Dear Colleagues: We hope you are as excited as we are about the upcoming 2015 Black Quilted Narratives Summer Teacher’s Institute and Teach-Ins. We are thrilled to announce that the Institute will be held at Loyola University Maryland, Columbia Campus from July 27 – 31, 2015. BQN Application Please find attached the application form (in PDF and Rich Text formats), instructions and eligibility information. Please fill out the PDF form (or Rich text document, if your computer cannot open the PDF). These documents are also available for download at http://loyola.academia.edu/KayeWiseWhitehead. All applicants must complete the BQN application form and provide the information requested to be considered eligible. Please send application packages to the National Visionary Leadership Project (NVLP) via email at BQN@visionaryproject.org. About BQN Created by NVLP, the Black Quilted Narratives is a curriculum support package for middle and high school teachers that uses videotaped oral history interviews with leaders from the Civil Rights Movement to guide students in discussions about social injustice and racial healing. During the summer institute, teachers will learn the tenets of Culturally Responsive Instruction (CRI), while exploring one of America’s greatest stories ever told—the Civil Rights Movement. The goals of the Institute are: To create a space for 5th-12th grade teachers to deeply engage with the NVLP interviews; to learn and integrate new scholarly perspectives on teaching and learning; to examine the effectiveness of using primary source video material in the classroom; and to learn best practices for becoming a culturally responsive teacher. The BQN Teacher’s Institute and Teach-Ins are part of an innovative program funded by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation (WKKF). Baltimore is a pilot site to help develop an expanded program at the national level. About the Summer Institute and Teach-Ins During the BQN Summer Teacher’s Institute, teachers will watch and discuss visionary interviews; read and discuss primary and secondary source material with historians; and have daily small break-out group pedagogical sessions with support provided by a Curriculum Lead. Topics covered during the Summer Institute include: The History of the Civil Rights Movement; Women of the Civil Rights Movement; Racial Healing and Social Justice; and Culturally Responsive Pedagogy (with an overview, hands-on demonstration, and tips for implementing this into your classroom). Teachers will also participate in a one-day Diversity Training Workshop. At the end of the week, teachers will receive instruction in how to create a warm-up activity designed to be used in the classroom to introduce the first Teach-In lesson plan. After the Summer Institute, teachers will have two and a half weeks to complete their Warm-Up Activity and submit it to NVLP (via e-mail) by Wednesday, August 19. Since warm-up activities can serve different purposes in the classroom, for the BQN Teach-In, the warm-up is a five-minute ice breaker that is designed to help students focus on the topic, activate prior knowledge and stimulate creative thinking about the topic; and help them to think about applying the information in new and different ways. One of the most unique aspects of the program is that during the school year (from October to February), teachers will have an opportunity to hone their new skills by using the BQN-provided lesson plans to teach a one-day lesson to their students. Developed by NVLP and Dr. Whitehead, the “Teach-In” lesson plans are aligned with both the Maryland Common Core State Curriculum and the C3 Framework. Evaluations will be completed at the end of each Teach-In and submitted via e-mail to NVLP. We are excited to see how participants adapt the lesson plans to fit the teaching and learning styles of their students. Teacher Benefits Stipends Teachers selected to participate in the BQN Summer Institute and Teach-Ins will receive a stipend of $1,750. Stipends are taxable. Participants are required to attend all meetings and engage fully in the work of the project. During the one-week Summer Institute, participants may not undertake teaching assignments or any other professional activities unrelated to their participation in the project. Teachers who complete the BQN Summer Teacher’s Institute and Warm-Up Activity will receive the first part of their stipend. During the school year, participants must complete the Teach-In and submit the Evaluation to receive their monthly stipends. Monies will be distributed on the following payment schedule, upon completion of the program assignments: Submit Teach-In Warm-Up by August 19 Complete Teach-In I by October 16 Complete Teach-In II by November 20 Complete Teach-In III by December 18 Complete Teach-In IV by January 22 Complete Teach-In V by February 19 Payment 1 - $1,000 Payment 2 - $150 Payment 3 - $150 Payment 4 - $150 Payment 5 - $150 Payment 6 - $150 September 10, 2015 November 13, 2015 December 11, 2015 January 15, 2016 February 19, 2016 March 18, 2016 Continuing Education Credit All NVLP Summer Scholars will receive a certificate of completion and have an opportunity to apply for continuing education credits which they may present to their home school districts. Our Team Cheryl S. Clarke (Co-Project Director), a former foundation director and teacher, is the Chief Executive Officer for the National Visionary Leadership Project (NVLP) since 2008. She directed the Foundation Giving program, created the Diversity program, and worked in Human Resources at Freddie Mac for 25 years. Prior to joining Freddie Mac, Clarke taught special education for seven years in the D.C. Public School system working with emotionally and behaviorally challenged boys. Karsonya Wise Whitehead, Ph.D. (Co-Project Director) is the Curriculum Lead and Associate Professor of Communication and African American Studies at Loyola University Maryland. Dr. Whitehead is an award-winning former middle school Social Studies teacher (2006-07 Maryland History Teacher of the Year), a curriculum writer, and a Master Teacher. Michelle Scott, Ph.D., (Historian), is associate professor of history at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County and the author of Blues Empress in Black Chattanooga: Bessie Smith and the Emerging Urban South. Debra Newman Ham, Ph.D., (Historian), is a professor of geography and history at Morgan State University. Isaiah Buchanan, (Master Teacher), is a middle school Social Studies teacher at Gilman School with over ten years in-classroom experience. If you have any questions about the BQN Institute, Teach-Ins or application process, please do not hesitate to contact us at BQN@visionaryproject.org. We encourage you to apply for this innovative Summer Institute focusing on the Civil Rights Movement and the men and women whose leadership during this time forever changed our nation. As you share the stories of these civil rights leaders with your students, and they share their stories of lessons learned from the material, you will help your students see the world in brand new ways and, perhaps, see themselves as being part of the greater American story—the great American quilt. Sincerely, Cheryl Still Clarke Project Co-Director and CEO, National Visionary Leadership Project (NVLP) and Karsonya Wise Whitehead, Ph.D. Project Co-Director and Associate Professor of Communication and African American Studies Loyola University Maryland