Surviving & Thriving Supporting Our Teachers in These Challenging Times KEYNOTE SPEAKER ROBERT EVANS, Ed.D. NOVEMBER 2, 2022 | 5:00–6:30 P.M.
About Gesu School
Gesu School, an independent Catholic school located in North Philadelphia, is recognized as a national model for inner-city education. Co-directed by the Jesuits and the Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary (IHM), Gesu serves 450 children in grades Pre-K through 8. Gesu School embraces the Jesuit ideal of cura personalis, care of the whole person, and the IHM belief that every child can learn, by offering resources to build academic and soft skills across a range of ability levels.
Inspired by the Jesuit and IHM traditions of social justice, faith, creative hope, and love, Gesu School’s mission is to help students to transcend all forms of poverty by providing a comprehensive, innovative education. We empower our students to develop their strengths, overcome challenges, and become positive, engaged members of the community and the world.
Donate now at gesuschool.org/ donate to support life-changing education for our students in North Philadelphia.
A NOTE FROM GESU SCHOOL’S President and CEO
Welcome to Gesu School’s 25th Symposium. As a pioneer in urban education, Gesu continues to seek new approaches to better serve all students and to confront the tough issues in education, while remaining committed to sharing key learnings. Our Symposium has become a time-honored tradition for these purposes.
This year’s topic reflects the urgency surrounding the current educational landscape and the critical need to support teachers and staff. Two years of intense shifts within schools have generated ongoing upheaval— from transitioning to virtual and hybrid classrooms and implementing everchanging safety protocols, to addressing learning gaps and tackling burnout. Simultaneously, external social and political forces have deeply impacted our school communities, on systemic and local levels.
Our speaker, Robert Evans, Ed.D., will address the pressures that teachers and staff continue to confront and how they, and the entire school community, can not only adapt, but also respond effectively and thrive.
This 25th Symposium provides space for open, pragmatic discussion. May this evening serve as an opportunity to pause and recognize how we can propel our school communities forward with intentional care for each other, especially our teachers.
Thank you for participating in this event. I hope that our collective conversation generates hope and sparks further discussion in your own school communities.
Peace
and blessings, Bryan Carter President and CEO, Gesu School
PRAYER FOR OUR EDUCATORS
Provident God, we gather this day to be educated and informed, so we may embrace our shared wisdom to better serve the students entrusted to our care and acknowledge and celebrate the amazing administrators, teachers, and staff who serve our students.
We ask that educators receive in abundance the graces of resilience, courage, confidence, and insight to continue their sacred work. May they be inspired with creativity and believe in their own resourcefulness to provide a caring, respectful, and engaging learning environment for their students. Give them an assurance of their ability to make a difference in the lives of their students. Bless them with good health and high morale, so they can bring energy and enthusiasm to their daily lives as educators, engaging in the joys and challenges that come their way.
May our educators feel the support and encouragement of administrators, colleagues, parent partners, and the community at large. Fill our dedicated educators with a sense of peace and calm as they navigate the new normal post-COVID and respond to the needs of their students and encourage their students to be the best version of themselves.
Amen!
Trustee Council Member, Congregational Administration, Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary
Sr. Stephen Anne Roderiguez, IHM
Gesu
GESU SCHOOL’S ANNUAL SYMPOSIUM
Always seeking to improve education for all of America’s inner-city children, Gesu School launched our Symposium in 1997 to bring together educators, policy makers, and other stakeholders to tackle the tough issues of urban education. From our first moderator, the late Tim Russert, to outstanding panelists like Stedman Graham, Joe Klein, and Paul Tough, the annual event brings together top thought leaders to stimulate productive conversation and empower educators and the community for our work in the field.
Past Symposia
2021 – Working Together to Manage Pandemic Stress in Our School Communities
Panel with Marsha Richardson, Psy.D. & Jabari Whitehead, Ed.D.
