19th Annual ISEEN Winter Institute 2024

Athenian is a founding member of Round Square and experiential education has been central to an Athenian education since the school’s beginning in 1965. The pillars of Round Square–International Understanding, Democracy, Environmental Stewardship, Adventure, Leadership and Community Service –define Athenian’s approach, which is truly rooted in experiential education. When he was in high school, Athenian’s founder, Dyke Brown, spent a year studying at Salem School in Germany.  Kurt Hahn, the founder of Salem School, United World Colleges, and Outward Bound, was still the head of school when Dyke was a student there. Kurt Hahn spoke at Athenian’s Founding Day Ceremony.

Speakers

OPENING SPEAKER: Khariyyah Shabazz,  Associate Director of Neighborhood Development, Roots Health Community Center Founder, Khariyyah Speaks Incorporated Khariyyah has worked in the field of youth development and community engagement for the past 15 years. As an East Oakland Native, she takes pride in starting her career working within Higher Ground’s after school programs throughout Oakland. While working as the Deputy Executive Director with the agency Higher Ground NDC, she has managed after-school programming while building a team of leaders. She facilitated successful neighborhood projects on several community initiatives that are led by community members. After receiving a B.A. in mass communications from Cal State East Bay, she knew the work was just getting started. Khariyyah now has her own public speaking platform called Khariyyah Speaks Incorporated that addresses solutions that transform communities through planning and partnerships.  Higher Ground NDC is a community partner of The Athenian School. The organization’s mission is to develop systems that increase the intellectual development of children through social emotional learning, workforce development, after-school enrichment, technical assistance, service-learning, and school/community partnerships.

CLOSING SPEAKER: Honey Mahogany, 馬宏尼 , MSW,(she/her, they/them) Chair, San Francisco Democratic Party Co-Founder, The Transgender District Co-owner, The Stud Honey Mahogany is a performer, small business owner, and activist who grew up in San Francisco. Honey received her Masters in Social Welfare from UC Berkeley, and her work as an advocate, culture creator, and change maker has earned her recognition from the City of San Francisco; the State of California; Sainthood from the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence; and awards from numerous organizations including the Imperial Court of San Francisco; Harvey Milk Democratic Club; Trans Day of Visibility; and the Women's Foundation of California. Honey is a co-founder and served as the inaugural Executive Director of San Francisco's Transgender District, she is a founding queen of Drag Story Hour, a co-owner of the Stud Bar, a singer with nu-metal group Commando, and recently ran a historic campaign for District 6 Supervisor in San Francisco. Currently, Honey is working as the District Director for Assemblymember Matt Haney and serves as Chair of the San Francisco Democratic Party.

About the Host School Conveners 

Mark Friedman is the Director of Global Education at The Athenian School. Mark’s professional life has had one leg in nonprofit management and one in youth leadership development. He has led over 20 international trips for Athenian and other organizations and was the director of Athenian’s Community Service Program for many years. Helping students create human connections is central to Mark’s work as an educator. He holds a M.A. in Nonprofit Administration from the University of San Francisco and a B.A from Oberlin College. Mark lives in a cohousing community in Oakland, California that he helped found 25 years ago.

Whitney Hofacker was the Dean of Experiential Education (2021-2023) and the Associate Director of Athenian Wilderness Experience (2016-2021) at The Athenian School. She collaborates with nonprofit organizations on designing and delivering a variety of curricular outdoor education, service-learning, and environmental programs. Prior to Athenian, she led outdoor expeditions for young women and girls and directed social justice leadership programs for teens. She holds a M.A. in Nonprofit Administration from the University of San Francisco and a B.A in Political Science and English Literature from Miami University. Previously a resident of Oakland, California, she recently moved to the French Alps and enjoys hiking and backpacking, dinner parties, and local and international adventures.

Schedule at a Glance

Special members-only registration period from August 15 - September 1, 2023

Registration for Winter Institute is Now full, Join the Waitlist to be notified of openings!

Join the Waitlist

Registration Type	Early-Bird Rate Thru Oct. 31	Regular Rate Nov. 1 - Dec. 12	Late Rate After Dec. 12
Leadership Circle Schools	$1580	$1580	$2200
Member Schools	$1685	$1750	$2200
Non-Member Schools	$1800	$1980	$2200
Education Service Provider Members	$2323	$2323	$2323

Important Registration Note - Three Participants from a School:
All schools may register up to 3 participants from their school up until November 12, 2023. This is to allow more schools to attend the Institute. Should spaces still be available after December 1, 2024, schools will be able to register unlimited additional attendees.

