This session explores how well-intentioned systems can unintentionally reproduce the very inequities they aim to address. Participants will examine how leadership habits influence school culture, opportunity, and student outcomes. Participants will analyze who typically holds influence in school decisions and whose voices are often missing from the table. The workshop introduces practical tools for examining whether policies, routines, and expectations truly align with stated equity values. Rather than focusing on new initiatives, the session centers on shifts in leadership practice that influence culture over time. Attendees will leave with strategies they can apply in classrooms, leadership teams, and district decision-making spaces. The goal is simple: move equity from language into daily leadership practice.

This session explores racial disproportionality in the Illinois child welfare system and its implications for schools, families, and community partners. Participants will examine where disparities occur across the continuum of care, from mandated reporting and investigations to foster care placement and permanency outcomes. The presentation highlights how systemic bias, institutional practices, and decision-making processes shape family experiences and contribute to unequal outcomes for Black children and families.

Attendees will also learn about current efforts in Illinois to address disparities and improve accountability. Strategies to reduce bias in child removal decisions will be discussed.

Session Overview:

Tripping the Prom Queen is a bold and reflective presentation that invites participants to examine the intersection of identity, equity, and leadership through the lived experiences of women navigating professional spaces. Centered on authenticity, reflection, and empowerment, the presentation takes a deep dive into the unique challenges women encounter on the path to leadership, including the complex and often fragile journey of both seeing oneself and being seen by others as a leader.
This session will examine how personal identity and awareness of equity shape decision-making and leadership practices. Participants will leave inspired, affirmed, and equipped to lead with confidence, and clarity to thrive in professional spaces and beyond.

Session Overview:

Lyons Township is a single high school district located in the western suburbs, and five years ago the community developed a strategic plan, with one of the goals explicitly focused on “Hiring and Retaining a High Quality Diverse Staff.”

In this session, Dr. Rowe and Mr. Piotrowski will share what steps the district has taken to actualize the strategic plan goal of developing a diverse staff that reflects the identities of our students as well as beliefs of fostering a Restorative Culture of Belonging.

Session Overview:

Traditional discipline systems disproportionately impact students of color, particularly Black students, contributing to racial disparities in suspension and exclusion.

This interactive session invites participants to experience a condensed version of the HUB, a restorative, social-emotional learning (SEL)-based alternative to exclusionary discipline embedded within school-based health services. Rather than presenting theory alone, attendees will actively engage in core HUB components that demonstrate how dignity-centered behavioral health support can transform school culture.

Session Overview:

In-school suspension (ISS) is often viewed as a passive holding space rather than an opportunity for meaningful intervention. This presentation proposes a shift in mindset and practice by reframing ISS as a structured, intentional environment for restoration, healing, and skill development. Through purposeful design, targeted staffing, and embedded instruction, ISS can become a powerful tool for meeting the academic, behavioral, and social-emotional needs of all students.

This session directly addresses disparities by offering an alternative model of ISS that aligns with equity-focused discipline practices and supports compliance with federal requirements under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).

Session Overview: Centered on The ABCs of Parent Engagement Framework, the session provides an equity-focused approach for building authentic school-family partnerships. Participants will explore how the framework helps educators move beyond traditional parent involvement practices toward more inclusive and culturally responsive engagement. The presentation emphasizes the importance of recognizing and addressing the unique needs of families who have been historically marginalized. Participants will leave with ready-to-use tools and ideas to strengthen communication, trust, and collaboration with all families.

Session Overview: 

Across the country, districts are facing an urgent challenge: how to meet every student’s Special Services requirements amid growing caseloads and persistent staffing shortages. What if the right professional support isn’t local—but still within reach?

In this session, Dr. Michael Robinson will share innovative strategies to expand access to certified special education teachers, case managers, school psychologists, and therapists through livestream instruction. Discover how districts are overcoming workforce barriers, meeting compliance standards, and ensuring every student receives the services they deserve.

Session Overview:

When cultural objects serve as central instructional anchors, rather than illustrative examples, students gain authentic, meaningful entry points into mathematical content, experience greater belonging, and are affirmed as capable mathematical thinkers and doers.

In this workshop, teachers will first explore a variety of cultural objects, such as henna, beads, drums, from both local and global contexts, and learn how to intentionally align such objects to mathematical learning goals and practices. Participants will follow a five-step Anti-Racist Mathematics Education cycle (Equitable Math Toolkit, 2021) to plan a lesson or unit using cultural objects aligned to their curriculum, leaving with concrete tools for designing instruction that is mathematically rigorous, culturally sustaining, and equity-centered.

Session Overview: In this interactive breakout session, Dr. Dwayne D. Williams introduces a practical approach to culturally grounded instructional design using the LEARN Framework—a five-step roadmap for designing culturally responsive activities. Participants will engage in a mock circle session that demonstrates how culturally responsive activities can be designed in real time. Through this hands-on experience, educators will see how theory can be translated into clear, actionable design decisions. The session models a process developed with educators for educators who want practical tools they can apply immediately. By the end, participants will understand the five steps for designing culturally responsive activities using LEARN—and experience the process firsthand.

Session Overview: 

This session explores how school belonging is a

critical—but often overlooked—equity outcome, especially for Adopted and Looked-After (ALA) children who are Black or Children of Color. Participants will examine how adult beliefs, language, routines, and institutional responses shape whether students experience school as a place of dignity, protection, and affirmation—or another site of rupture.

Using a practical School Belonging Framework grounded in equity, identity affirmation, and adult responsibility, the session focuses on how educators can move from good intentions to attuned practice. Special attention is given to moments of discipline, academic struggle, identity development, and emotional distress.

Session Overview: We explore the common claim that districts are “too top-heavy,” what it really means, and how leadership capacity connects to student outcomes and district performance. Education today is not the same as 30 years ago. Expectations and responsibilities have grown dramatically. Districts didn’t choose bureaucracy for fun. Many positions exist because schools must provide services, prove compliance, and manage complex operations. The question isn’t whether administration exists—it’s whether the district has the right staffing structure to make schools successful.

Session Overview:

More than seventy years after Brown v. Board of Education, racial inequities remain embedded in the structures and outcomes of K–12 schooling. Yet persistent disparities in discipline, access to opportunity, and academic achievement suggest that many equity initiatives remain symbolic rather than transformative.

This session presents emerging dissertation research that examines how K–12 practitioners interpret and implement culturally responsive professional development within systems shaped by race, power, and institutional policy. Grounded in Critical Race Theory, the study centers practitioner narratives as counter-stories that reveal how equity initiatives are understood, resisted, internalized, and enacted in real educational contexts.

Educator burnout continues to impact school climate, staff retention, and student success. This session explores how equity-centered leadership practices can support educator well-being while strengthening sustainable and inclusive school environments. Participants will gain practical strategies to reduce burnout, improve staff culture, and build systems that support both educators and students.