Concurrent Session One
Disrupting Racist Systems: Reimagining Early College Success for Students of Color -
Kelley Gangi & Dr. Declan O'Connor
Disrupting Racist Systems: Reimagining Early College Success for Students of Color
This session will guide IHEs and 9-12 school partners in reimagining early and equitable access to college for students of color. In spotlighting the unprecedented outcomes of one early college public high school, participants will understand how to remove institutionalized barriers well-within their power of influence. Attendees will understand how to grow organizational mindset around early college, empower stakeholders to identify institutionalized practices, and develop an action plan to radically transform matriculation and persistence efforts for students of color.
Kelley Gangi
Chief of School Innovation for the Springfield Empowerment Zone Partnership (SEZP)
Kelley is the Chief of School Innovation for the Springfield Empowerment Zone Partnership (SEZP), a nonprofit organization autonomously managing 17 of the Springfield public high schools and middle schools. Kelley designed and developed the one-of-a-kind wall-to-wall early college programming unique to the six high schools in the SEZP and oversees all early college and work-based learning programming, including partnership management with six higher education partners across thirteen Associate’s degree pathways. Kelley has positioned early college as a lever for disrupting long-standing institutional racism and linguistic bias in the lowest per capita income location of any city or town in the Commonwealth, where historically, only 32% of graduates matriculate to college. Prior to her role in Springfield, Kelley consulted on school redesign across Massachusetts districts, served as Assistant Superintendent and Director of Curriculum, and spent ten years in the classroom as a mathematics and science teacher where she was awarded National Board Certification for her pedagogical practice.
Dr. Declan O'Connor
Executive Principal SpringField Public Schools
Dr. Declan O’Connor serves as Executive Principal in his tenth year as Principal in Springfield, MA, where he currently leads three schools (two middle schools and one high school). His first middle school grew from the 9th percentile (in MA) to the 65th percentile in four years. He flipped his teaching and leadership staffing from 24% educators of color to 85%+ in five years. His work debunks the myth that hiring, retaining and elevating educators of color is somehow complicated.
He is the founding Principal of Discovery Polytechnic Early College High School where, in just two and a half years, his 183 students have earned nearly 1500 combined college credits with five college partnerships and seven STEM Associate’s and Bachelor’s Degree pathways. His school has no entrance criteria, and every student takes college courses starting in the fall of their freshmen year.
He boldly addresses systemic racism and white supremacist pressures head-on and believes that when students are taught by skilled and supportive teachers who hold students to high expectations, every student’s potential is unlimited.