Summary of 2019 Pollyanna Conference

In 2019 Francis Parker School was thrilled to host San Diego’s first-ever Pollyanna Conference entitled “Building & Sustaining a Diverse School Community that Reflects the Student Experience”.

 

This conference was structured a bit differently in that each school was represented as a school POD consisting of 14 individuals who play a role in advancing the diversity work at their respective schools. Each school POD inclued two members from each of the following constituency groups:

 

• Administration

• Alumni

• Diversity Leadership

• Faculty

• Parents

• Students (grades 8-12) 

• Trustees

 

The goal of the conference was to engage a broad and diverse community of educational leaders whose perspectives and experiences would bolster our collective efforts to identify best practices and real-world strategies solutions to support our students living and leading in a wonderfully diverse and global society. 

 

The one-day conference opened with special keynote speaker Rosetta Lee, with the balance of the morning dedicated to individually-facilitated workshops (broken down by constituency). The afternoon included a student presentation, guided workshop focusing on the individual school PODs, and a group discussion on next steps.