2020 – A Conversation with Ibram X. Kendi
Keynote by Ibram X. Kendi
2019 – Social Justice & Education: The Role of Educators in Building a School’s Capacity to Meet Student Needs
Keynote by Pedro Noguera
GESU SCHOOL’S 25th Annual Symposium
Long before COVID-19, school life was growing ever more complex. Expectations kept rising, but budgets, staffing, and facilities didn’t. Then came a lethal pandemic that upended everything in schools, followed by a racial reckoning and a toxic political controversy about schools. The result: unprecedented pressure on teachers and leaders, which has damaged morale and confidence and caused many to leave the field. How can educators respond constructively? How can they maintain their caring, energy, and competence? Robert Evans, Ed.D. will outline practical ways to reduce stress and restore hope both individually and as a school community.
SPEAKERS WILL BE
Assistant Principal at Mastery Charter Gesu School ‘02 • Springside School ‘06 Spelman College ‘10 B.A. in Psychology, Minor in Spanish, Phi Beta Kappa University of Pennsylvania M.Ed. ‘12 • Teach for America Educator Adjunct Professor, Mathematics, Community College of Philadelphia
TONIGHT’S
INTRODUCED BY Catera Scott
KEYNOTE SPEAKER
Robert Evans, Ed.D.
Psychologist and School Consultant
Former Pre-K — 12 Teacher and Family Therapist
Author of TheHumanSideofSchoolChange and SevenSecretsoftheSavvySchoolLeader
Robert Evans is a psychologist and school consultant. A former high school and pre-school teacher, and a former child and family therapist, he has worked with schools and families for fifty years and has consulted to more than 1,700 schools around the country, working with teachers, administrators, boards, and parents. His presentations are known for their lively wit and plain talk. Rob’s interests have focused on the challenge of leading change in schools, on
changes in the home-school relationship, on improving collegiality and candor among faculty, and on crisis intervention. He is the author of many articles and three books, including The Human Side of School Change and Seven Secrets of the Savvy School Leader . His latest book, cowritten with Michael Thompson, is Hopes and Fears: Working with Today’s Independent School Parents
MODERATOR
Michael Gary, Ed.M.
Head of Friends Select School
Board Member of Pennsylvania Association of Independent Schools, Parkway Council, and Trinity College
Former Teacher and Director of Admissions/Financial Aid at The Peddie School
Michael Gary has served as head of Friends Select School since 2016. Prior to this appointment, he served as director of admissions at Phillips Exeter Academy from 2002 to 2016. Before joining Exeter, Michael served for six years as director of admissions and financial aid at The Peddie School, where he also taught economics. He also served as associate director of admissions and director of multicultural affairs at Pomfret School.
Before starting his independent school career, Michael spent three years in the marketing department of Aetna Life and Casualty and as an account executive at KGA Advertising Agency. He received a BA from
Trinity College in Connecticut and a Master of Education from Harvard University.
Michael is currently a faculty member at the NAIS Institute for New Heads, serves on the boards of the Pennsylvania Association of Independent Schools, Parkway Council, Athenaeum of Philadelphia, Independent Trust, Reading Allowed, and Trinity College. He is a faculty member at the National Association of Independent Schools Institute for New Heads. He is also the president and founder of Inner City Lacrosse and former board member of Pomfret School, the Association of Boarding Schools, and The Enrollment Management Association.
THANK YOU TO OUR 2022 Symposium Sponsors
PRESENTING SPONSOR
James & Agnes Kim Foundation
SALUTATORIAN SPONSOR
Milton Hershey School
Maguire Foundation FRIEND
Academy of Notre Dame de Namur
Community Partnership School
The Episcopal Academy
Friends Select School
Malvern Preparatory School
Merion Mercy Academy
Walsh Jesuit High School
To learn how you can make an impact on Gesu School or support events such as the Symposium, contact the Development Office at 215.763.9077 or development@gesuschool.org.
The
James &
Agnes
Kim Foundation salute Gesu School and 25 years of bringing together educators to tackle the tough issues in education.
The Maguire Foundation is pleased to support Gesu School and the 25th Annual Symposium on Transforming Education.
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