K-16 Educator Workshop
You're Invited
The University of Kansas Center for Russian, East European & Eurasian Studies (CREES), Center for Latin American & Caribbean Studies (CLACS), and Kansas African Studies Center (KASC), in collaboration with International Education at Johnson County Community College (JCCC) invite you to "Journeys: Exploring the Complexities of Migration and Its Impacts on Individuals and Our Communities," a free K-16 educator workshop.
Designed as a professional development workshop open to all K-16 professionals, this in-person/hybrid experiential event includes a fieldtrip to a local non-profit serving refugees and immigrants in our community, Catholic Charities,* and New Roots, a community garden training program that empowers refugees, immigrants, and English Language Learner farmers to develop sustainable businesses.
A workshop will follow in the afternoon at Johnson County Community College, with expert speakers, including Dr. Samuel Dermas Habtemariam, and Dr. Iegvenii Shulga of Della Lamb Community Services who will speak about his work with Ukrainian refugees. Educators will participate in a facilitated collaboration and sharing session to produce actionable plans and ideas to use in the classroom.
The workshop will challenge educators to internationalize their curricula by incorporating what they have learned into their teaching. The KU Area Studies Centers will provide attendees with resource packets for those interested in a specific world area.
Please join us on Friday July 12, 2024 from 8:30-4:00 p.m. Please note that the workshop is limited to 30 in-person participants.
*Though the charity has a religious affiliation, the workshop will not contain religious content or push a religious agenda. It is open to all participants regardless of their beliefs.
Free, All-inclusive
This is a free workshop made possible by Title VI National Resource Center grant funding provided by the U.S. Department of Education. Transportation to and from Catholic Charities as well as a complimentary lunch will be provided by the University of Kansas Area Studies Centers.
The Area Studies Centers will provide certificates of completion to those who finish the workshop and need documentation for professionalization points at their institution.
Please contact Dr. Megan Luttrell with any questions.
Itinerary
8:15-8:25am Meet at Johnson County Community College in front of the Nerman Museum in the circle drive.
8:30am Depart together to Catholic Charities (transportation provided by KU Area Studies Centers).
More information
We will meet at 8:15 AM-8:25 AM in front of the Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art (NMOCA) at Johnson County Community College (JCCC), 12345 College Blvd, Overland Park, KS 66210. Use the Quivira (east) entrance to enter the campus.
You will need to enter the east side of JCCC campus from Quivira. The bus will pick us up in front of the Nerman Museum in the circle drive, as indicated on the map. Parking is located under the Regnier Center (RC on the map), to the south and to the southeast of RC.
We suggest parking in lot N42, southeast of RC and walking the short distance to the Nerman circle drive. A second option is parking below the Regnier Center. You can take an elevator up. The Regnier Center is connected to the Nerman. Exit the Nerman and go to the circle drive in front. Please give yourself plenty of time to find parking and to arrive at the Nerman Museum circle drive in time for our 8:30 departure.
The bus departs promptly at 8:30am.
If you miss the bus, Catholic Charities is located at 600 Minnesota Ave., Kansas City, KS 66101 (appx. 25 min. from JCCC). We will be there and at New Roots (nearby) for presentations and tours from 9:00-11:30. You are encouraged to go there to join the group even if you do miss the bus.
9:00am-10:45am Presentation by staff at Catholic Charities.
11:00am-11:30am Visit to New Roots, a community garden training program.
11:30am Travel back to JCCC (transportation provided by KU Area Studies Centers).
12:15pm-1:15pm Keynote address by Dr. Samuel Dermas Habtemariam and lunch (provided by KU Area Studies Centers).
1:15-2:15 Presentation by Dr. Ievgenii Shulga (Della Lamb).
2:15-2:30 Break and time to allow participants to network and visit KU Area Studies Center tables.
2:30-3:45 Creation of action plans in break-out groups. Facilitated by Dr. Samuel Dermas Habtemariam.
3:45-4:00pm Wrap up/Post workshop surveys/group photo.
Dr. Samuel Dermas Habtemariam
Samuel Dermas Habtemariam is a faculty member at the University of Kansas, and he delivers instruction for ESL students of diverse age groups and cultural backgrounds in Academic Reading, Writing, and Grammar Courses. From Eritrea, Dr. Habtemariam earned a PhD in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Kansas in 2023. He has served as director of the Student Affairs Office at St. Mary’s University in Ethiopia and taught graduate and undergraduate classes for KU’s Department of Curriculum and Teaching. Dr. Habtemariam’s research areas focus on curriculum studies, refugee education, and culturally responsive pedagogy. He also served as the vice president for the American Association for the Advancement of Curriculum Studies.
