To further connect the practice of education to the study of humanities and build on the successful fall event with Dr. Russell Skiba, the Center for Urban Education (CUE) will host a three-part event entitled, "Justice on Both Sides: Toward a Discourse of Restoration in Schools." This event will features a visit from Dr. Maisha Winn of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and will focus on the ways in which restorative justice practices have the potential to change language and practices in urban schools.
The three-part event will include a book study, lecture, and “reflection into action.”
Book Study— A small group look at the book Girl Time: Literacy, Justice and School to Prison Pipeline written by Dr. Winn. Dr. Winn will lead this article study in advance of her lecture; it will be attended by 50-60 stakeholders, including teachers, researchers, teacher educators, community members, principals, and district office officials. All will receive a free copy of the book in advance of the study.
Lecture—Dr. Winn will engage in an hour and half lecture open to the University and broader communities. In the past, CUE events such as this have drawn audiences of 250-300 people. Following the lecture, organizations such as CCAC and the Urban League host community tables to provide information to attendees.
Reflection into Action—In the week following the lecture, the University and local communities reconvene to reflect on the content of the lecture and chart an action-based agenda focused on improving educational practice and community in and around Pittsburgh.
CUE’s mission is to research and disseminate evidence-based methods for improving urban communities and urban education in the Pittsburgh region and nationally. In the 2015-2016 school year, CUE has been strongly focused on studying the school-to-prison pipeline and bringing both the University community and the broader Pittsburgh community together to discuss both the humanistic and practical importance of this topic. As an integral part of this work, CUE hosted a three-component event titled, “You can't fix what you don't look at: Acknowledging race in addressing disproportionality” with invited guest lecturer Dr. Russell Skiba. This work, which was co-sponsored by the Year of the Humanities brought together over 350 people across events to talk and hear about equity in education, with a focus on school discipline and disproportionality.
This event is also sponsored by the School of Education. For more information, click here or contact Lori Delale-O'Connor at loridoc@pitt.edu.