Virtual workshops empower K-12 teachers to lead discussions about race

Description

In 2020 Dr. Atwater was invited to give virtual presentations to several renowned schools, including teachers and administrators at the Aaron School for Special Needs (K-12); the nationally-recognized Rebecca School for Students on the Autism Spectrum (ages 4-21); and the Quad Manhattan (NYC), an afterschool and summer program designed for twice-exceptional (“2e”) K-12 students. “My work highlights the role of racial implicit bias on educator decision-making and disciplinary practices,” Atwater says. It also stresses the need to understand one’s own comfort level with race and identity, she adds, and examines the detrimental effects of “color-blind racial ideology,” which denies the reality that race affects our perceptions. For nearly 20 years, Atwater’s professional expertise and scholarship have centered on facilitating dialogue about racial issues in K-12 classrooms (Castro-Atwater, 2020; 2016; 2008; 2003).