| School Visit: TMI Episcopal School |
In 1893, a former Confederate soldier established West Texas Military Academy as a school exclusively for white males. Five years later in 1898, he founded another school (known today as St. Philip’s College) in nearby San Antonio to train and educate newly emancipated Black girls and women. The separate founding of these two institutions was historical and intentional. In 2022, TMI Episcopal (TX) (formerly West Texas Military Academy) exists with a significantly more inclusive vision. As the flagship school of the Diocese of West Texas, the school takes great responsibility to cherish all students for who they are, know them as individuals with unique gifts and talents, and challenge them to be the best version of themselves. Visit the campus to experience a thriving Episcopal school with a diverse and evolving group of students, faculty, and staff. |
Wednesday, November 30,
8:30 AM-5:00 PM |
TMI Episcopal School |
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Required |
| School Visit: St. Luke's Episcopal School |
Located in the Alamo Heights neighborhood just north of downtown, St. Luke's Episcopal School (TX) is a PK-8 school celebrating its 75th anniversary. Since 1947, St. Luke's has been a Christian community dedicated to academics and personal excellence, lifelong learning, and service to others. School community members take pride in being a genuinely caring and inclusive community where all are truly welcome and everyone has a voice. When you visit the school, you enter an environment of happy students given the time to grow at their own pace. The vibrant program of clubs, athletic teams, performing arts groups, and service organizations at St. Luke’s takes students outside of the classroom to expand their sense of self, purpose, and potential while learning about themselves, exploring their talents, and discovering new interests and passions. |
Wednesday, November 30,
8:30 AM-5:00 PM |
St. Luke's Episcopal School |
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Required |
| School Visit: St. Mary's Hall School |
Like most institutions of education in the United States, Saint Mary’s Hall (TX) is on a journey of repair, working to create a culture of truth and trust where every member of the community feels known and affirmed. Founded by the Episcopal Church in 1879 as a boarding and day school for young women in South Texas, today Saint Mary's Hall (SMH) is an independent, coeducational, PK-12 school for students of all backgrounds and faiths. Student-centered, the SMH experience combines a rich, rigorous curriculum, insightful discourse, and expansive opportunities for intellectual exploration, self-discovery, and belonging. This school visit, which includes table talks, roundtable dialogue, and classroom visits, is designed to engage and grapple with where we are—and where we want to be. Lunch provided. |
Wednesday, November 30,
8:30 AM-5:00 PM |
St. Mary's Hall School |
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Required |
| School Visit: St. Stephen's Episcopal School |
As an international boarding and day school located in Austin, St. Stephen’s Episcopal School (TX) embraces five core values as the foundation of its mission: love of learning, balance, diversity, community, and service. School founders Bishop John Hines and Rev. William Brewster, who marched alongside Martin Luther King Jr. in Selma and the March on Washington, created the first coed Episcopal school in the country and the first racially integrated boarding school in the South. As a proud community committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) work, St. Stephen’s recognizes that DEI is not a destination but rather a continual work in progress that must be practiced daily. Led by the director of equity and inclusion, the DEI team at St. Stephen’s includes a team of coordinators committed to upholding and advancing the school founders’ bold, progressive vision for a diverse and equitable school community. St. Stephen’s supports diversity as an essential component of a quality education that encourages respect for and empowerment of the individual. The school teaches and encourages awareness of cultural differences in an open, safe, equitable environment and helps each student learn what it means to be fully human in all of our complexity, difference, and unity. |
Wednesday, November 30,
8:30 AM-5:00 PM |
St. Stephen's Episcopal School |
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Required |
| The PoCC Leadership Institute |
Gain powerful strategies to advance to the next level of leadership in this unique seminar focused on the needs and aspirations of BIPOC educators. The PoCC Leadership institute offers state-of-the-art leadership development including understanding how your cognitive preferences influence leadership through the Herrmann Brain Dominance Instrument (HBDI) Inventory. Experience in-the-moment coaching, peer exchange, and post-institute follow-up—all in an encouraging atmosphere designed to nurture and propel a compelling vision for fulfilling your career goals. Get an inside view into critical moves for long-term professional and personal growth and success including how to work effectively with mentors and sponsors, evaluate your advocate in the search process, and which skills leaders wish they had before assuming their positions. Build a network of colleagues, mentors, champions, and sponsors to walk alongside you in your leadership journey. Learn more here.