Refund and Cancellation Policy: 
Should you need to cancel your registration you will have two options. A colleague may be substituted at no fee or, if you cancel without substituting your place, the refund policy below will go into effect.

• Cancellation greater than 61 days prior to the Institute: 90% refund
• Cancellation 60-30 days prior to the conference: 50% refund
• Cancellation under 30 days prior to the conference: 0% refund

Scholarships
ISEEN is excited to offer free attendance to up to two participants through the Jessie Barrie Scholarship Fund for Experiential Educators.

Scholarship applications are now closed.
Preference will be given to public & charter school applicants. 

Educational Service Providers
We hold limited spaces for Education Service Providers (ESP) members (organizations that work alongside independent schools to deliver experiential education). The registration for ESPs is separate from our school attendees, so please read through the following information carefully. 

All ESP attendees must be ISEEN members prior to registering (become a member here).

• One participant from each organization may register. 
• The reserved spaces for ESPs are available until November 12, 2023. There are 10 available spots and they tend to fill very quickly when registration opens in August. 
• While ESPs gain significant value by attending the Winter Institute and the intimate networking opportunities available to them to build relationships with member schools, their primary role as an ISEEN member attendee will be that of a fellow educator. 

To learn more about sponsorship opportunities for greater visibility, please contact ISEEN Executive Director, Shoshanna Sumka ([email protected]). 

Call for Proposals
We have two excellent opportunities for attendees to put their skills in action and to showcase their work. We invite all institute attendees to submit an application for the Homeroom Facilitator role and/or a proposal for our Model Programs & Practices session by Friday, November 17, 2023. 

Homeroom Facilitators
We invite ISEEN Winter Institute 2024 attendees with strong facilitation skills to apply for a volunteer homeroom facilitator role for the Institute! This is an amazing leadership opportunity for you to tap into your skills in the wonderful, collaborative space that is the ISEEN Winter Institute. We welcome any ISEEN Winter Institute 2024 attendees to apply. Even if this is your first time at the Institute, it doesn't mean you can't serve as a facilitator. We especially encourage those with experience in social justice education to apply.

Homeroom facilitators are key to building community and reflecting on the Winter Institute theme of Rooted in Experiential Education: Finding Our Places to Flourish. Homerooms are groups of 10 people from all over North America and beyond, from different schools and organizations, and typically with different discipline backgrounds that come together as a touchpoint throughout the week. Homeroom groups reflect together daily on the experience and dive deeper into the work.

Homeroom Facilitator applications are now closed.

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Model Programs and Practices (MPP) Proposals 
Each year we host a Model Programs & Practices session at the Institute for attendees to showcase the work your schools and organizations are doing. These are 20-minute sessions in 4 rounds where you'll provide a short presentation about a specific innovative and replicable experiential program or practice. Typically presenters are given the option to take a round off to visit another session.

 

MPP Proposal applications are now closed.

Pre & Post Institute Workshops & Activities 
To enhance your Institute experience, we're offering some hands-on workshops to gain skills that you can take back to your school or organization. Additionally, we're offering pre- and post-Institute social/outdoor activities to engage even more deeply with The Athenian School and San Francisco Bay area. 

Below are brief descriptions (titles, facilitators, cost, and timeframes) of the various offerings. 

Pre-Institute Workshop & Activities 

Tuesday, January 23 @ 9:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. (must arrive the day before - January 22) *Many attendees appreciate arriving early to get a sense of the region and take advantage of special intensive workshops and activities offered. 

Celebrating and Planting Seeds of Climate Action: Planning and Implementation of Youth Climate Summits Description: Developed in collaboration with the California Teacher Development Collaborate (CATDC), this session will provide a rare opportunity to learn with and from California educators who are part of an ongoing program on Teaching for Climate Action, Environmental Justice, and Sustainability. This workshop will focus on planning and implementing a youth climate summit. Youth climate summits provide a platform for students and teachers to celebrate or envision the learning, the projects, and actions that will lead to a more sustainable school, community, and world. Students deepen their understanding of climate issues, explore innovative solutions, and collaborate with like-minded peers. Through engaging workshops, inspiring keynote speakers, and interactive activities, youth climate summits aim to foster a sense of urgency and inspire young leaders to drive positive change in their communities. We’ll also look at solutionary teaching and learning in preparing students for and following up from a climate summit. Facilitator: Cheney Munson Optional group lunch (cost not included) at a local restaurant after the workshop. Price: $200 Limited to 15 ISEEN participants.

