Spring Convening 2026 | Community-Engaged Educator Preparation: The Power of Learning in Context

Please note that this event will be held virtually.

The Science of Learning and Development (SoLD) foregrounds the importance of rich, relational learning experiences—for youth in schools as well as in-service and pre-service educators. This year, EdPrepLab’s Spring Convening invites participants to explore community-engaged educator preparation as a responsive approach to strengthening local relationships, elevating essential histories, and generating transformative possibilities for teaching, learning, and leading.

12:00 PM – 1:15 PM ET | Members-Only Session

During the members-only portion of the convening, participants will discuss takeaways from EdPrepLab’s place-based site visits to New Orleans and Los Angeles and engage in small group conversations about other pressing issues in educator preparation, such as artificial intelligence and emerging technologies, international research and collaboration, and SoLD as a shared lens for program design and policy engagement.

1:30 PM – 3:00 PM ET | Public Session

The public session will feature a moderated panel of speakers from the  Tate Etienne and Prevost (TEP) Center and Tulane University’s School of Professional Advancement, who will share examples about engaging the local community, schools, and teacher and leader candidates in experiential learning about the legacy of school desegregation in New Orleans and the United States. This special event will feature civil rights pioneer Dr. Leona Tate.

Moderator

• Jessica Blum-DeStefano, Director of Practice and Professional Learning, EdPrepLab, and Leadership Faculty, Bank Street Graduate School of Education

Panelists

• Dr. Leona Tate, Founder and Executive Director, TEP Center
• Tremaine Knighten-Riley, Program Director, TEP Center
• Hazel S. Woods, PhD, Associate Program Director & Professor of Practice, Tulane University
• Brooke Grant, PhD, Senior Professor of Practice, Tulane University

Date/Time:
June 10 from 12:00 PM - 3:00 PM EDT