Community Conversations to Foster Identity Development
Written by UMASS Boston, Office of Community Partnerships
Under the leadership of Principal Mirko Chardin and Assistant Principal Pamela Chu-Sheriff, for the last four years, the Putnam Avenue Upper School (PAUS) in Cambridge, MA has been hosting a series of Community Conversations for families and community members. Christina Brown of The New Teacher Project and Mona Abo-Zena, assistant professor of Early Childhood Education at UMass Boston, have been facilitating discussions on positive identity development in children and adults in regard to race, class, gender, sexual orientation, (dis)ability, religion and other dimensions of diverse identities and experiences. Kunjal Shah, the Family Liaison and former parent at PAUS reflected, "Community Conversations has helped examine and acknowledge implicit biases we all come with and helped us build a mindset of inclusion and awareness, with opportunities for self-reflection and discussions with our community members. I have been attending these for 3 years, and each time, I learn something new."
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