Cheney Munson is obsessed with ideas of literacy, education, climate change and environmental justice for the last two decades, Cheney taught middle school ELA for eight years, and ever since has been a staff developer for The Reading and Writing Project at Teachers College Columbia University. He works in grades 3–12 with ELA, science, history and (sometimes) math teachers. He is currently a senior staff developer and their resident Sustainability Education Specialist. Cheney founded The Climascope Project which aims to work shoulder-to-shoulder with teachers to infuse climate change, sustainability and environmental justice into existing curriculum with practical and inspiring PD and easy-to-use resources. He prides himself on meeting teachers and students where they are and aligning climate literacy goals with school-wide goals around literacy, history, science, math, school culture, and pedagogy. He consults for Ted-Ed as their climate curriculum designer and is a PhD candidate in Sustainability Education at Prescott College. When not thinking about climate advocacy and literacy, he’s playing bluegrass and cooking in Oakland.

Tuesday, January 23 @ 9:00 a.m. - 3:30 p.m. (must arrive the day before - January 22)

Asset Mapping & Dim Sum in Oakland’s Chinatown: An Ethical Framework for Community-Based Learning

Join us for a fun, immersive, place-based exploration of Oakland’s dynamic Chinatown. Through this workshop you’ll both learn about and participate in an asset-based approach to community-based learning and engagement.

Many community development efforts and school service initiatives start from a place of identifying problems. While there are real issues facing our communities, this can trap our students in a deficit mindset that encourages saviorism. This workshop presents an alternative starting point that focuses on existing strengths and assets within a community.

We’ll begin with a walking tour of this historic neighborhood that has evolved since the 1850s that will introduce you to institutions, organizations, and individuals that are showing up for and taking care of each other. Working in small groups, we'll then explore the area and identify assets such as relationships, infrastructure, public spaces, businesses, non-profits, traditions, and more. We’ll enjoy a lunch of dim sum, before traveling to College Prep’s campus where we’ll compile the assets we observed onto a collective map, debrief, and discuss how this exercise can be used to introduce an alternative ethical framework to students embarking on community-based projects in your neighborhoods.

This workshop is Ideal for anyone interested in community engagement, service-learning, and engagement. 

Price: $250
Limited to 18 ISEEN participants.

Olivia Werby is the Director of Experiential and Community Based Learning at the College Preparatory School in Oakland, CA. In this role, she has been piloting Social Impact Practicum, a yearlong program that takes an asset-based approach to community initiatives designed by students. She also teaches Social Transformations: Oakland, an applied learning course that delves into Oakland’s past, present, and future through a lens of social change. Before College Prep, Olivia directed Princeton’s bridge year program in Indonesia, managed the Fulbright ETA program in Malaysia, and has worked with numerous non-profit and community based organizations in the U.S. and abroad. 

Lailan Huen is a member of the Oakland Chinatown Coalition, and her organizing to bolster Oakland Chinatown and cultural districts through cross-racial solidarity, cultural resilience and belonging is documented in the documentary Alice Street. She coordinates Antiracist Learning, is on the Ethnic Studies Team, and founded Asian, Arab and Pacific Islander Student Achievement programs in Oakland’s public schools.  In education for over 20 years, she specializes in youth participatory action research, targeted equity strategies, culturally responsive practices, and developing Ethnic Studies frameworks.  Lailan worked with local organizations to document and advocate for equitable development policies at the National Coalition for Asian Pacific American Community Development. She is a 4th generation Chinese American Oaklander with a Bachelors in Asian American and Urban Studies and a Masters in Media Education.

Post-Institute Workshops & Activities 
To enhance your Institute experience, we’re offering some exceptional experiences and outings for those planning on extending their stay in the San Francisco area into the weekend. 

 Livermore Valley Winery Tour
The Livermore Valley is one of the oldest wine producing regions in California. On this post-institute excursion, we’ll visit the Darcie Kent Estate Winery. The most highly awarded winery in Livermore Valley, Darcie Kent Estate Winery features excellent wines along with an art gallery in a beautiful setting. Darcie served on The Athenian Schools ’s board of trustees for many years. The group will depart from the Holiday Inn Dublin-Pleasanton at 2:00 and return to the hotel around 4:30, leaving time for folks to take BART to OMCA for the post-institute happy hour.

