life-changing seminar given by the brilliant, late Dr. Stanley Greenspan about the DIR®. DIR is a model that describes predictable social and emotional development, and Floortime® is the practice of strategies to support social and emotional development for all humans. Since then, Mary Beth has sought to deepen her knowledge and practice in using the DIRFloortime® approach with her knowledge of the development of sensory and motor systems inherent to pediatric PT. Mary Beth has extensive experience supporting individuals (birth through adulthood) with individual differences in neurological, neuromuscular, myofascial and sensory-motor-affectual challenges that impact their capacity to maximize their developmental growth. She uses a strengths-based approach to working with infants, children, adolescents, young adults and their families who experience growing edges related to dyspraxia, hypotonia, torticollis, autism, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, incoordination, and other developmental delays. In addition to her practice, Mary Beth lectures and mentors parents and professionals’ groups throughout the Philadelphia area and internationally. Mary Beth’s special interest includes the neuroscientific connection between ways that physical/ motoric development impacts the development of intentionality and agency required for executive functions; as well as the reciprocity and interconnectedness of the development of sensory and motor systems with social and emotional development. Mary Beth feels strongly that an essential part of every individual and family’s journey is to have adequate emotional and educational support, while being empowered to understand their child and connect with them in meaningful ways.

Facilitator Name: Delilah Maestri, Lead Preschool Teacher and DEIJB Coordinator
School/Organization: United Friends School

Students in the preschool class at United Friends School created peg-doll representations of themselves and wanted to build a town for their dolls to live in. The class spent time researching, interviewing experts, and observing the local town, considering accessibility, shelter, and social services. The children worked collaboratively to construct their own town with recycled materials that accommodated the needs of their doll community. In this workshop participants will explore methods of developing a sense of identity and equity in the early grades through projects and community engagement. 

Led by Anna Pritchard, Oldest Group Teacher at The School in Rose Valley

Led by Paul Rule, Primary Circle Asst. Teacher at The School in Rose Valley 

“On the way to Bamboo Island with fairies might you be…”Come and explore the magic of nature! Enjoy SRV’s beloved hike to “Bamboo Island”, a trail travelled weekly by SRV students of all ages. You will follow Ridley Creek through the Saul Wildlife Sanctuary to discover “Bamboo Island’s” natural playground. Your curiosity & sense of wonder is all you will need to bring!

Led by Sunday Small, Director of Progressive Education at The School in Rose Valley & Diane Luckman, Learning Specialist at The School in Rose Valley.

Come explore copies of this years recommended books for your classroom, families and your professional library. Samples of books will be available to peruse, along with a list of BIPOC owned book stores that we encourage you to purchase from. Keynote Speaker Ali Michael will also have copies of her books for sale and signing.

Facilitator Name: Trish McBride, Interim Lead Pre-K Teacher
School/Organization: Plymouth Meeting Friends School

Our goal as educators should always be for our students to know they are valued for exactly who they are and to learn to value each other through a strong classroom community. Let’s put our heads and hearts together and plan for the first six weeks of school and beyond with an eye toward building trust and understanding! 

Trish will share several strategies and projects from her years of teaching experience that promote a sense of belonging in the classroom. These include summer parent questionnaires and meetings, a joyful exploration of names that resulted in a lovely classroom display, and intentional, positive, open discussions about differences and diversity from day one. She can’t wait to share what has worked for her!

Participants are invited to bring and share strategies, lesson plans, books, etc., that they have found helpful in building a welcoming environment or experiences we can learn from. All are welcome to come just to learn if that works for you right now! 

Trish is an experienced early childhood educator with a deep respect for children whose passions are play-based learning and working toward equity, peace, and justice. She serves on the Greater Philadelphia Diversity Collaborative and Philly Agile Learning Community boards. She is currently the Interim Lead Pre-K Teacher at Plymouth Meeting Friends School. Outside of her work, she loves her book club, taking road trips, and spending time with her friends and family, especially her 21-year-old daughter, Georgie, and her granddog, Ralphy!

Facilitator Name: Zero Jones 
School/Organization: Smith Urban Nature Preschool (SUN)

How does conflict hinder and support diversity in our schools? This workshop will reflect on personal experiences that have impacted our teaching and learning. At the same time, we will consider conflict-navigation tools you can use in the classroom immediately to build on your anti-bias/anti-racist practices. Support diversity at your school through conflict using community engagement practices accessible to adults and children.

