People of Color in Independent Schools - POCIS-NY
POCIS is an affinity support group for educators and staff of color working in independent schools. Check here to find out about their activities, meetings/events and announcements.
SAVE THE DATE: WEDNESDAY MARCH 6th for the next PoCIS meeting
Location: Brooklyn Friends School (steps from Borough Hall & Jay St. / Metrotech)
Time: 6:00-7:30pm
Light refreshments served
AGENDA: Post-panel discussion.
Our last event, a highly-attended panel of high school students of color reflecting on their experiences in independent schools alongside Martha Haakmat and Joan Marable, was a fascinating evening. We will highlight as a group some key points from what we heard at the panel. We will then have a facilitated discussion on how these correlate with our own experiences as adults of color in these working environments and end by discussing disruption strategies. With this event we return to our traditional format of affinity space. All faculty and staff who identify as a person of color are welcome, even if not in attendance at the panel.
Please RSVP to pocisny@gmail.com
We look forward to seeing you in Downtown Brooklyn.
Erica, Yuval and Morika
Location: Brooklyn Friends School (steps from Borough Hall & Jay St. / Metrotech)
Time: 6:00-7:30pm
Light refreshments served
AGENDA: Post-panel discussion.
Our last event, a highly-attended panel of high school students of color reflecting on their experiences in independent schools alongside Martha Haakmat and Joan Marable, was a fascinating evening. We will highlight as a group some key points from what we heard at the panel. We will then have a facilitated discussion on how these correlate with our own experiences as adults of color in these working environments and end by discussing disruption strategies. With this event we return to our traditional format of affinity space. All faculty and staff who identify as a person of color are welcome, even if not in attendance at the panel.
Please RSVP to pocisny@gmail.com
We look forward to seeing you in Downtown Brooklyn.
Erica, Yuval and Morika
The next POCIS event will be a panel discussion collaboration with DAIS that is open to all in our communities.
When: January 15th, 6:00-7:30pm
Where: Grace Church School, 46 Cooper Square, NY, NY
Who: A panel of students of color in independent schools joined by Martha Haakmat (Head of Middle School at Brooklyn Friends), moderated by Joan Marable
Title: "What I wish adults knew about being a student of color at an independent school."
When: January 15th, 6:00-7:30pm
Where: Grace Church School, 46 Cooper Square, NY, NY
Who: A panel of students of color in independent schools joined by Martha Haakmat (Head of Middle School at Brooklyn Friends), moderated by Joan Marable
Title: "What I wish adults knew about being a student of color at an independent school."
October 2012
Dear Friends,
Thank you to all who came to the first POCIS meeting of the year on Monday. We hope those of you who couldn't make it will join us at a future event (watch this space for dates and details)!
Yuval, Erica, and I were truly inspired and energized by the turnout at the meeting; thirty amazing folks filled the room, representing a wide range of roles and experiences, from the following schools and organizations:
The Allen-Stevenson School
Bank Street School for Children
Brooklyn Friends School
The Calhoun School
The Cathedral School
Chapin School
Collegiate School
Friends Academy
Friends Seminary
The Hewitt School
The Ideal School
LREI
Lycée Français de New York
The Masters School
Prep for Prep
School of the Holy Child
Trevor Day School
Trinity School
I do not yet have the numbers for the White Allies group that met next door, but having the meetings simultaneously seemed to encourage attendance for both groups. It was wonderful to see people at different stages of "doing the work" coming together as a growing community.
We are looking forward to keeping the momentum of this first meeting going by planning both formal meetings and some social events, as well as by supporting affinity group get-togethers between the larger gatherings. In the meantime, feel free to e-mail us your thoughts and feedback, and please keep supporting each other!
Best,
Morika, Erica, and Yuval
***
Dear Friends,
Thank you to all who came to the first POCIS meeting of the year on Monday. We hope those of you who couldn't make it will join us at a future event (watch this space for dates and details)!
Yuval, Erica, and I were truly inspired and energized by the turnout at the meeting; thirty amazing folks filled the room, representing a wide range of roles and experiences, from the following schools and organizations:
The Allen-Stevenson School
Bank Street School for Children
Brooklyn Friends School
The Calhoun School
The Cathedral School
Chapin School
Collegiate School
Friends Academy
Friends Seminary
The Hewitt School
The Ideal School
LREI
Lycée Français de New York
The Masters School
Prep for Prep
School of the Holy Child
Trevor Day School
Trinity School
I do not yet have the numbers for the White Allies group that met next door, but having the meetings simultaneously seemed to encourage attendance for both groups. It was wonderful to see people at different stages of "doing the work" coming together as a growing community.
