PSUSD To Host 2nd Annual Equity Community Conference Feb 5.

The Palm Springs Unified School District is "Putting Equity Into Action". PSUSD will host its 2nd annual Equity Community Conference on Saturday, Feb. 5 via a virtual platform.

"What we will be hoping is that people will become more conscious, be mindful, look at their own biases, and see how we can all work together to make not only the Coachella Valley, but our world a better place," said Jarvis Williams, PSUSD Family Engagement Specialist.

The conference will offer participants the opportunity to discuss the experiences of historically underrepresented students and the ways in which we can work toward more equitable outcomes. Topics for the one-day event were selected by district committees and parent input, and include conversations on black masculinity, LGBTQ+ allyship, Native American visibility in schools, colorism, microaggressions, and mindfulness.

"The conference is really about trying to spread equity throughout the entire district," said Williams. "It’s about bringing together a lot of subject matters that are very difficult but need to be addressed, and giving them a place and a platform to have those conversations so we can begin to move forward in a healthy way and direction as it relates to those topics."

The event is not only open to staff and students of the district.

"We don’t want it to be limited to PSUSD, but we want to celebrate and try to spread equity for all people," said Williams.

PSUSD is inviting the entire community to take an active role in their learning.

"In order to understand other cultures. It’s going to take all of us coming together to be able to see that in more ways than not we have some similarities," said Williams. "Yes, we may have some differences but I think we walk away with a better understanding by inviting other cultures in so that they come into that knowledge and understanding of those subject matters that we talk about."

Educators, especially those who grew up in PSUSD, say they are proud to see the district take the necessary steps toward inclusion and equity.

"I’m a product of the Palm Springs Unified School District (and) to see the district having these conversations, not just among staff but for the whole community I think just really elevates our foundational knowledge, how we come together to talk about issues that have persisted in our country since the beginning of our founding," said Lex Ortega, an event speaker and Director of Community Engagement for LGBTQ Community Center of the Desert.

To register for the conference, visit the link here: bit.ly/psusdequity

Direct zoom link for the conference is: https://psusdus.zoom.us/j/81192100937?pwd=ZkkwYmQwNnVlWVErRmhFTGR1R0U2QT09.

For more information, call (760) 416-1374 or (760) 894-4072 or send an email to familycenter@psusd.us.