Zero Jones is a childcare and learning specialist. Zero is the former/founding director of Smith Urban Nature Preschool (SUN). As a teacher, they practice emergent curriculum, play-based learning, and action research. Zero loves learning alongside their community web, especially if it involves making something, playing an instrument, or bugs!

Facilitator Name: Mari Ann Bartley and Erin Thack
School/Organization: The School in Rose Valley

Learn how we explored the topic of skin color with our 3, 4, and 5-year-old students. We will share lesson plans, books, and activities promoting the beauty of all skin colors.  You will leave this workshop with a step-by-step list of activities with specific questions and resources to bring directly to your students. This unit can be used with any early elementary-aged children (preschool through grade 2).

Erin Thack (she/her) has a B.S. in Education from Temple University and a M.Ed in Education from Saint Joseph’s University. She holds a preschool through 8th grade certification in Pennsylvania and her certification in reading and special education. Erin has worked in the Rose Tree Media School District and the Chester Upland School District before coming to SRV. This is her twenty-first year at Rose Valley.

Erin has two grown children, both SRV alumni, and currently attends Syracuse University. In her spare time, Erin likes to take tap dancing classes, go to flea markets, and spend time with her family and friends in Ocean City, New Jersey. She is passionate about protecting childhood and giving children the time and space to explore and understand their worlds.

Mari Ann Bartley (affectionately known as Mrs. B) has been in education in many ways since 1976 when she founded Mari Ann Jackson’s School of Dance. She continued teaching, choreographing, and producing dance productions for 22 years. During those years, she also enjoyed teaching kindergarten at the Kids’ Place and teaching organization skills at Strath Haven Middle School.

Mrs. B joined the SRV Summer Camp family as a specialist counselor and then assisted the Summer Camp Director. Tapping into the skills acquired at the Philadelphia School of Performing Arts and the University of the Arts, Mrs. B directed the Julian Krinsky Performing Arts Camp for several years. Mrs. B enjoyed 14 years working as a therapeutic clinician at Child Guidance Resource Center, Afternoons Teacher at SRV, and Director of Vacation Care and Mini Camps here at SRV. Presently, Mrs. has joined the preschool team and is program manager for SRV Camp. 

Mrs. B was honored in 1976 with the Pennsylvania Governor’s School for the Arts scholarship for dance. In February of 2019, she was awarded The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania’s Commitment of Excellence in Education award by Governor Tom Wolf.

Facilitator Name: Tracy Duryea and Kate McCabe
School/Organization: The School in Rose Valley

Children are learning that they are part of a larger community of individuals. This is important work as they grow in their social awareness and understanding of inclusivity and diversity. We have discovered that one of the best ways for students to learn about one another is through stories. We have invited families to come into the classroom and share their journey stories and family traditions with us. Through our journey story unit with 1st and 2nd grade, the students will become more aware of where they live with respect to their local communities and beyond. Hearing about travels, near and far, will also give them the opportunity to learn more about different cultures, geography, and real-world problem solving. Through our family traditions unit with 1st and 2nd grade, we want children to understand that all families have unique traditions and celebrations, that these traditions and celebrations come from different places, and that these traditions and celebrations may change over time. In this workshop, we will go more in depth about these units and showcase some examples of what this looks like in our classrooms.

Tracy Duryea is a first and second grade teacher at The School in Rose Valley. She holds a B.S. in Early Childhood Education from Salisbury University and an M.S.Ed from Saint Joseph’s University. This is Tracy’s 4th year at SRV! Previously Tracy has taught in several schools in the Philadelphia and Baltimore area. She enjoys incorporating music, movement, and art into the classroom whenever possible. In addition to teaching at SRV, Tracy loves to walk her dog along the Wissahickon Trail, cheer on Philly sports teams, and explore new restaurants. 

Kate McCabe is a first and second grade teacher at The School in Rose Valley. Having graduated from Rutgers University New Brunswick with a B.A. in Art History and minor in Anthropology, Kate believed she was on the path to a career in arts administration. After ten plus years working in childcare she realized that nothing makes her happier than teaching and aiding children through their every day moments of learning and growth. Happily, Kate completed her Masters in Teaching, Learning, and Curriculum at Drexel University in 2020 and is certified in early childhood education, kindergarten through fourth grade. In her free time Kate is most likely to be found spending time with her closest friends, exploring in nature, and practicing guitar.