David Johns, executive director of the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for African Americans (WHIEEAA), will give the keynote address at The Gathering 2015—Teach for America’s annual Black Staff Summit—on Tuesday evening in St. Louis. He will discuss the need to support the holistic development of African-American students, which includes social and emotional learning and development. In addition, he will discuss strategies, such as parental and community engagement, to help African-American students become successful, not only in school but in career and life.
The theme of this year’s event is “Building Leadership, Advocacy, Community and Knowledge (BLACK).” African-American educators will discuss experiences and engage in activities that build strong leadership and strengthen advocacy and community engagement. They also will celebrate their past and discuss challenges along the way, and reflect on the positive changes they’ve made and what is needed to continue developing into a more inclusive, equitable organization.
Equity in education is a priority for the U.S. Department of Education and underlies nearly all of its initiatives. That is why U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan has laid out a set of beliefs for replacing the broken No Child Left Behind Act with a law that not only prepares children for college and careers, but also delivers on the promise of equity and real opportunity for every child to set them up for success.