Early Career Teaching Institute

This workshop supports early career educators with navigating their role in supporting the emotional and physical safety of culturally- and linguistically-minoritized youth and families during a period of intensified immigration enforcement and heightened uncertainty. The session centers the expertise of community organizers and school‑based advocates who work closely with impacted community members. Participants will explore local initiatives, reflect on their own positionality, and consider how to engage with students and families in ways that are responsive to context and aligned with their personal and professional spheres of influence.

The workshop moves beyond a traditional panel format blending community voices with interactive structures that invite educators to think critically about who they are, where they are positioned socially and professionally, and how they can connect with existing networks of support. After an introduction to the goals, format, and panelists, participants will engage in a short reflective write‑in to ground themselves in their relationships to the issues. Small groups will then generate questions—supported by prompts that surface common dilemmas in community response approaches—before entering a series of rotating “community conversation” stations. In these 15‑minute cycles, panelists and participants engage in dialogue that is context‑specific, relational, and rooted in lived experience.

The session concludes with panelists highlighting how they collaborate with one another followed by a small‑group reflection identifying takeaways and next steps. Educators will come away with a clearer understanding of the community landscape and practical insights into showing up for immigrant students and families without unintentionally causing harm.