The Work of Change: Educators, Equity, and School Transformation

What does it take to create meaningful change in schools? How might educators examine their own identities and assumptions while also challenging the systems that shape students’ educational experiences?

In this session, Dr. Yolanda Sealey-Ruiz and Dr. Erika Kitzmiller will come together for a conversation about their books, Archaeology of Self: The Introspective Educator’s Guide to Racial Literacy and Unchartered: How One Public High School Transformed First-Generation College Success. Moderated by educator and author Brian Jones (Senior Director, Reading & Engagement, NYPL), the conversation will explore the connections between racial literacy, educational equity, and school transformation.

Drawing on their scholarship and research, Sealey-Ruiz and Kitzmiller will consider the relationship between the work educators do within themselves and the work of transforming the institutions they are part of. Together, they will reflect on how educators can understand their own positionality, recognize the experiences and strengths students bring to school, and imagine new possibilities for public education.

Featured Authors

Dr. Yolanda Sealey-Ruiz is the author of Archaeology of Self: The Introspective Educator’s Guide to Racial Literacy. Her work explores racial literacy, teacher education, and the importance of introspection in developing educators who can engage more critically with race and identity.

Dr. Erika Kitzmiller is the author of Unchartered: How One Public High School Transformed First-Generation College Success. Her research examines the history of American education and the ways educators, students, and communities can reshape the structures and practices of public schools.

Eligible NYS educators can earn 1 CTLE credit hour for their participation. To receive CTLE credit, participants must attend the full program and complete the required evaluation.

Presented by The New York Public Library’s Center for Educators and Schools.

For more information about NYPL’s Center for Educators and Schools, visit us online and subscribe to our monthly newsletter—plus, follow us on Instagram, Facebook, or X! For questions, contact us at educators@nypl.org

PUBLIC NOTICE AND DISCLAIMER

AUDIO/VIDEO RECORDING | Programs are photographed and recorded by the New York Public Library. Attending this event indicates your consent to being filmed/photographed and your consent to the use of your recorded image for any all purposes of the New York Public Library.

PRESS | Please send all press inquiries (photo, video, interviews, audio-recording, etc) at least 24-hours before the day of the program to press@nypl.org. Please note that professional video recordings are prohibited without expressed consent.

ACCESSIBILITY | You may request ASL (American Sign Language) interpretation or CART (Communication Access Real-Time Translation) captioning service by emailing educators@nypl.org at least two weeks in advance of the event.

This venue is fully accessible to wheelchairs.

ACCESSIBILITY | This event will be captioned. You may request ASL (American Sign Language) interpretation by emailing educators@nypl.org at least two weeks in advance of the event.