The American Conference on Diversity Helps NJ Educators Create Multicultural Learning Environments

Feb. 27, 2013 - PRLog -- New Brunswick, NJ—The recent brawl involving several hundred students and injuring four at Minneapolis South High School in Minnesota, sparked by ongoing tensions between African-American and Somali teens, is a stark reminder that racial, religious and other biases often manifest in schools and are present in the lives of students these days.

To create affirming and safe learning environments throughout New Jersey, the American Conference on Diversity, in cooperation with the Peter Sammartino School of Education at Fairleigh Dickinson University (FDU) and with generous support from Wells Fargo Bank, will offer “The Power of Educators: Creating Multicultural Learning Environments” through our Educators’ Institute this summer.

Now in its eighth year, the Educators’ Institute intensive four-day course combines instruction, experiential activities, facilitated dialogue, and small group work for teachers, administrators, counselors, and teachers-in-training who are interested in building more inclusive classrooms.

The featured presenter will be one of our 2012 Greater Bergen Chapter Humanitarian Award honorees, Fairleigh Dickinson University Associate Professor of Education Dr. Khyati Y. Joshi. “We all have biases and we have to learn to recognize them,” says Dr. Joshi. “This Institute aims to do just that.”

Dr. Joshi’s work intersects racial, religious, and all other dimensions of diversity and inclusion. A passionate advocate for multicultural education, she has devoted her career to educating leaders and educators about the value of inclusive education. She has presented her research at the White House, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), and as a host of academic conferences. Prior to joining FDU’s faculty, Dr. Joshi was a visiting assistant professor at the Center for the Study of Ethnicity and Race at Columbia University. She has written numerous publications, including her book, New Roots in America’s Sacred Ground: Religion, Race, and Ethnicity in Indian America (Rutgers, 2006), which won the 2007 Phillip C. Chinn Book Award from the National Association for Multicultural Education (NAME).  She co-edited Understanding Religious Oppression and Christian Privilege (Sense, 2008). She has co-authored chapters on religious oppression and immigration, racism, and globalization for the second editions of Readings for Diversity and Social Justice and Teaching for Diversity and Social Justice. Dr. Joshi was the Religion, Schools, and Society section editor for the Encyclopedia on Diversity in Education.

Educators receive 28 CEUs for participating in the Educators’ Institute series, which will be offered twice. From June 25-28, the series will be held at FDU’s College at Florham. From July 9 to 12, the series will be held at FDU’s Metropolitan Campus. The Institute will run from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day.

The registration fee is $265. Breakfast, lunch, and all program materials are included. Advance registration is required at http://summereducatorsinstitute2013.kintera.org.  Non-refundable registration fees apply. Please register by 5 p.m. ET April 26.

About the American Conference on Diversity

The programs, services, and initiatives of the American Conference on Diversity are among the most important work focused on creating a more inclusive society. It is the unfinished business of living in a highly diverse nation: educating and empowering our next generation of leaders; enhancing our workplaces; and helping to create inclusive communities. The American Conference on Diversity, which has been serving schools, organizations, workplaces, and communities in New Jersey since 1948, builds on a historic mission and creates programs and activities relevant and vital to 21st Century life. It is a journey we can all take together. The American Conference on Diversity operates eight chapters to help us to educate and empower leaders and bring our messages of inclusion and respect to communities throughout New Jersey: Atlantic County Chapter, Bayonne Chapter, Central Jersey Chapter, Essex County Chapter, Greater Bergen Chapter, Hudson County Chapter, Jersey Shore Chapter, and Mercer County Chapter. Visit www.AmericanConferenceonDiversity.org to learn more.

Contact:

Gail Zoppo
Media Relations Consultant
109 Church Street
New Brunswick, NJ 08901
gail@AmericanConferenceonDiversity.org
732-745-9330 x35