Maximum number of people: 18
Cost: $30

Redwood Regional Park Hike
Redwood Regional Park contains the largest remaining stand of coast redwood trees in the East Bay. Part of the East Bay Regional Park District, it’s located just a few miles from downtown Oakland. The forest's peaceful groves give little evidence of the area’s past. In the mid-1800s it was the site of extensive logging to supply building materials for the region. The logging era has long since passed, and a stately forest of 150-foot coast redwoods (Sequoia sempervirens) has replaced those cut down. We’ll do a three-mile hike through the heart of the park’s redwood groves. The hike involves 1,000 feet of elevation loss and gain. You can borrow hiking poles from Athenian for the day. The group will depart from the Holiday Inn Dublin-Pleasanton at 2:00 and will be dropped off at the Oakland Museum of California (OMCA) around 5:30 PM for the post-institute happy hour.

Maximum number of people: 44
Degree of difficulty: Moderate
Cost: Free

San Francisco Waterfront
The San Francisco Embarcadero is a world-class destination with views of San Francisco Bay, Alcatraz Island, and the Golden Gate Bridge. We will travel by BART to the Embarcadero waterfront. Explore the food emporium at the San Francisco Ferry Building. Visit Cupid's Span, an outdoor sculpture by Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen. Wander along the waterfront past the Exploratorium, to Pier 39, Fisherman’s Wharf and Musee Mecanique. The group will depart from the Holiday Inn Dublin-Pleasanton at 12:30, purchasing lunch in San Francisco. The group will take BART to the Oakland Museum of California (OMCA) for the post-institute happy hour that begins at 5:30 PM.

Maximum number of people: No limit
Degree of difficulty: Easy
Cost: $5 - BART ticket from Embarcadero station to Lake Merritt station

Hotel 
Events and lodging will be at the conveniently located Dublin Holiday Inn a 20 minute drive from The Athenian School (we provide transportation).  

We’ve secured a discounted price for a standard single/double occupancy room (plus taxes and service charges). Rates include access to all of the hotel's amenities including the gym and pool.  The hotel is accessible from the San Francisco International and Oakland airports by public transportation (West Dublin/Pleasanton Station). 

Book early, there are a limited number of rooms available at the discounted rate. Breakfast included. 

BOOK YOUR ROOM NOW

Click the BOOK NOW link in the top right corner.
If for some reason you are unable to make the booking online or have questions, you can contact the hotel directly at 925-828-7750 and mention “ISEEN”. 

Travel
As many ISEEN long-timers know, ISEEN isn’t like other conferences. It isn’t even a conference!  It’s a fully immersive (and intense!) four days together. Because of that, we value your participation immensely and we ask that when you make your arrangements, you’re able to participate in the full Institute-- beginning to end! We believe that participating in all of the Institute activities enhances the quality of your experience and that of your peers. If you know that you cannot manage the full schedule, perhaps consider joining a future Institute. Local California attendees should also consider that you will have very full days and will want to plan accordingly.

If you are securing your own transportation to the Institute, please make sure to be at the Holiday Inn Dublin/Pleasanton by 4:00pm on Tuesday, January 23rd and you depart the hotel no earlier than 12:30pm on Friday, January 26th.

Planes:
The Institute hotel is accessible from the San Francisco International and Oakland airports by public transportation (West Dublin/Pleasanton Station). 

Getting To/From The Airport:

• Public transportation (West Dublin/Pleasanton Station)
• Rental Car: This is an option for those who want to stay longer or are coming earlier. 

Automobiles:
For driving directions, Holiday Inn Dublin/Pleasanton is located at 6680 Regional Street, Dublin, CA 94568 (phone: 925-828-7750). It’s located about 13 miles from The Athenian School. We will be providing shuttles to/from the school every day as well as all transportation for Experiential Education in Action experiences. Parking on campus is limited. If you have to drive, please carpool. 

Questions
Please don't hesitate to reach out to us if you have questions about the Institute. Email us at [email protected] or call us at 206-209-5288. 

We are excited to see old friends and meet new ones! 
 Winter Institute 2024 Planning Team: Mark, Shoshanna, Whitney, Taras