We are looking forward to keeping the momentum of this first meeting going by planning both formal meetings and some social events, as well as by supporting affinity group get-togethers between the larger gatherings. In the meantime, feel free to e-mail us your thoughts and feedback, and please keep supporting each other!
Best,
Morika, Erica, and Yuval
***
Sept. 2012
Dear Friends,
People of Color in Independent Schools (PoCIS) is a long-running affinity support group for educators and staff of color working in New York City-area independent schools. Our first meeting will take place on Monday, October 22, 5:30-7:30 PM at Collegiate School (260 W. 78th Street at West End Avenue). We will start the meeting in a joint welcome with the White Allies affinity group, then breakout for our discussion. This meeting will be a great opportunity to connect and reconnect with fellow teachers, staff, and administrators of color. We hope to see you then! Please share this message with any colleagues who may be interested in joining our meetings, and email pocisny@gmail.com with any names to be added to our mailing list.
You can learn more about PoCIS leadership below. We look forward to gathering throughout the 2012-2013 school year!
Erica, Yuval, & Morika
***
Erica Corbin (Co-Chair) works closely with students, parents, alumni, faculty and staff at Collegiate School, a single-sex K-12 independent school on New York City’s Upper West Side. As Director of Community Life, she coordinates the community service program and guides the school in becoming and remaining a diverse and inclusive home. During her five year tenure at Collegiate, Erica co-founded an equity and inclusion discussion group open to all faculty and staff members and helped organize the school’s first professional development day in recent history studying the role of race in education.
In addition to serving as co-chair of PoCIS, Erica is a member of the NYSAIS Diversity Committee. She has attended multiple NAIS People of Color Conferences, NYSAIS Diversity Conferences, and PISAB Undoing Racism workshops, and has been active with Antiracist Alliance of Educators. Erica also co-founded POCIS’ Black affinity group in Fall 2011. Born on Long Island and raised in part in Tennessee, she is now a very happy resident of Harlem USA.
Yuval Ortiz-Quiroga (Co-Chair) is currently Visual Arts Department Chair at Brooklyn Friends School (BFS). He is starting his eleventh year teaching in independent schools. Prior to moving to New York City in 2008, he taught at The Storm King School, a small boarding school in the Hudson Valley, where he was Visual Arts Department Chair for five years.
Yuval identifies as multiracial, and he is an immigrant who first came to the United States to attend Dartmouth College. He graduated in 2002 with a B.A. in Studio Art with a concentration in Sculpture. Yuval has been involved in Social Justice activism since he was a teenager. At BFS he served on the All-School Diversity Committee for four years and has also been involved in Undoing Racism work. Most recently he has attended both PoCC and the White Privilege Conference. At PoCC 2011 he was a volunteer affinity group facilitator.
Morika Tsujimura (Communications Liaison) teaches Math and Science in the 7th Grade at Bank Street School for Children. Prior to joining Bank Street, she taught Kindergarten and 4th Grade as an Assistant Teacher at Trinity School, where she also served on the Diversity Committee.
Morika has attended numerous conferences and workshops on issues related to diversity and social justice. Most notably, she served on the faculty of the 2011 Student Diversity Leadership Conference (SDLC), the high school student counterpart to PoCC.
Morika was born in Nagano, Japan, and immigrated to the United States just shy of her fourth birthday. Having grown up in Harlem, she now lives in the Bronx.
Dear Friends,
People of Color in Independent Schools (PoCIS) is a long-running affinity support group for educators and staff of color working in New York City-area independent schools. Our first meeting will take place on Monday, October 22, 5:30-7:30 PM at Collegiate School (260 W. 78th Street at West End Avenue). We will start the meeting in a joint welcome with the White Allies affinity group, then breakout for our discussion. This meeting will be a great opportunity to connect and reconnect with fellow teachers, staff, and administrators of color. We hope to see you then! Please share this message with any colleagues who may be interested in joining our meetings, and email pocisny@gmail.com with any names to be added to our mailing list.
You can learn more about PoCIS leadership below. We look forward to gathering throughout the 2012-2013 school year!
Erica, Yuval, & Morika
***
Erica Corbin (Co-Chair) works closely with students, parents, alumni, faculty and staff at Collegiate School, a single-sex K-12 independent school on New York City’s Upper West Side. As Director of Community Life, she coordinates the community service program and guides the school in becoming and remaining a diverse and inclusive home. During her five year tenure at Collegiate, Erica co-founded an equity and inclusion discussion group open to all faculty and staff members and helped organize the school’s first professional development day in recent history studying the role of race in education.
