POCIS NW Programming LaunchDear FASPS Community -
I hope you are all settling into the new school year nicely. One of the benefits of being at the French American School of Puget Sound is that we are a member school of
POCIS NW (People of Color in Independent Schools) and as such, we have access to a variety of events, resources, and programs that bring together our community members of color and provide learning opportunities for everyone in all of our school communities.
POCIS NW’s programming has grown significantly over the past couple of years, and we could not offer these programs without the support of the volunteers in all of our schools that help make this happen. If you are an employee of color, and you are interested in getting involved in POCIS NW’s program development or committee work, (marketing, membership, website management, etc.) please let me, Sabine Abadou, DEI & Wellbeing Leader, know! There are so many opportunities for all sorts of interests!
Meanwhile, I am excited to share our lineup of programs for this school year!
Equity and Inclusion Virtual Speaker Series: This series is open to everyone, (employees and families of our communities) and often features speakers that are doing really awesome things in the fields of culturally responsive practice, ethnic studies, and equity in schools. This year’s speakers are
Gholdy Muhammad (who did an inspiring presentation at PoCC a couple years ago and published her book
Unearthing Joy) and
Elena Aguilar who runs a coaching consulting firm and has published numerous books on equity in education and inclusive coaching practices. You can learn more and
register for these events here.
BIPOC Voices Summit: These events are for educators of color in our schools that seek professional development and networking opportunities. We host two summits per year, and this year’s fall summit will be on Tuesday, Oct. 15 from 9:00 - 2:00 pm at the
Evergreen School. POCIS NW is excited to host
Liz Kleinrock for the fall summit! If you identify as an educator of color, and you are interested in this opportunity, you can
register for this event here (scroll to the bottom of the page to register.) THE FALL BIPOC VOICES HAS PASSED
Black Educator’s Socials: These events are for Black educators in our schools to connect and build community. We know that critical mass is often challenging in our own communities, but together, we can provide opportunities for critical connection. The events for this programming can be found on
this page.
Career Advancement and Opportunities: We are proud to say that we are able to offer career opportunities for new teachers through our Fellowship Program, and that we host two different career fairs, a virtual and an in person event where our schools and educators can connect and build community. We also host a Job Board on the website where you can explore the career opportunities near you. You can find more information about these events and opportunities
here.
Community Building: And last, but certainly not least, we also offer a couple of community building programs by hosting social events for families and employees of color in our schools. Events for this year are TBD, but you can learn more about that programming
here.
If you are interested in volunteering to support any of these programs, or other committee work (marketing, membership, website management, etc.) please reach out to me!