Catholic Charities
Support Services and Case Management for Refugees. Helping refugees transition to life in Kansas.
New Roots
New Roots is a training program that empowers refugees, immigrants and English Language Learner farmers to develop sustainable businesses.
Della Lamb
Refugee Assistance - Della Lamb has been formally resettling refugees in Kansas City since 2014, providing services to KC’s refugee population for decades.General Resources:
- Catholic Charities: Google Drive Resource Folder
- The Kansas Historical Society’s website has information on various groups that migrated to Kansas. Genealogy indexes and guides also available.
- CORE Cultural Adjustment Unit – Punctuality, Family Roles, Adjusting to Changes & Challenges, and more
- Switchboard - Resources - Switchboard’s mission is to provide comprehensive support and guidance to professionals and organizations involved in refugee resettlement. Multimedia resource library - browse the library by resource type, topic, population group, language, or publication year, or search by keywords.
- U.S. Census Bureau – Explore census data, including demographics by areas in Kansas
- Midwest Genealogy Center
- Mid-Continent Public Library – Genealogy Resources
- Hiba's Story: Ten-Year-Old Syrian Refugee | UNICEF USA
Resources:
Russia, Eastern Europe and Eurasia
- The Strawberry Hill Museum is a wonderful resource for those interested in Eastern European cultural heritage in the Kansas City area. The museum has exhibits on the following countries: Croatia, Lithuania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Poland, Russia, and Ukraine.
- For those interested in learning more about their roots, the Midwest Genealogy Center is a great resource. The center helps people research their genealogy and offers a number of online/hybrid events on genealogy research including “East European Genealogy,” “Czech and Slovak Genealogy Research,” and much more.
- If you are interested in learning about a specific country, the KU Slavic librarians have created several library guides on Russia, Eastern Europe, and Eurasia. Links to these lib-guides can be found on the CREES library page.
- The Kansas Historical Society’s website has information on various groups that migrated to Kansas including Czechs, Volga Germans, and Russian Jews. There is also a genealogy index.
- The Kansas Historical Society’s YouTube channel has some great videos including “History of the Czechs in Kansas and Elsewhere in the Midwest”
- The Centre for Volga German Studies at Concordia University has a page with information on Volga Germans in Kansas.
- The Sugar Creek Slavic Festival has an overview of Slavic migration to Sugar Creek, MO on their website.
Resources:
Latin America and the Caribbean
Hispanic and Latino Heritage - Kansas
Making a Home in the Heartland - In the first decades of the twentieth century, thousands of Mexicans fleeing political turmoil arrived in the Kansas City area searching for new lives and opportunities.
Hidden Places: Mexican Fiesta (VHS, 1984) - documents 66th anniversary of Chanute fiesta celebrating Mexican Independence (KU Spencer Library)
The Bottoms: A Place We Once Called Home by Thomas Rodriguez
Americano: My Journey to the Dream by Thomas Rodriguez
- Join us to protest the deportations! = Unase a nosotros para protestar las deportaciones!
Resources:
Africa
- Bourdieu, P. (1977). Cultural reproduction and social reproduction. In J. Karabel & A. Halsey (Eds.), Power and ideology in education (pp. 487-511). New York: Greenwood Press.
- Darder, A. (2011). CHAPTER 9: Teaching as an Act of Love: Reflections on Paulo Freire and His Contributions to Our Lives and Our Work.Counterpoints, 418, 179–194.
- Habtemariam, Samuel D. (2023). Cultural Identity Construction Among Political Refugee Students: The Case of Eritrean College Students in the Midwest. ProQuest Dissertations Publishing.
- Ndemanu, M., & Jordan, S. (2018). Culturally Responsive Pedagogy for African Immigrant Children in U.S. P-12 Schools. Journal of Black Studies, 49(1), 71-84.
- Rong, X., & Preissle, J. (1998). Educating immigrant students: What we need to know to meet the challenges. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.
- Semotiuk, Andy. (November 15, 2023). New report details huge contribution immigrants are making to America. Forbes.
- The Cultural Responsiveness of the Communicative and Task-Based Instructional Approaches to African English Language Learners in a College ESL Classroom: A Qualitative Case Study
- A Narrative Study of Cultural Identity Construction of African Refugee College Students in the Midwest.
- Cultural Identity Construction among Political Refugee Students: The Case of Eritrean College Students in the Midwest.
Area Studies Centers at KU