In addition to serving as co-chair of PoCIS, Erica is a member of the NYSAIS Diversity Committee. She has attended multiple NAIS People of Color Conferences, NYSAIS Diversity Conferences, and PISAB Undoing Racism workshops, and has been active with Antiracist Alliance of Educators. Erica also co-founded POCIS’ Black affinity group in Fall 2011. Born on Long Island and raised in part in Tennessee, she is now a very happy resident of Harlem USA.
Yuval Ortiz-Quiroga (Co-Chair) is currently Visual Arts Department Chair at Brooklyn Friends School (BFS). He is starting his eleventh year teaching in independent schools. Prior to moving to New York City in 2008, he taught at The Storm King School, a small boarding school in the Hudson Valley, where he was Visual Arts Department Chair for five years.
Yuval identifies as multiracial, and he is an immigrant who first came to the United States to attend Dartmouth College. He graduated in 2002 with a B.A. in Studio Art with a concentration in Sculpture. Yuval has been involved in Social Justice activism since he was a teenager. At BFS he served on the All-School Diversity Committee for four years and has also been involved in Undoing Racism work. Most recently he has attended both PoCC and the White Privilege Conference. At PoCC 2011 he was a volunteer affinity group facilitator.
Morika Tsujimura (Communications Liaison) teaches Math and Science in the 7th Grade at Bank Street School for Children. Prior to joining Bank Street, she taught Kindergarten and 4th Grade as an Assistant Teacher at Trinity School, where she also served on the Diversity Committee.
Morika has attended numerous conferences and workshops on issues related to diversity and social justice. Most notably, she served on the faculty of the 2011 Student Diversity Leadership Conference (SDLC), the high school student counterpart to PoCC.
Morika was born in Nagano, Japan, and immigrated to the United States just shy of her fourth birthday. Having grown up in Harlem, she now lives in the Bronx.
Spring 2012
Dear Friends:
It is with great pleasure, excitement, and supportive anticipation that I announce our new leadership for POCIS-NY.
The co-chairs are:
Erica Corbin (Collegiate)
Morika Tsujimura (Trinity)
Yuval Ortiz-Quiroga (Brooklyn Friends)
Additional support in event and meeting planning, including the annual POCIS-NY Retreat and affinity group work, will be provided by:
Jessica Acee (Hewitt)
Laurice Hwang (Brooklyn Friends)
I want to express and acknowledge my gratitude to these friends and colleagues for taking on the responsibility of steering our organization into the future. I want to fervently reiterate how vital it is that we all continue to participate actively in and support POCIS-NY. It has been a pleasure to serve as the Chair over the past five years. As I leave my post, I feel confident that POCIS-NY is in excellent hands.
See everybody in the fall for the launch of our first annual POCIS-NY Retreat! (More details to come soon!)
Best regards,
Hilary
Dear Friends:
It is with great pleasure, excitement, and supportive anticipation that I announce our new leadership for POCIS-NY.
The co-chairs are:
Erica Corbin (Collegiate)
Morika Tsujimura (Trinity)
Yuval Ortiz-Quiroga (Brooklyn Friends)
Additional support in event and meeting planning, including the annual POCIS-NY Retreat and affinity group work, will be provided by:
Jessica Acee (Hewitt)
Laurice Hwang (Brooklyn Friends)
I want to express and acknowledge my gratitude to these friends and colleagues for taking on the responsibility of steering our organization into the future. I want to fervently reiterate how vital it is that we all continue to participate actively in and support POCIS-NY. It has been a pleasure to serve as the Chair over the past five years. As I leave my post, I feel confident that POCIS-NY is in excellent hands.
See everybody in the fall for the launch of our first annual POCIS-NY Retreat! (More details to come soon!)
Best regards,
Hilary
March 2012
Dear Friends:
At our February meeting, we had a lovely gathering hosted by The School at Columbia. A really nice turnout of folks participated in a conversation about the importance of POCIS-NY as an organization.
The agenda focused on the role that POCIS-NY has played for educators of color as well as what process we will initiate moving forward to nominate new leadership.
We spent a few minutes reflecting individually on our experiences as people of color in independent schools, and how POCIS-NY can continue to support our work and experience—independently and collectively. The guiding questions were as follows:
--Two POCIS-NY co-chairs will share the responsibilities of planning the meeting calendar and organizing regular meetings at host schools, including the regional meeting at the NAIS People of Color Conference that is shared with NYSAIS. Meetings can be led by co-chairs or other POCIS-NY members, to be determined by the co-chairs at the beginning of the school year.
