EVENTS
Learn more about upcoming and past events hosted by BERC, our partners, and related activities focused on Black education research, policy, and practice.
Join BERC for “It’s Time to Teach the Truth: A Report on American Attitudes Towards K-12 Education.”
We are excited to feature special guest Cornell Belcher, President of brilliant corners Research & Strategies, who will present results from a nationally representative poll of US registered voters commissioned by BERC to understand and capture American attitudes on K-12 education, followed by a conversation with Sonya Douglass, Professor of Education Leadership and Director of the Black Education Research Center at TC.
The event takes place this Thursday, October 5, 2023 from 6:00-7:30pm ET in Milbank Chapel at Teachers College. This is an in-person event.
How Black Studies is Launching in NYC Public Schools with Sonya Douglass and Michele Verdiner
Learn firsthand how TC’s groundbreaking Black Studies curriculum is being implemented in New York City Public Schools. This virtual presentation will explore the rollout of this pilot program from both the researcher and practitioner perspective, as well as lessons learned throughout this collaboration with the New York Department of Education and community partners.
Sonya Douglass, Professor and Founding Director, Black Education Research Center (BERC) Sonya Douglass, Ed.D. is Professor of Education Leadership and Founding Director of the Black Education Research Center (BERC) at Teachers College, Columbia University. Professor Douglass is currently the principal investigator of New York City’s Education Equity Action Plan, a $20 million initiative focused on developing an interdisciplinary PK-12 Black studies curriculum and professional learning plan for NYC public schools.
Michele Verdiner, Principal of TC Community School (TCCS) Michelle Verdiner has been principal at Teachers College Community School (TCCS) since 2015. Before that, she spent fourteen years as a speech pathologist/teacher of speech and hearing handicapped, special education coordinator and four years as assistant principal, all in the New York City Department of Education.
The Edmund W. Gordon Legacy Symposium
The Black Education Research Center at Teachers College, Columbia University and the Dr. N. Joyce Payne Center for Social Justice of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund invite you to attend The Edmund W. Gordon Legacy Symposium: The Education of Peoples of African Descent in the United States. June 13, 2023 from 10:00am to 3:00pm.
Featuring a Plenary Address by Dr. Edmund W. Gordon and Scholarly Research Panels from Selected Book AuthorsJoin us in a celebration of the scholarly contributions of Professor Emeritus, Dr. Edmund W. Gordon on his 102nd birthday.
During this celebration we will present the key themes and connections to contemporary education issues from the upcoming book, A History and Education of Peoples of African Descent in the Americas,1920-2020.
A Conversation With Jarvis Givens, Ph.D.
On February 23rd, the Black Education Research Center (BERC) and History and Education Program at Teachers College, Columbia University, will co-host a conversation with Dr. Jarvis Givens, Associate Professor at the Harvard Graduate School of Education and faculty affiliate in the department of African & African American Studies at Harvard University, at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture in Harlem, New York, NY.
Dr. Sonya Douglass, Professor at Teachers College and Director of BERC, will engage Dr. Givens in discussion about his new book, School Clothes: A Collective Memoir of Black Student Witness (Beacon Press, 2023), which offers a powerful counter-narrative to historical scripts that frame Black students as a problem to be solved in America’s public imagination. Using more than 100 first-person student narratives in African American history, including intellectual and political powerhouses like Mary McLeod Bethune, Zora Neale Hurston, and Malcolm X, Dr. Givens reveals a story of African American youth learning to battle the violent condemnation of Black life and imposed miseducation meant to quell their resistance.
The scholars will also explore the field of Black education studies, current educational issues, and their implications for the future of American education.
It’s Time to Build a New House: A Framework for Learning and Liberation
In this talk, Professor and Director of BERC, Sonya Douglass, Ed.D. offers a new vision and strategy for U.S. education where schools are reimagined as sites of human possibility and freedom. Informed by research at the nexus of Black education, equality, justice, and liberation, Douglass extends the metaphor from her 2011 book, Learning in a Burning House, which explores racial hierarchy, segregation, and inequality in schools and makes the case for building a new house - a supportive and nurturing learning environment where students are safe and free to learn about themselves, their culture, their role in society, and what it means to be a free person.
In-Person Registration (via Eventbrite): http://bit.ly/3VjDpOv
Virtual Registration (via Zoom Webinar): here
Education on the Ballot: Post-Election Reflections on the Politics of Educational Equity and Curriculum Policy in New York State
As state legislatures, state boards of education, and local districts make critical policy decisions concerning the adoption and implementation of culturally relevant curriculum and instruction, join BERC for a post-election panel discussion on the politics of equity and curriculum policy in New York State.
Panel will be moderated by Founding Director, Sonya Douglass, Ed.D.
In-Person Registration (via Eventbrite): https://bit.ly/3D8QSSs
Virtual Registration (via Zoom Webinar): https://bit.ly/3FAOBlV
Black Education & Mental Health: Toward Community Health and Well-being
Join us Thursday, March 24th at 5pm ET in conversation with Dr. Kevin Cokley of University of Texas at Austin as we discuss mental health affects on the achievement of Black students.
Centering Possibility and Black Educational Futures with Dr. Chezare Warren
Join the Black Education Research Collective (BERC) each Thursday in February for our virtual speaker series featuring conversations with some of the most influential scholars in Black education.
Leading for Liberation: On the Significance of the Black Principal with Professor Kofi Lomotey
Join the Black Education Research Collective (BERC) each Thursday in February for our virtual speaker series featuring conversations with some of the most influential scholars in Black education.
Why We Need a Black Studies Curriculum with Professor Joyce King
Join the Black Education Research Collective (BERC) each Thursday in February for our virtual speaker series featuring conversations with some of the most influential scholars in Black education.
On the History and Education of Peoples of African Descent: Looking Back to Move Forward with Professor Edmund W. Gordon
Join the Black Education Research Collective (BERC) each Thursday in February for our virtual speaker series featuring conversations with some of the most influential scholars in Black education.
Leading for Educational Equity in New York: The Case for Emancipatory Leadership
The struggle for educational equality and social justice remains a central feature of leading both suburban and urban schools and districts in the U.S. This virtual event, hosted by the Black Education Research Collective (BERC) at Teachers College, Columbia University will feature Professor Sonya Douglass Horsford, Founding Director of BERC, in conversation with Chancellor Lester Young, Jr. New York Board of Regents, and new Chancellor David Banks, New York City Department of Education as they discuss the future of education leadership and policy in New York and beyond.