Renowned educator Dr. Pedro Noguera delivered a thought-provoking and moving keynote address to a sold-out event in San Antonio, Texas, on Thursday, March 3.This special event was hosted by American Reading Company in partnership with Texas ASCD and local school districts North East, Northside, and Southwest, to bring together educators across the state to learn, discuss, and collaborate on the theme of Promoting Excellence Through Equity in Texas Schools.

At the event, Dr. Noguera and Amelia Van Name Larson, former Assistant Superintendent of Pasco County Schools, facilitated a team workshop to identify gaps and plan next steps for attendees to take back to their schools to ensure access and equity is at the center of instruction. Teams came together to ask probing questions and have courageous conversations. They unpacked questions such as What are we doing well with respect to equity and access? How do we know it? How can we be more thoughtful about what we can do next so that we can do better, not just do more? “It was very powerful; teams left inspired to continue this work and committed to examine policies, procedures, and actions through the lenses of equity and justice. We can’t wait to see what comes next,” said Amelia Van Name Larson.

“Talking about inequity can be difficult. Our goals for the day were to create the conditions by which teams would have the chance to dig deep into equity challenges and leverage the wisdom of the room. There’s something incredible about getting away into a new environment to give everyone freedom to be fully immersed in ideas.”

The day ended with a keynote address from Dr. Noguera about the Five Principles of Courageous Leadership and how educators can create schools and communities where all students are able to thrive. With focus on how parents and community are vital parts of child development, Noguera challenged the audience to invest in the social capital of their neighborhoods and schools.

Dr. Pedro Noguera will be speaking at American Reading Company’s Leadership Summit on May 26th in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, with fellow educational activist Dr. Jeff Duncan-Andrade.