The current MSAN Minute is a review of the recent 2018 MSAN Institute on cultural competence and leading for equity in schools, which was held April 26 and 27. The links below will take you to videos of sessions, conference handouts, and other resources. Check out these inspiring testimonials from Institute participants! 

Special thanks to our sponsors: WIDA, Equal Opportunity Schools, American Family Insurance, UW Office of Student Financial Aid, The Network, UW Madison, Ventris Learning, Herb Kohl Philanthropies, UW Madison Education Outreach and Partnerships, and The Urban League of Greater Madison. We appreciate you!

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EQUITY-FOCUSED PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

The MSAN Institute: Our Network’s Hallmark Professional Learning Event
The conference has several components, including breakout sessions led by teachers, researchers, school administrators, and others; a student panel featuring student leaders, and keynote addresses.

This year’s keynote speakers were Dr. Donna Y. Ford, the preeminent scholar on advanced learning and African American students; and Dr. Erika Bullock, (click here for video) whose groundbreaking work focuses on racial equity and STEM education. The titles below link to the speakers’ slides and handouts.

• Dr. Donna Y. Ford Professor of Education and Human Development, Vanderbilt University From Gifts Denied to Gifts Recognized: Setting Equity Goals to Recruit Students of Color in Advanced Learning Opportunities
• Dr. Erika Bullock, Assistant Professor of Mathematics Education, University of Wisconsin-Madison The Powers of a Fist: Interrogating Strategies for Systemic Equity

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ANNUAL FOCUS AREA

Advanced Learning
This year’s MSAN focus area is advanced learning. There were several elements of the Institute that highlighted advanced learning:

• Keynote Presentation: Dr. Donna Y. Ford (see inset) 
• Bringing Culturally Responsive Pedagogy (CRP) into the Advanced Placement Classroom
• Effective Strategies for Reversing the Underrepresentation of Latinx and Other Language Minority Students in Gifted Programs
• Advanced Learning: Designing a District Gifted & Talented Program with a Focus on Equity 
• Putting Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Students at the Center of Your District's Gifted & Talented Program

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RESEARCH YOU CAN USE

Research at the Institute
The following breakout sessions at this year’s institute included an explicit focus on research conducted by the presenters. The titles below link to breakout session slides, handouts, and other materials:

• "Build it Up”: The Intersection of Hip-Hop Culture, Social Justice, Architecture, and Urban Planning Development
• Authentic Intellectual Work (AIW)
• Fair Play, the Video Game
• Transforming the High School Experience Through African American Cultural Humanities
• Designing Diversity Education and Anti-Bias Training that Works
• Putting Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Students at the Center of Your District's Gifted & Talented Program
• Research-Practice Partnerships as Equity Drivers

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EQUITY IN ACTION

Student Leadership at the MSAN Institute
One of MSAN’s core practices is student leadership. This year’s Institute continued our trend of featuring more student presenters:

• Ramping Up Family Engagement Through Continuous Improvement
• Social Justice Leadership Through Student Voice
• Workshop on Gender and Schools
• Panel discussion with current high school students in MSAN districts (see full video here), heralded every year by many as THE highlight of the conference!
  
  

Watch upcoming MSAN Monthly emails for more information on MSAN’s hallmarkstudent leadership event, the MSAN Student Conference, coming up this October 24-27 in Boston, MA. Click here to access the student conference website. 

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LEADERSHIP SPOTLIGHT

Teacher Leadership at the MSAN Institute
The MSAN Institute brings together all types of leaders, who are leading in many ways, in many contexts, across the country. Several K-12 teachers and support staff presented at this year’s Institute:

• Bridging Middle School Minority Students to Success was facilitated by two middle school teachers from Cleveland Heights/University Heights School District
• Effective Strategies for Reversing the Underrepresentation of Latinx and Other Language Minority Students in Gifted Programs was facilitated by two elementary teachers from Allen-Field School in Milwaukee
• Why We Can't Wait: the Historical Context for Educational Equity Work presenter team included a teacher from Cleveland Heights/University Heights School District
  
• Ramping Up Family Engagement Through Continuous Improvement presenter team included two language interpreters and a school counselor
• Social Justice Leadership Through Student Voice, Presented By Student Leaders and the Staff who Support Them presenter team included a student engagement specialist and three teachers
  
  

For videos of keynotes and some breakouts, handouts and slides, and a link to the full conference program, visit msan.wceruw.org/conferences/institute.html!