--The POCIS-NY communications liason will be in charge of managing the Gmail account, including sending out regular announcements, job postings and meeting reminders and minutes. This position will also work towards creating and maintaining increased web visibility for POCIS-NY, ideally a group website (perhaps a Google Group).
--The POCIS-NY retreat organizers will be in charge of planning the annual weekend retreat in the fall to kick of the year for local folks of color in independent schools. (Chap and Hilary have already volunteered to get things started for the 2012-'13 year, but we would love help!!!)
The self-nomination process is now open! If you are interested in stepping into one of the two co-chair positions or the communications liason position, please send the following information to pocisny@gmail.com. The deadline to respond is April 2nd.
--Your name
--Your school and position
--POCIS-NY position you are interested in (co-chair or communications liason)
--Your experience in POCIS-NY (tenure, involvement, etc)
--What skills and qualities make you a good candidate to be a POCIS-NY leader
If you have any questions, please feel free to get in touch. (Hilary.North@calhoun.org)
All best,
Hilary
Hilary North, Current Chair of POCIS-NY
Director of Diversity & Equity Initiatives
The Calhoun School
433 West End Avenue
New York, NY 10024
Dear Friends:
At our February meeting, we had a lovely gathering hosted by The School at Columbia. A really nice turnout of folks participated in a conversation about the importance of POCIS-NY as an organization.
The agenda focused on the role that POCIS-NY has played for educators of color as well as what process we will initiate moving forward to nominate new leadership.
We spent a few minutes reflecting individually on our experiences as people of color in independent schools, and how POCIS-NY can continue to support our work and experience—independently and collectively. The guiding questions were as follows:
- For educators returning to POCIS-NY, what has this group meant to you? What in particular have you found useful or enjoyable about your membership in POCIS-NY?
- For educators new to POCIS-NY, what has your experience in (an) independent school(s) been like, and what led you to POCIS-NY?
- How can POCIS-NY support your work and experience as an educator of color? What do you need? Feel free to be specific or general about format and/or programming. (discussion/support groups, professional development workshops, mentoring, affinity groups, etc.)
- As we move towards new leadership this spring, do you have any ideas about what structural changes can/should be made to help insure the sustenance and longevity of POCIS-NY?
- an affinity space and a sense of community
- a place where one could build friendships and relationships
- an organization with a professional reputation
- social and professional "cheerleaders" to support your work
- a communication link with folks of color in other school communities, along with job postings, event listings, etc.
- consistency and longevity
- mentoring
- a database accessible to members with personal and/or professional contact information
- additional support for specific cultural/identity affinity groups
- increased visibility and "advertising" for folks of color new to independent schools
- increased visibility and validation by school heads and NYSAIS
- a local Saturday retreat in the fall exclusively for educators of color (This event is already in the works. Stay tuned for more information!)
--Two POCIS-NY co-chairs will share the responsibilities of planning the meeting calendar and organizing regular meetings at host schools, including the regional meeting at the NAIS People of Color Conference that is shared with NYSAIS. Meetings can be led by co-chairs or other POCIS-NY members, to be determined by the co-chairs at the beginning of the school year.
--The POCIS-NY communications liason will be in charge of managing the Gmail account, including sending out regular announcements, job postings and meeting reminders and minutes. This position will also work towards creating and maintaining increased web visibility for POCIS-NY, ideally a group website (perhaps a Google Group).
--The POCIS-NY retreat organizers will be in charge of planning the annual weekend retreat in the fall to kick of the year for local folks of color in independent schools. (Chap and Hilary have already volunteered to get things started for the 2012-'13 year, but we would love help!!!)
The self-nomination process is now open! If you are interested in stepping into one of the two co-chair positions or the communications liason position, please send the following information to pocisny@gmail.com. The deadline to respond is April 2nd.
--Your name
--Your school and position
--POCIS-NY position you are interested in (co-chair or communications liason)
--Your experience in POCIS-NY (tenure, involvement, etc)
--What skills and qualities make you a good candidate to be a POCIS-NY leader
If you have any questions, please feel free to get in touch. (Hilary.North@calhoun.org)
All best,
Hilary
Hilary North, Current Chair of POCIS-NY
Director of Diversity & Equity Initiatives
The Calhoun School
433 West End Avenue
New York, NY 10024
