Astoria School District is excited to host the third annual North Coast Inclusion Seminar from 9 a.m. - 3 p.m. on Saturday May 11 at Astoria High School. This free seminar will include coffee service, speakers, lunch, performances, workshops, and networking time.

In its third year, the event objective is to provide a place to engage in inclusive and equitable professional development. Inclusion for all people requires: 

• learning about others and centering the lived experiences of those who our systems were not designed for,
• understanding and honoring intersectionality in order to develop self-reflective and equitable practices, 
• engaging within a community where the equal worth of inherent dignity of each person is honored. 

This event brings together voices from a variety of academic disciplines and communities. Please use this as a tool for “shaking up” our current system to make it welcoming and accessible for all of us – especially those furthest from power and privilege.

Indigenous speakers will welcome and close the event, with Rachel Cushman of the Chinook Nation and Harvest Moon from the Quinault Tribe. The day will begin with Cushman’s call for true inclusivity, intersecting an Indigenous perspective with others that empower often underserved communities, to achieve more equitable education for all learners. Cushman is an Indigenous knowledge practitioner, activist, educator, and canoe skipper. After breakout sessions and lunch (featuring the Ilwaco High School mariachi band, Oro y Azul) the event will conclude with guest storyteller, Harvest Moon of the Quinault Tribe, weaving words and wisdom.

Breakout sessions: 

• Using Story Circles for Student, Parent, and Community Engagement
• Juntos Afuera: Connecting the Latinx Community with Nature
• Supporting the Gender Expansive Community at School
• Integrating Intersectional Equity in Trauma-Informed Care for Education Employees
• The Art of Storytelling
• Implicit Bias and the Brain
• Disability & Access: Strategies for Inclusive Learning and Employment Environments 

Register to attend.

Questions? Email email Jenni Newton, social emotional learning coordinator at Astoria School District. 

This event is funded by a generous grant from Northwest Regional Educator Network to provide information and training for educators and community leaders to advance equity in schools -- and beyond.