Rivers Sends 5 Representatives to People of Color Leadership Conferences

This month, Rivers sent two teachers and three student representatives to the People of Color and Student Diversity Leadership Conferences in Maryland, an experience that provided its participants with a renewed commitment to exploring diversity issues on campus.

 

"There is a feeling of inclusion and acceptance at this conference that is difficult to put into words," said math teacher Jen Dalton. "Knowing that you are in a room with more than 3,000 people who are all there for the same reason and with the same dedication to diversity work is very powerful."

 

The three-day People of Color Conference, run by the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS), is an opportunity for networking and professional development for people in independent schools who comprise a form of diversity termed "people of color." It includes general sessions with keynote speakers, practitioner-led workshops, affinity group work, and dialogue discussions.

 

This year, Rivers sent Dalton and science teacher Kathleen Nicholson to the conference, as well as Marlayeeka Valcourt '16, Pedro Oliveira '15, and Rashelle Centeio '16.

 

The purpose of the conference is to help participants understand their roles in advancing their schools' equity and justice around racial and ethnic identity.

 

"SDLC was an amazing experience for me," Centeio said. "It was so great to be in an environment with people from all over the United States and to hear their stories about experiences with diversity, as well as share mine."

 

Oliveira said that it is hard to find words to describe how meaningful the conference was for him and his peers.

 

 

Dalton was grateful that students, as well as teachers, had the opportunity to attend a conference that was so informative and enlightening. She said that on the last day of the conference, students had the chance to lead the adults through many of the exercises they had completed over the course of the previous two days, and observing the students’ growth in such a short period of time was astounding.

 

"Their comfort with each other and their openness and honesty with people who were strangers just a few days before was remarkable," she said. "The three Rivers students who attended all want to go back next year, and are already encouraging their friends to go in the future!"