Racial & Anti-bias Learning with Young Children Training Course

Overview of the Program

Rokeby Museum offers early childhood professionals a racial learning and anti-bias training course. The course is free. Applicants must be current educators or administrators working in a regulated childcare organization that serves children ages three to five. Teachers will receive twenty-seven professional development hours and a certificate of completion. Learning aligns with NAEYC standards and the work of anti-bias leaders Louise Derman-Sparks, Debbie LeeKeenan, John Nimmo, and others.

Program Description

Rokeby’s education team will teach the course. The course is adapted from the Museum’s popular in-classroom anti-bias/racial learning Pre-K program. In our work, we have observed that a common critique of anti-bias professional development opportunities is that learning provides excellent theory but lacks practical application. Likewise, identity and diversity are covered, but learning falls short of tackling injustice, racism, prejudice, and action. From this standpoint, we have designed a unique, hands-on course that will help educators face these topics, which can be daunting.

Adopting an anti-biased approach in the classroom is not a quick fix or add-on. Often, the educator grows a brand new lens and overhauls an entire curriculum. We have found that many educators/schools want to adopt this approach but fear “saying or doing the wrong thing.” We have learned that confidence comes from information, observation, and practice. With this course, we aim to help educators practice their skills to feel ready to make the necessary changes in their schools, centers, or home-based programs.  

The course runs from November 2024–May 2025. It comprises four segments: Learning, Application, Assessment, and Reflection. To participate, educators must complete the course in its entirety. The course starts with a virtual workshop series that covers anti-bias/racial learning theory, curriculum development, classroom resources, family support, teaching skills, and personal reflection, and it includes course readings. Next, educators will lead a racial learning lesson series in their classrooms independently, using lesson plans and specialty materials supplied by the museum, with an option for in-classroom observation from the Course Instructor (if requested/applicable). Next, participants will write an original, anti-bias lesson plan or series modeled after the Rokeby format, targeting biases children in their classroom may face. The Course Instructor and participant will have a virtual one-on-one meeting to provide assessment and feedback on the lesson and reflect on the entire process together. Finally, the group will regroup for a virtual wrap-up. 

Timeline

LEARNING

• November 2024: Virtual Teacher’s Workshop; classes are held on 11/4, 11/6, 11/11, and 11/13 from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m.; the Rokeby site visit and tour are held on 11/9. Additional meetings will be scheduled with individual participants.

APPLICATION

• December–February 2025: Individually complete racial learning curriculum  
• March–April 2025: Lesson plan building; one-on-one virtual meeting.

REFLECTION

• May 2025: Virtual group wrap-up/reflection

What teachers are saying about our program

“These are things that aren’t taught in Early Ed — they tell us how to be warm, but they don’t teach us how to talk about the tough stuff. DEIJ trainings touch on the surface [of anti-bias work], but they just say, “be inclusive” and it’s more of a checkbox thing. Nothing I have attended has been like this.”
— Emily Lambert, Director, Bridge School Preschool

“[After experiencing the program] as teachers we have our ears open more for authentic opportunities to address issues of justice and racial learning with the children. Because we have been doing proactive planning and implementing of curriculum, we are better equipped to capitalize on an opportunity and address something in the moment when it, inevitably, comes up.”
— Stacy Weinberger, Early Education Director, King Street Center

“Systemic racism exists, and in order to address it caregivers must engage with children on topics of race and inequality. But for such a huge issue, many don’t know how to start the conversation. The racial learning groups offered by the Rokeby Museum are not only fun and engaging for little kids, they also give caregivers the language and tools to talk about race in an impactful way.”
— Patrick Lucey, Program Officer, Dad Guild

This course is sponsored by Northern Lights at CCV and supported by the A.D. Henderson Foundation.

To apply, please out the form below. The deadline to apply is October 18, 2024.

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Please Describe what you hope to get from this course. *

Have you ever noticed a child experiencing bias in your program — positive or negative? What did that look like? Did you intervene and what happened? *

Please describe the Pre-K, home-based, or center-based program in which you work. For example: how many staff work there, how many children attend, what is the management structure, what teaching methodologies are used, what are some challenges and successes of your program, etc.? *

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