NAIS People of Color Conference (PoCC)

As someone who is new to College Prep and to independent schools, PoCC was an opportunity to get to know my colleagues on a more personal level and to also form connections with the greater independent school community. During my first three months at College Prep, I've spent a lot of time figuring out where I fit into our school community and acclimating to the school culture. Being away at PoCC allowed me to take a step back and reflect on my experience thus far and think about what aspects of my identity show up at school versus not. I thought about what supports helped me integrate into the community (ie. math department, filipinx/aapi facultly & staff) and what supports I would like to seek out more once I'm back at school (ie. bipoc, queer spaces). I also spent a lot of time thinking about my teaching practices and what I am doing versus not doing to support my students of color navigate the independent school system. I really appreciated the time and space that was provided to talk to my colleagues about what changes we plan to make to support both students and one another. One action step I have when I come back is to reach out to my students of color who are struggling in my classes and collaborate with their other teachers to see how these students engage in different spaces. I think this will help strengthen my relationships with these students and allow us to see the bigger picture to be more proactive rather than reactive entering next semester.