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Wednesday, November 30,
8:30 AM-5:00 PM |
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$150 (pre-registration required) |
Required |
| PoCC First-Time Attendee Welcome & Orientation |
Are you new to PoCC? Eager to dive in, but a little apprehensive about how to make the most of your experience? Learn the history and evolution of PoCC and get tips on how best to engage with the conference. |
Wednesday, November 30,
5:15 PM-6:15 PM |
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Not required |
| PoCC Welcome Reception |
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Wednesday, November 30,
8:00 PM-9:00 PM |
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Not required |
| Wellness Activities |
Join fellow attendees for a refreshing start to the day with a Zumba or yoga class. |
Thursday, December 1,
6:00 AM-7:00 AM |
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Not required |
| Affinity Group Session 1 |
PoCC hosts affinity group sessions to provide an opportunity for sharing and exploring your life and experiences within safe and supportive spaces defined by membership in a specific racial or ethnic identity group. Led by a team of trained facilitators, affinity group participants celebrate identities, share successes and challenges, and engage freely. |
Thursday, December 1,
10:00 AM-12:00 PM |
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Not required |
| Lunch in the PoCC Hub |
Join fellow attendees on Thursday to network and reflect on your experiences in the PoCC Hub. This is a complimentary lunch to celebrate you and how important you are to the mission and vision of NAIS! |
Thursday, December 1,
12:00 PM-1:30 PM |
PoCC Hub |
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Not required |
| PoCC Choir Rehearsal |
Join the PoCC Choir and raise your voice in song. The choir performs a diverse song selection during the closing ceremonies, providing an wonderful celebration and sendoff. |
Thursday, December 1,
12:45 PM-1:30 PM |
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Not required |
| PoCC Express Café |
Is there a topic of interest to you that you don't see in conference workshop schedule? Are you longing to have more small-group conversations with like-minded colleagues or those with divergent perspectives who can challenge your thinking? If so, we've created the PoCC Express Café to help you have your say, listen to others, and harvest new ideas relevant to your life and work. |
Thursday, December 1,
1:45 PM-3:00 PM |
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Not required |
| Master Class with Shakil Choudhury |
What Racial Justice Leaders Need to Learn from Teachers to Advance Equity in an Era of Polarization
It’s no secret that the superstars of today’s racial justice universe tend to be academics—historians, lawyers, sociologists, and educators—whose research and ideas have helped reveal the depths to which white supremacy and colonialism operate in our society. Sometimes, though, the resulting cultures lean toward hyper-intellectualism, judgment, shame, and blame to bring about change. Any good classroom teacher grounded in emotional intelligence knows these strategies are antithetical to learning, whether in adults or children. Explore strategies to achieve the goals of Beloved Community and attract a critical mass of people to the side of justice in an era of increasing polarization. While prioritizing the experience of minoritized groups, learn the benefits of reframing racial justice as a literacy project that requires pattern recognition and other skills to identify unfair power dynamics. Based on proven strategies, discover more effective ways to cultivate the talent and patience of socially intelligent educators and collaborate with them. Learn more here.
Cost (pre-registration required): $120 |
Thursday, December 1,
1:45 PM-3:45 PM |
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$120 (pre-registration required) |
Required |
| PoCC Choir Rehearsal |
Join the PoCC Choir and raise your voice in song. The choir performs a diverse song selection during the closing ceremonies, providing an wonderful celebration and sendoff. |
Thursday, December 1,
6:45 PM-7:30 PM |
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Not required |
| Wellness Activities |
Join fellow attendees for a refreshing start to the day with a Zumba or yoga class. |
Friday, December 2,
6:00 AM-7:00 AM |
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Not required |
| Master Class with J. Luke Wood |
Racelighting
Learn how racelighting manifests in the daily experiences of Black people, as well as Indigenous people and other people of color. Racelighting is a distinct form of gaslighting, a tactic of psychological manipulation in which a person or entity sets out to make one question their own experiences and reality. Explore ways that racelighting is evident in the experiences of students, faculty, and staff of color. Gain insights from a discussion of strategies that can be used to reduce the effects of racelighting on people of color. Learn more here.
Cost (pre-registration required): $120 |
Friday, December 2,
11:15 AM-1:15 PM |
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$120 (pre-registration required) |
Required |
| Lunch in the PoCC Hub |
Join fellow attendees on Friday to network and reflect on your experiences in the PoCC Hub. This is a complimentary lunch to celebrate you and how important you are to the mission and vision of NAIS! |
Friday, December 2,
12:30 PM-2:00 PM |
PoCC Hub |
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Not required |
| PoCC Choir Rehearsal |
Join the PoCC Choir and raise your voice in song. The choir performs a diverse song selection during the closing ceremonies, providing an wonderful celebration and sendoff. |
Friday, December 2,
12:45 PM-1:15 PM |
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Not required |
| Affinity Group Session 2 |
PoCC hosts affinity group sessions to provide an opportunity for sharing and exploring your life and experiences within safe and supportive spaces defined by membership in a specific racial or ethnic identity group. Led by a team of trained facilitators, affinity group participants celebrate identities, share successes and challenges, and engage freely. |
Friday, December 2,
4:30 PM-5:45 PM |
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Not required |
| LGBT Social Hour |
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Friday, December 2,
7:30 PM-8:30 PM |
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Not required |
| Club PoCC (Sponsored by The Glasgow Group) |
Join us for our annual end-of-conference party!
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Friday, December 2,
9:00 PM-12:00 AM |
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Not required |
| PoCC Choir Rehearsal |
Join the PoCC Choir and raise your voice in song. The choir performs a diverse song selection during the closing ceremonies, providing an wonderful celebration and sendoff. |
Saturday, December 3,
7:00 AM-8:00 AM |
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Not required |
| Affinity Group Session 3 |
PoCC hosts affinity group sessions to provide an opportunity for sharing and exploring your life and experiences within safe and supportive spaces defined by membership in a specific racial or ethnic identity group. Led by a team of trained facilitators, affinity group participants celebrate identities, share successes and challenges, and engage freely. |
Saturday, December 3,
8:30 AM-9:45 AM |
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Not required |
| Student-Led Adult/Student Dialogues (By State/Region) |
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Saturday, December 3,
9:45 AM-11:00 AM |
Various |
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Not required |