Educational Equity Partnership Project (EEPP)

Overview of EEPP

Conference Presentations

A significant outcome of the Educational Equity Partnership Project has been the scholarly collaboration that has resulted. Two participants, Kimberly Foster and Jay Sohn have collaborated with FAU instructors on two national presentations. They presented at the National Association for Multicultural Education (NAME) conference in November 2019 and were accepted to present at the annual conference of the American Educational Research Association (AERA).

Schoorman, D., Minor, I., Sohn, J. & Foster, K. (2020, Apr 17 - 21) The Educational Equity Partnership Project: University-School Collaboration in Equity-Oriented Professional Development [Roundtable Session]. AERA Annual Meeting San Francisco, CA http://tinyurl.com/vl9cxfu (Conference Canceled).

Schoorman, D., Minor, I., Sohn, J., & Foster, K. (November, 2019). Decolonizing the curriculum in Title 1 schools: Early steps in a university-school partnership. Presented at the Annual conference of the National Association for Multicultural Education, Tuscon, AZ, November 6-10, 2019

Presentation at the NAME conference in November 2019. L-R: Jay Sohn, Dilys Schoorman, Iris Minor, and Kimberly Foster.

The EEPP Finale

Panel Intro: Dilys Schoorman welcomes the participants and invites guests to the event. Special Thanks to Dr. Ira Bogotch (Professor Educational Leadership and Research Methodology) and Ms. Nadia Clarke (Assistant Director, Office of Family and Community Engagement, Broward Schools) who served as discussants following the panel presentation.

EEPP participants formed a seven member panel to respond to questions about the impact of the project. The panel was moderated by Dr. Carlos Diaz (Professor Emeritus, Department of Curriculum, Culture and Educational Inquiry). Panelists included (from L-R): Gillian McIntosh-Brown, Patrick Berkley, Seilarine Samuels-Pink, Jay Sohn, Amy Stramanak, Matthew Burton and Kimberly Foster Seated in front of the panelists are the discussants, Ms. Nadia Clarke and Ira Bogotch.

On Tuesday, February 25th, 2020, the Department of Curriculum, Culture and Educational Inquiry (CCEI) and Broward County Public Schools (BCPS) came together to celebrate the Educational Equity Partnership Project (EEPP). Over the past three years, CCEI professors have engaged educators from Title I schools in professional development modules of multicultural education, research, and advocacy.

The “Celebration of Learning” began with a reception during which EEPP teachers, professors, and event attendees discussed highlights of the program while enjoying delicious food. Following this, Dilys Schoorman, provided a brief welcome and offered thanks to everyone involved, especially Angela Brown for her trust and leadership, Christopher Gates for “planting the seed” back in 2013, and Traci Baxley, Kalisha Waldon, Melanie Acosta, Bianca Nightengale-Lee, and Iris Minor who comprised the CCEI EEPP team. In thanking the teachers for demonstrating their honest commitment and attending the Tuesday evening classes, Schoorman expressed, “When we’re talking about how movements start, showing up is the first step.” The past three years were successful because of those who consistently participated in and contributed to this collective effort.

The commemoration continued with a panel discussion moderated by Carlos Diaz, Ed.D. during which EEPP participants (Patrick Berkley, Gillian McIntosh Brown, Matthew Burton, Kimberly Foster, Seilarine Samuels Pink, Jay Sohn, Amy Stramanak) shared their experiences from the past three years and the ways that they were able to impact their own Broward county schools and classrooms. Amy Stramanak described the parent focus groups she began implementing as a result of the EEPP activities. Multiple panelists noted EEPP to be the most unique experience they have endured as educators. Jay Sohn shared that being a part of this group gave him and others a stronger charge to act in their schools. Tuesday nights offered a space where EEPP participants and professors could openly communicate, share their struggles, recognize and act upon their passions, and grow as educators.

In response to the panel, discussants, Ms. Nadia J. Clarke, Assistant Director, Office of Family and Community Engagement, Broward County Public Schools and Ira Bogotch, Ed.D., Professor, Department of Educational Leadership & Research Methodology offered their comments. Concluding the evening, attendees and EEPP participants shared further comments in which they repeatedly expressed the need for programs such as this to continue in order to counter the educational inequities that exist in our learning environments.