6th Annual Sizemore Summer Conference to Feature New Youth Conference

The annual Barbara A. Sizemore Summer Conference on campus will feature a new event—a youth conference designed to help increase the interest of urban high school sophomores and juniors into science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) disciplines.

Now in its sixth year, the Sizemore Summer Conference is sponsored by the Canevin Center for Educational Transformation and Social Justice, the Barbara A. Sizemore Education Initiative and the School of Education. Titled The Right to an Excellent Education for all Children: Do We Have the Will?, the conference will be held Wednesday, May 27, and Thursday, May 28, in the Power Center Ballroom.

Approximately 250 members of the Duquesne University and Pittsburgh education communities are expected to attend the conference to discuss and address issues related to improving education for all students, particularly those in urban schools.

The youth conference, which will be held from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on May 27, is expected to draw approximately 125 students and will include presentations by Dr. Christopher Emdin, associate professor in the Department of Mathematics, Science and Technology at Columbia University, and Jabari Jackson, a student at Columbia University.

Other events will include keynote presentations by educators and renowned experts, including:

  • Dr. Paul Gorski, associate professor in the New Century College at George Mason University
  • Dr. John Hodge, president of the Urban Learning and Leadership Center
  • Dr. Gloria Ladson-Billings, the Kellner Family Chair in Urban Education at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Additionally, 12 professional development workshops will provide attendees with information they can use to enhance learning in the urban classroom. Titles/topics include:

  • Filling the Opportunity Gap for High School Students Through Global Learning
  • Student Centered Learning: A Motivating Approach to Learning and Knowledge Retention
  • Partnering with Parents: How to Engage Parents as Equal Partners in Their Child’s Education
  • Culturally Responsive Education: Uplift of African-American Middle and High School Students Using Art and the Media
  • Ease on Down to Equity: Exploring Effort and Engagement in African-American Males.

Dr. Jason Margolis, chair of the Department of Instruction and Leadership, will facilitate the panel What Does Excellence Mean to You? at 2 p.m. on May 28.  The featured panelists will include Hodge and Dr. Linda Lane, superintendent of Pittsburgh Public Schools; Dr. Sandra Quiñones, assistant professor in the School of Education’s Department of Instruction and Leadership; and Debra Smallwood, parent/advocate.

For more information on the conference, call 412.396.1852 or email pricem@duq.edu.