The 2023 Leading for Justice Summit: Realizing Justice, is designed to provide leaders the opportunity to reflect on justice in school systems. Through the course of two days leaders examine what justice may look like in their own school systems and within their own context, and how they may illuminate new pathways to achieve systemic justice so that all students thrive.
Rooted in the principles of continuous improvement, the Summit engages participants in reflection on their work during this year, provides opportunities for learning and concludes with time to continue their planning for the upcoming year in light of what they have learned and experienced at the Summit.
The Summit is further designed around the concept that systemic equity challenges in schools are adaptive problems. Heifetz and Linsky (2002) describe the main properties of adaptive challenges as having the following characteristics:
- They consist of a gap between aspiration and reality
- They require learning and adaptive work to narrow the gap
- The people viewed as having the problem, are also the people who hold the solution
- Adaptive work can be uncomfortable and is also be subject to avoidance
- Adaptive work takes time
They further state that the solution must meet two main criteria:
- It must mobilize the ingenuity and creative resources of the whole system
- It must foster a “we-we” or collective commitment and identity with the system as a whole
To this end, the Summit’s activities engage participants in thinking about the whole system and seek to activate emotions and imagination that go beyond current mental models of what is, into what is possible now. The Summit also provides space for participants to connect, collaborate and share new ideas with each other.
The Leading for Justice Summit 2023 centers around the question, “What does it take to realize justice?” and is designed to ensure leaders can reflect on their work and generate pathways to realize justice in their systems.
Key Activities
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Keynote Topics
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Justice
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Closing equity and opportunity gaps
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Mindsets, Stereotypes, Education-based motivation
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Team Reflection & Planning Sessions
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Optional Planning times
Equity Topics Discussed
The Leading for Justice Summit centers around the questions “ What does it take to realize justice?”
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Closing opportunity and achievement gaps
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Dismantling systemic inequities
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Raising the voices of those most marginalized in the system
Space for people to…
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Focus on their problems of practice that center equity and justice
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Re-ground themselves in their own “why” for engaging in equity leadership
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Re-connect, restore, and rejuvenate in order to engage/sustain themselves in equity leadership
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For teams to re-connect around their already-existing equity initiatives and assist in honing these initiatives for the coming year
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Inspire and grow new ideas and ways of thinking about their equity initiatives
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Collaborate, share ideas and experiences across districts
Professional Learning Sessions:
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Blending & Braiding Resources
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Addressing the question of what does equity & justice look like in UTK
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How do leaders effectively discuss matters of racial equity with those they lead
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The use of inquiry in teaching and learning as a model that supports equity and access for all students
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Community Schools as a strategy to support equitable outcomes for students
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Creative Leadership
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Solve old problems in new ways to achieve desired outcome
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Creative thinking
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Arts Integration
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Achievement Gap vs Opportunity Gap
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Framework for understanding the larger context of school and systemic transformation to achieve equitable and just outcomes for all students