The KOO National Street Team was blessed with the opportunity to travel to Chicago and present at the annual ASCD (Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development) Conference in Chicago! The presentation team consisted of B Deveaux, Kahlil Chatmon, Jonathan Piper, Ikera Davis and Alonzo Henderson; and they were joined by Uma Joshi who represented the curriculum team. Our presentation covered strategies to develop youth voice, leadership initiatives, youth-led events and transformational district work that exemplifies the collaborative work we do to serve students and educators.
After weeks of preparation, our team presented on the final day of the conference. Our presentation was titled “For youth, By youth: Designing Youth Curated Spaces”. Each Street Team member led a section as we discussed the integration of our mission, values, events, music/film projects, district work (such as YPAR), and much more. We had great reception from our audience – they were actively engaged – and extremely impressed with the variety of work that our Street team is leading. Many attendees stayed for over 30-minutes after our presentation to ask us questions!
The ASCD 3-day conference took place in downtown Chicago and was filled with educators, district leaders and youth from across the country. Workshops ranged from discussing equity and representation in the classroom; to targeted approaches supporting BIPOC youth. We were able to see a variety of presentations and network with folks who are also working in the community. We met with members of the BOND project, a project that works specifically to recruit, retain and uplift male teachers of color. As a team, we met with various community leaders who were not only invested in KOO’s mission, but also doing similar work themselves.
During our trip we had time to enjoy the city of Chicago as well! We visited the DuSable Museum of African American History, saw The Bean, and celebrated Brother Kahlil on his birthday.