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People of Color Conference
Published: October 21, 2005
Updated: June 20, 2009
In November 2006, the NAIS board reaffirmed the mission and purpose of the People of Color Conference (PoCC) and Student Diversity Leadership Conference (SDLC) by passing a new resolution: "The NAIS board affirms the following for the People of Color Conference (PoCC) sponsored by NAIS: PoCC should be designed for people of color as it relates to their roles in independent schools. Its programming should include offerings that support people of color as they pursue strategies for success and leadership. Its focus should be on providing a sanctuary and networking opportunities for people of color and allies in independent schools as we build and sustain inclusive school communities.” — NAIS board of trustees, November 2006
NAIS addresses two important needs at PoCC and SDLC: the need for people of color to come together for networking and support, and the need for schools to find ways to build and sustain inclusive communities. Both PoCC and SDLC serve as energizing, revitalizing gatherings for people who experience independent schools differently. Teachers, students, and administrators of color from across the nation and from foreign countries, along with Caucasian/White allies and participants, gather to celebrate, nurture, and activate representative diversity, multiculturalism, and equity and justice for independent schools. PoCC brings together a diverse group of people from independent schools: Asian/Asian Americans, Black/African Americans, First Nation/Indigenous/Native Americans, International Participants, Latino/Hispanic Americans, White/Caucasian/European Americans. Together, they share the challenges and rewards central to their experiences in independent schools. Robert Witt, executive director of the Hawaii Association of Independent Schools (HAIS), said it best when he reflected on his experience at the 2002 PoCC (Chicago): "We learned that the People of Color Conference is a community with a sense of belongingness. We learned that it is a community, which is a safe place to express one's own self among dear friends and colleagues. There is a goodness and a caring, a breathing in and a breathing out, which creates a harmony and a sense of something very nurturing and very healing." In a recent survey of heads of school, 90 percent indicated that PoCC and SDLC energize and revitalize people of color in independent schools. A majority of heads report that PoCC and SDLC participants have implemented new programs, activities, and services at their school as a result of attending the conferences. Please click on the following links for more information about the People of Color Conference and the importance of maintaining its integrity. For more information on the next PoCC, or past conferences, click on the links in the left navigation bar. |
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