(Block 2) 11:15 - noon

Panel (15 mins): Increasing Educational Justice: Drawing from Motherwork to Understand Latine Students' Needs

Hosted by: Astrid Sambolín Morales, Assistant Professor, Kent State University

Workshop description: This presentation will share the initial findings from a qualitative study conducted by a Kent State professor to understand the supports and processes affecting English Language Learners and culturally and linguistically diverse families (CLD) in Ohio. Participants will then learn about Latine womens' motherwork, which includes negotiating the complicated relationship of preparing children to fit into, yet resist, systems of racial domination (Collins, 2016, p. 58). Findings from the pilot study illustrate the ways Latine mothers expand and model their Community Cultural Wealth (Yosso, 2005)--or “the bodies of knowledge, abilities, and resources Communities of Color possess and use in their everyday lives” (Jimenez, 2020, p. 779)-- for their children's academic achievement.

Panel (15 mins): Connecting Cultural Identities through Empathy

Hosted by: Andrea Sosa Fontaine, Assistant Professor of Interior Design, Kent State University

Workshop description: Latinx youth face many barriers to accessing post-secondary education, and even after they receive their admission letter, success is not guaranteed. Common barriers include access to financial aid, distance from family, language challenges, discrimination, and lack of cultural understanding by peers and faculty. The workshop responds to one such barrier through an empathy-based exercise that can be used to expand understanding of Latinx culture by fostering cross-cultural connections between peer groups. The exercise was originally developed for a remote elective course taken by post-secondary students from different countries; however, it has been modified to suit in-person classrooms. There is also an opportunity to utilize the exercise beyond the classroom, building empathy among peers through the sharing of cultural identities for faculty, community organizations, and in the workplace. Fostering these connections early among a group helps to facilitate better understanding and a sense of belonging. The workshop will be led by two Professors of diverse backgrounds from the College of Architecture and Environmental Design at Kent State University.

Workshop: Building Blocks Toward Student Success – Using an Anti-Deficit Approach to Support Our Students of Color

Hosted by: Alice Fermiantt, Program Coordinator at E. Timothy Moore Student Multicultural Center, Kent State University

Workshop Description: In this workshop, participants will be able to identify ways to culturally, academically, professionally, personally, and socially  (CAPPS) develop their students of color using an anti-deficit framework.