Alex Shevrin Venet believes that all students need a safe and caring school environment. We can create this environment through unconditional positive regard, recognizing the dynamic and complex lives of our students. Systems change is just as important as our individual actions, and only through systems change can we truly create equity for all. In this keynote we learn how unconditional positive regard can be a powerful equity stance that honors students’ full humanity.

Over 100 educators convened at the week-long Middle Grades Institute last summer to plan for an uncertain school year.

Today they return to share their learning and experiences since then, in the areas of equity literacy, anti-racist education, personalized learning, education for sustainability, project-based learning, trauma-informed practice, and much more.