DELS Finds Common Community Threads Through Stories, Discussion

A new focus on problem solving through storytelling will be at the center of the seventh annual Duquesne Educational Leadership Symposium (DELS), hosted by the University Council for Educational Administration (UCEA) Center for Educational Leadership and Social Justice.

Rivers of Justice Bridges of Love: What is the New Steel Upon Which We Re-Imagine a Healthier, More Equitable Pittsburgh Community, will be held Monday, May 19, through Wednesday, May 21. The symposium features a new format for 2014 as it travels to the East Liberty, Hill District and West End neighborhoods to gather stories and experiences on transforming educational and neighborhood issues through conversations with community members.

“It’s a dynamic experiential process for all involved,” said Dr. Gretchen Givens Generett, associate professor of education and co-director of the UCEA Center for Educational Leadership and Social Justice. “We are introducing to our local communities a powerful tool for learning through sharing stories.”

Teams of community members will meet with DELS participants to discuss common issues in their communities and their solutions. Their stories will help to build a platform on which neighborhoods can learn about shared difficulties and solutions in order to develop best practices for solving them.

“Communities rarely talk or share among each other,” Generett said. “The best way we can discover the common threads within our communities, solutions to the issues that face them all, is by sharing with each other.”

The UCEA Center for Educational Leadership and Social Justice, which is sponsored by the School of Education, is one of only eight centers of its kind in the world.  The center investigates the relationship between educational leadership and social justice, focusing on how educational leaders can be better prepared to deal with students who are marginalized, under-represented and underserved.

For more information, visit the symposium web page or call 412.396.1890.