Dr. Angela Clark Louque & Associates

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 How often do you hear, "The only parents who showed were the parents who didn’t need to be here." But how often do you consider time of day, lack of child care, cost of dinner, transportation, language of the presentation, even relevance of the topic―all real-world barriers for families of our historically underserved students. Our organization provides Culturally Proficient strategies that support best practices for family and community engagement. Based on the 7 Cs of Engagement: communication, collaboration, culture, care/compassion, community, connection, and collective responsibility from the book, Equity Partnership: A Culturally Proficient Guide to Family, Schools, and Community Engagement, we provide guidance for the design, implementation, and evaluation of programs and trainings that involve community and parents in school activities such as parent advisory councils, advisory committees, parent education programs, workshops, and social service programs. 

 Are you really in the game of wanting Black families to engage? Do you really want to hear from them? Considering the plethora of challenges Black students and their families face in our educational systems, they have something to say, and want to be heard.We help school districts provide invaluable insights as to what it takes to create a pathway for communicating with Black families, build core teams of Black parents/families to formally and informally engage with administrators and school leaders, and increase capacity for equity, authenticity, and advocacy. 

Participants of this training will understand equity and schools better by using the Cultural Proficiency Model.  The Cultural Proficiency Model includes Four Tools that better equip educational systems leaders with situations of inequity in diverse settings. Participants will: 

1. Explore the historical context of race and racism in public schools and institutions.
2. Develop the ability to name and discuss issues of equity, access, and inclusion.
3. Examine how the structure of education has been leveraged to systemically exclude persons or people of groups through marginalization and systems of oppression.
4. Discuss practical and custom fit applications of support regarding marginalized and underserved populations, and how to interact with diverse audiences.

Disruptions occur daily in our workplace environments. To address and find possible solutions to these disruptions require a justice-centered leadership approach for decision-making.  To sustain and increase equity-focused leadership, leaders can learn how to apply the critical consciousness model in daily circumstances, situations, and daily decision-making. Participations will present and discuss scenarios and concrete examples to develop decision-making skills and employee engagement. Session outcomes include:

1.  Laying the foundation of critical consciousness.
2.  Practicing pathways to policy development and analysis.
3. Increasing the process of equitable practices and actions.
4. Analyzing and providing insight to possible recommendations and solutions.