Teachers Workshop Opens Discussion About Migration, Immigration, and Transformation

Global Philadelphia Association (GPA) partnered with the School District of Philadelphia and History Making Productions to host the “Migration, Immigration, and Transformation” professional development workshop for local educators on September 17, as part of the ongoing 2019 GlobalPhilly Expo. The workshop spotlighted the immigration of people coming to Philadelphia and the way this has impacted the city’s social, political, and economic structure. 

The workshop featured opportunities for educators to learn about ways to bring this discussion to their classrooms. The event kicked off with the Cultural Institutions Partners Fair, where participants heard from local cultural institutions about their educational offerings, and then offered the workshop participants suggestions on how these offerings fit with their own educational programming. The workshop sought to engage educators by presenting them with primary and secondary sources covering The Great Migration of African Americans and international immigration into Philadelphia during the early twentieth century. 

The day's program featured presentations from a variety of local education leaders who are pioneering international classroom initiatives. Yaasiyn Muhammad and Shaquita Smith, the School District of Philadelphia’s Social Studies Curriculum Specialists, shared a presentation on designing Authentic Assessments. History Making Productions’ Amy Cohen then spoke about the Great Migration, and was followed by GPA’s Melissa Stevens and Sarah Sharp, who gave a presentation on foreign labor and immigration. Donna Sharer, representing the School District of Philadelphia’s Office of Multilingual Curriculum and Programs, next spoke about the inclusion of English Language Learners. The program concluded with a breakout session where teachers worked together to design authentic assessments on specific topics using what they learned in the presentations, led by Grace Palladino, a civics education consultant working with the School District of Philadelphia. 

Article written by Amelia Winger on behalf of Global Philadelphia Association