Community Engagement Mini-Plenary Sessions and Workshops: How do we reweave the fabric of family and community and help youths transition to successful adulthood? Youth Engagement Mini-Plenary Sessions and Workshops* “Nothing About Us, Without Us!” The Powerful Voices of Foster Care Alumni Wednesday, July 25 1:30 – 3:00
Jetaine Hart, Educational Mentor for Foster Youth, Alameda County Office of Education Marie Ary, California Youth Connection Timothy Bell, Passion to Action, FosterClub Octavia Fugerson, Jim Casey Initiative Young Fellow Sixto Cancel, A Voice to Be Heard Marcella Middleton, Sayso, Foster Club All Star 2012 Alexander McFarland, Ohio Youth Advisory Board Foster care alumni are joining together to raise their voices across the country for change for their brothers and sisters still in care. Learn about their efforts to link youths in care with siblings, find permanent families, pursue higher education, and transition successfully to adulthood.
CDF's Ladder of Youth Leadership: Building a Critical Mass of Next Generation Leaders Monday, July 23 3:30 – 5:00 Strengthening their Voice: Community Models of Youth Engagement
Crystal Mattison, Development Associate, Bennett College David Poms, Agency Achievement Academy Coordinator, Capital Area Food Bank Itang Young, Class of 2012, Union Theological Seminar CDF will train 5,000 new young leaders of color, half Black males, over the next five years to catalyze a transformational, intergenerational movement to change the odds for all children. This session will highlight CDF’s youth leadership development training programs and alumni who are working for change in their communities. Albert Sykes, Young People's Project Frank McGhee, Neighborhood Service Organization (Detroit) Michael Tubbs, Community Involvement Program Coordinator, University of the Pacific Romanita Hairston, Vice President of U.S. Programs, World Vision Ty-Licia Hooker, Class of 2012, University of the Pacific
Tuesday, July 24 4:30 – 6:00 Young people are often left out of organizing efforts to challenge the systems that directly affect their lives. This session will showcase successful youth engagement programs from around the nation that are building courage among young people to challenge injustice and make a difference in their communities. Operation Respect Monday, July 23 1:30 – 3:00
Peter Yarrow, Peter, Paul & Mary, Founder and President, Operation Respect
Operation Respect promotes the infusion of character education and social and emotional learning principles into school curricula. Toward this end, Operation Respect created and disseminates the "Don't Laugh at Me" (DLAM) Program. This workshop will provide participants with tools to assure each child and youth a respectful, safe and compassionate climate of learning where their academic, social and emotional development can take place free of bullying, ridicule and violence.
*Along with these mini-plenary sessions and workshops, intensive and specialized training will be provided to 1,500 young servant leaders invited to join a separate Young Advocate Leadership Training (YALT) track.
CDF Freedom Schools Mini-Plenary Sessions and Workshops Overview of the CDF Freedom
Shaquite Pegues, CDF South Carolina Carolyn Prince, Ph.D., Executive Director of Expansion - Carolinas, CDF Freedom Schools
25 E Street, NW, Washington, DC 20001
p (202) 628-8787
f (202) 662-3510
www.childrensdefense.org
Schools Program with Preparation for Tuesday or Wednesday Site Visits Monday, July 23 1:30 – 3:00
Building a Diverse Teacher Pipeline for America’s Schools Tuesday, July 24 4:30 – 6:00
Program The Rev. Julia L. Nielsen, Executive Director, The Greater Hilltop Area Shalom Zone Jeanne Middleton-Hairston, Ph.D., National Director, CDF Freedom Schools Program Examine the concept and vision behind this successful summer and after-school enrichment program for youths preK – 18. The CDF Freedom Schools program integrates reading, conflict resolution and social action in an activity-based curriculum that promotes social, cultural and historical awareness. Since 1994, about 90,000 children have had a CDF Freedom Schools experience and about 9,000 college students have been trained to deliver this child and youth empowering model. A 2010 evaluation by the University of North Carolina at Charlotte found that CDF Freedom Schools in Charlotte, North Carolina and Bennettsville, South Carolina staunched summer learning loss for 90% of children with significant reading gains for 60%. This session provides an overview of the CDF Freedom Schools program and is mandatory preparation for participants for site visits to Cincinnati Freedom Schools on Tuesday or Wednesday. Tambra Jackson, Assistant Professor, Department of Instruction and Teacher Education, University of South Carolina Terry L. Butler, Vice President, College Pathway Program, Cuyahoga Community College Jeanne Middleton-Hairston, National Director, CDF Freedom Schools Program Sherell Fuller, Assistant Professor, Department of Reaching and Elementary Education, University of North Carolina at Charlotte Derek Musgrove, University of Maryland Research indicates that children of color and low-income children thrive with mentors and teachers who demonstrate their care for them in a culturally sensitive manner. Only seven percent of public school teachers today are Black and seven percent are Latino, and less than four percent are Black or Latino males. At a time when one million teachers will retire over the next three to four years, we have an opportunity to bring needed diversity to the teaching profession and transform child outcomes in a major way. This session will discuss strategies to create a pipeline of Black and Latino teachers in rural and urban environments, including the CDF Freedom Schools® program and other models.
Fundraising and Capacity Building to Sustain Your CDF Freedom Schools Program and Other Out of School Learning Models Wednesday, July 25 1:30 – 3:00
Engaging Key Community Partners to Support and Advance Your CDF Freedom Schools Program Monday, July 23 3:30 – 5:00
Ron Fairchild, President, Smarter Learning Group Thomas Maridada, Ph.D., Director of Education Policy, Practice and Strategic Initiatives, Children's Defense Fund Ron Fairchild, President of the Smarter Learning Group and former founding CEO of the National Summer Learning Association, will provide instruction and support to organizations seeking resources to fund their out of school time programming. This intensive fundraising session will include the following topics: fundamentals on school district partnerships, including Title I, Title II and other federal and state funding streams; researching donor prospects; preparing for and making funder requests; developing budgets and proposals; and practicing good stewardship. Registration required in advance for this session. Adam McFadden, Councilman, Rochester City Council Dwayne Crompton, Executive Director, Kansas City Freedom School Initiative George H. Moses, Executive Director, Rochester, NY North East Area Development, Inc. Mary Nell McPherson, Executive Director, Freedom Schools Partners, Charlotte, NC Eric Mayes, Ph.D., National Deputy Director, CDF Freedom Schools Program Bishop C. Joseph Sprague (ret.), The United Methodist Church, and Advisory Board Member, CDF-Ohio CDF Freedom Schools sites partner with public schools, community-based organizations, faith congregations, colleges and universities, cities and juvenile detention centers to operate program sites. A unique feature of the CDF Freedom Schools model is its adaptability for different organizations serving diverse community and student populations. Community leaders from across America will share their unique models for growth and sustainability. Strategies to be discussed
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include developing a business plan for CDF Freedom Schools expansion in your community; engaging a vast array of community partners; and leveraging public and private funds to sustain sites.
Faith Community Mini-Plenary Sessions and Workshops Morning Devotions Mon., Tues., Wed. 7:30 – 8:30 a.m.
The Rev. Dr. James A. Forbes, President, Healing of the Nations Foundation, and CDF Board Member The Rev. Dr. Otis Moss, Jr., Pastor emeritus, Olivet Institutional Baptist Church, Cleveland, Ohio The Rev. Dr. Otis Moss III, Senior Pastor, Trinity United Church of Christ, Chicago Dr. Eli Wilson, Jr., Eli Wilson Ministries Begin each morning with devotions led by two of the nation’s great preachers, who will prepare participants’ hearts and minds for the challenges that will be shared in the plenaries and workshops that follow.
Hearing and Heeding God’s Call to Pursue Justice in Sacred Texts Monday, July 23 1:30 – 3:00
The Rev. Dr. Eileen W. Lindner, Ph.D., Senior Pastor, Presbyterian Church at Tenafly, N.J. Bishop C. Joseph Sprague (ret.), The United Methodist Church, and Advisory Board Member, CDF-Ohio Rabbi Kenneth A. Kanter, Associate Dean and Director, Rabbinical School for the Hebrew Union College - Jewish Institute of Religion Br. Safaa Zarzour, Secretary General, The Islamic Society of North America What do sacred texts from Judaism, Christianity, and Islam say about our call to pursue justice for children and the poor? How do they guide and sustain our child advocacy work? Jewish, Christian, and Muslim leaders will share their insights, and then in small group breakouts, participants will explore the sacred texts from these and other religious traditions that inform and sustain justice work for children.
Safe Sanctuary: Congregations Reaching Out to Vulnerable Children and Families
The Rev. Darrell Armstrong, Pastor, Shiloh Baptist Church of Trenton, N.J. , and Founder, Institute for Clergy Training Samanthya Amann, Jim Casey Initiative Young Fellow Stacey Patton, Ph.D., Activist/Journalist, The Chronicle of Higher Education and Spare the Kids, Inc.
Monday, July 23 3:30 – 5:00
Almost 700,000 children are abused and neglected each year; more than 400,000 children are in foster care; and an estimated 28,000 children leave foster care annually at age 18 or older without permanent families. Learn about the multiple ways faith communities are extending a hand to vulnerable children and fragile families in the child welfare system to help keep children and youths out of the Cradle to Prison Pipeline and on to paths of promise.
Building Authentic Relationships Across Barriers of Race, Ethnicity, and Income
Bart Campolo, Walnut Hills Fellowship, Cincinnati, Ohio
Wednesday, July 25 1:30 – 3:00 Multi-Faith Organizing for Children: How to Build Inclusive and Powerful Coalitions
How can we who serve and seek justice for children and the poor build relationships with them that move past differences in race, ethnicity, and income? How can we forge partnerships so that we are advocating with and not just “for” children and families in poverty? Learn in an honest conversation that addresses what is too often ignored.
The Rev. Dr. Luther E. Smith, Jr., Ph.D., Campaign Coordinator, Pan-Methodist Campaign for Children in Poverty, and Professor of Church and Community, Candler School of Theology of Emory University The Rev. Shannon Daley-Harris, Senior Religious Advisor, Children’s Defense Fund Bishop Kenneth L. Carder (Retired), Ruth W. and A. Morris Williams Professor of Practice of Christian Ministry, Duke Divinity School
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Monday, July 23 3:30 – 5:00
Building a strong, powerful religious movement to secure justice for children requires the participation of people of all religious faiths. Learn how to build inclusive and powerful multifaith coalitions to advocate for children, including how the annual multifaith National Observance of Children’s Sabbaths can support these efforts. The conference will begin with a Children’s Sabbath service at 6:00pm on July 22 with multifaith leaders to lift up child needs.
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