When

Tuesday, February 19, 2019 from 4:30 PM to 6:30 PM CST
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Where

M. A. Mortenson Company 
700 Meadow Lane North
Minneapolis, MN 55422  

 
Driving Directions 

Contact

Fallon Gleason
Innocent Technologies 
fallon@innocenttech.com
 

Innocence, Disciplinary Disparities,and the Relationship Gap

You are invited to join Innocent Technologies, LLC on February 19, 2019 from 4:30-6:30 p.m. for networking and a panel discussion. This is free and open to the public. The panel will focus on the impact of disciplinary disparities on student outcomes and how closing the relationship gap reduces those disparities and positively impacts student learning and growth. Panelists will include school and district administrators from across Minnesota.


DETAILS
Topic:
Innocence, Disciplinary Disparities, and the Relationship Gap
Moderator:
Adebisi A. Wilson
Vice President, Innocent Technologies, LLC
Date:
February 19, 2019
Time: 4:30-6:30 p.m.
Cost:
FREE
Hosted at:
M.A. Mortenson Co.
700 Meadow Lane, Golden Valley, MN 55422
Room: Electrician
Light refreshments will be served.

REGISTRATION IS NOW CLOSED.

Reducing disciplinary disparities is an issue that many school districts across Minnesota grapple with. This event features a panel discussion with school administrators from across Minnesota who have embraced the Innocent Classroom process for teacher-student relationship building to reduce both academic and disciplinary disparities.

The Innocent Classroom program minimizes the influence of implicit bias and stereotype threat in the classroom by training educators to develop authentic, intentional relationships with students of color and other marginalized students. Using strategies and practices developed in Innocent Classroom workshops, educators report significant reductions in disciplinary referrals (44% reduction in first year of Innocent Classroom training, on average), improved academic growth, and stronger relationships with students.

Panelists will discuss the rationale, implementation, and impact of staff development through the Innocent Classroom program.

About the Panelists

Dr. Leadriane Roby is an experienced and reflective educator with a 25-year history in public education. She began her career as an elementary classroom teacher in Minneapolis Public Schools and advanced to other roles including: instructional leader, mentor, elementary and secondary principal, and district leader in public school districts in Michigan and Minnesota.

Dr. Roby is the Assistant Superintendent for Richfield Public Schools in Richfield, Minnesota where she leads the Teaching and Learning team and is a strong advocate for equity, access and excellence. She has presented and led discussions both nationally and across the metro area with educators, community members and student groups. Leadriane has contributed to positive changes related to education policies within district systems, including the facilitation of the African-American Leadership Forum’s (AALF) Black Paper on Academic Best Practices for Students of Color (2017).

Leadriane earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Elementary Education from the University of Minnesota; a Master’s degree in Education Administration from St. Mary’s University of Minnesota. She completed her doctoral studies in Educational Leadership, Research and Technology at Western Michigan University. Dr. Roby’s research focused on new teacher mentoring. Specifically, studying mentoring’s effect on influencing and informing decisions and choices which impact the instructional practices of teachers. Teacher preparation and support is an area of education she believes in strongly, as it shapes the academic experiences of students. Leadriane believes ALL students should receive the benefit of having caring, strong and engaged teachers.

Leadriane lives in St. Paul, Minnesota with her husband, Steven and is the mother of three adult children, and a new grandmother to one special little girl, Reese. 

 

Latanya Daniels has committed her life’s work to raising achievement and proving that all children – especially marginalized students of color – can achieve and achieve at high levels. During her 20-year career in public education she has served as an instructional paraprofessional, math teacher, instructional coach, assistant principal and principal.

 Latanya is the former principal of Patrick Henry High School where she served for five years. While there, she led ambitious initiatives to successfully narrow the achievement gap between students of color and their white counterparts.  As a result of these outcomes, Patrick Henry was consistently recognized as a Reward School by the Minnesota Department of Education. During the 2014-15 school year, Patrick Henry yielded the highest math proficiency rate and graduation rate among all high schools in the Minneapolis Public School District. Due to its unprecedented success, Patrick Henry was selected to host several elected Minnesota officials and First Lady Michelle Obama during a Get Out the Vote Rally in October of 2014. In May of 2015, U.S. News and World Report ranked Patrick Henry the 3rd Best High School in the state of Minnesota.

 Latanya is now in her fourth year as the principal of Richfield High School where she has led systems-level changes to increase access, rigor and achievement for all students. These changes have yielded decreased fails, increased attendance rates, increased graduation rates and increased the proportionality of students of color successfully challenging themselves in advanced and rigorous courses.

 Latanya is currently a doctoral student at the University of St. Thomas. Her dissertation explores the experiences of African American women in secondary education who lead a predominantly White faculty to raise achievement for students of color.  Her goal is to  defend her dissertation and complete her doctoral studies by the end of this year.


Lisa Gruenewald

is the principal at John A. Johnson Achievement Plus.

 

 

With more than 20 years of experience, Principal Gruenewald has served as a Special Education teacher and developed, taught and managed K-8 after-school and early childhood education programs. She first began working with Saint Paul Public Schools in 2004, most recently serving as Assistant Director for the Office of Early Learning.

Prior to working at SPPS, Gruenewald held a variety of roles in the education ranging from work in early childhood education to corporate training and education to community education.

Gruenewald graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, with an Early Childhood Special Education degree. She currently holds a master of education degree and an administrative PreK-12 license from Hamline University, as well as a graduate certificate in culturally responsive teaching from Saint Mary’s University.

 

Laurie Putnam is the Principal at Kennedy Community School. She has been with District 742 since 2009. Ms. Putnam attended Dartmouth College where she received a Bachelor of Arts in History. She obtained her Master's in Education at the University of Maine with an emphasis in Counselor Education. Ms. Putnam then attended Hamline University where she received her Administrative Licensure. She is currently working on her doctorate in K-12 Education Administration with St. Cloud University.

 

Dr. Charvez Russell

 

Education has always been at the forefront of Dr. Charvez Russell’s life growing up in a family of people involved in education in many different capacities. After graduating from Mississippi College in Clinton, MS, with a B.S. in Biology, he started his professional career in Canton, MS teaching Pre-Algebra and Algebra I in a high school alternative setting. 

 

 

In 2002, Dr. Russell moved to Minnesota and taught at Minneapolis Public Schools for three years. He took a break from education, obtained an MBA and worked in corporate sales for 8 ½ years. During that time he obtained his Doctorate of Management in Organizational Leadership from the University of Phoenix and returned to education in 2014.

Dr. Russell is currently the Executive Director for Friendship Academy of the Arts. A K-6 charter school located in South Minneapolis serving 170 predominantly African American students that earned designations such as Reward School by the MN Department of Education and a National Blue Ribbon school by the U.S. Department of Education.