Colleagues from the American Institutes for Research visit UAlbany, Chatham, and Tech Valley High School

By, Aaron Leo, Lisa Graham-Donato, Jessie Tobin, Kristen C. Wilcox

Over the past year, NYKids has partnered with Chatham Central School District (CSD), Tech Valley High (TVHS), and colleagues from the American Institutes for Research (AIR) COVID-19 Equity in Education project to address the impacts of the pandemic on historically underserved youth and their families. Through this Research-Practice Partnership, team members have sought to advance educational equity through initiatives designed in collaboration with educators, researchers, students, and family members.

In this blog, we provide additional updates on the progress of our RPP and share news about our AIR colleagues’ visit to UAlbany, Chatham CSD, and TVHS.

AIR On-UA Campus Retreat

On Tuesday, September 26, NYKids team members had the privilege of hosting our RPP partners from AIR on the School of Education campus: Dr. Tammie Causey-Konaté and Dr. Beth Howard-Brown.

After welcoming Drs. Causey-Konaté and Howard-Brown, our team (including Director Kristen C. Wilcox, Assistant Director Aaron Leo, and Graduate Assistants Jessie Tobin and Lisa Graham-Donato) convened in a conference room to review the progress of our RPP.

During this time, the NYKids team was able to share progress made by educators at Chatham CSD and TVHS and gain valuable insights from feedback provided by our AIR colleagues. Our lively discussion recounted the successes made over the past year as well as the challenges our RPP faced and the next steps we needed to take to realize the original goal crafted by the team:

We will address the barriers to learning and engagement for children, staff, and community members through our DEI and mental health initiatives.

After a brief campus tour and lunch, members of the NYKids team accompanied Drs. Causey-Konaté and Howard-Brown to Chatham High School, where RPP members met with students and educators to discuss connection and belonging in the wake of the pandemic. Students repeated how they have mostly grown up together, and everyone is welcome in their small community. Whether it is new students who are attending or current students that grow and change, students felt that “there is a place for everyone” at Chatham High School. The team then took part in the Chatham Board of Education meeting.

On the second day of the visit, Drs. Causey-Konaté and Howard-Brown, together with NYKids team members, visited TVHS, where they enjoyed a student-led tour. Students explained their school’s honor code: Trust, Respect, Responsibility, and Stewardship. Student representatives say they are a large family and trust each other. They also emphasized the importance of having constant access to teachers for help and/or advice. During the visit to TVHS, the RPP team participated in a student focus group where students stressed the difficulties of going to school during the pandemic and how teachers/advisors personally reached out to every student and their family for ways to help them with their academics or with meeting their essential needs like getting groceries.

Concluding thoughts

The NYKids team wishes to thank Drs. Causey-Konaté and Howard-Brown for their visit to our campus. We also extend our thanks to our other RPP members, Dr. Lisa Cala-Ruud and Kate Jarrard of Chatham CSD and Dr. Amy Hawrylchak and Sara Hugger of TVHS for graciously hosting members of the team at their schools and coordinating meetings with educators and students.

Though brief, the visit from our AIR colleagues helped us reaffirm our shared commitment towards equity and belonging in the wake of the pandemic. While acknowledging the many challenges that remain, we are excited to continue implementing new initiatives and practices designed collaboratively by our team.

Please continue to visit our website for the latest news about our RPP as well as updates to our research! You can also follow us on our social media accounts (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram) or send us an email at nykids@albany.edu.