“Humanity is at the very core of education, yet it is often missing from the work and from schools. We need to center ourselves back in community and remind ourselves of the ways in which we are responsible for each other—not only ourselves, but the collective,” said Lead Executive Officer and President Nancy B. Gutiérrez in the August 29th episode of Beloved Community Talks, a web series produced by The King Center that aims to create open, honest, and unapologetic conversations that inspire equitable change to the national infrastructure.
Gutiérrez was a featured panelist alongside Dr. Nardos King, President of The National Alliance of Black School Educators, and Dr. Chad Womack, UNCF’s Senior Director of National STEM Programs and Initiatives, with Jeff Johnson of Actum LLC moderating the discussion. The panel focused on issues facing education today, delving into the importance of strong education leadership, enacting transformational change in school systems and universities, and creating communities within our education system.
“When we ask what it means to create these cultures of love— schools where children want to dive into learning and families feel welcome— we’ve learned that leadership is the biggest lever for change. We know through research that strong education leadership means higher teacher satisfaction, less exclusionary discipline, lower teacher turnover, and higher outcomes for students. The education leader holds the weight on their shoulders to create those spaces,” said Gutiérrez.
Watch Dr. Gutiérrez’s episode of Beloved Community Talks here: