Learning for Justice: Professional Development Workshops

Let’s Talk
Using the Let’s Talk! guide, this interactive, virtual professional development will provide participants the opportunity to learn strategies for creating supportive learning environments that encourage risk-taking.

Speak Up at School
Become familiar with strategies that educators and students can use to interrupt bias and injustice instead of letting them go unaddressed.


>> Learn more and register

2024 D.C. Area Black Lives Matter at School Curriculum Fair

On Saturday, January 20, 2024, D.C. Area Educators for Social Justice will host a virtual curriculum fair featuring keynote speaker Enid Lee and workshops set to uplift the national demands based in the Black Lives Matter guiding principles that focus on improving the school experience for Black students.

Educators around the country are invited to virtually connect, collaborate, and prepare for the 2024 National Black Lives Matter at School Week of Action (February 5–9, 2024) and Year of Purpose.

Stay tuned for more updates! Read about the 2022 and 2023 curriculum fairs.

Saturday, January 20, 2024 at 11:30am–2:30pm (ET), virtual

>> Register

Free Virtual Restorative and Equitable Discipline Convening

Are you looking for effective ways to reduce exclusionary discipline and lost learning time — and their disproportionate impact on marginalized students?

Please join us for a free virtual convening for district leaders on restorative and equitable discipline, and ways to create safe, welcoming, and inclusive school communities:

January 30, 2024

3:15 – 4:45 pm ET

Space is filling up so please register today by filling out the registration form presented after you click on the date and time in this link.

Engaging Schools staff will facilitate the convening, joined by two of our district partners who will share their experiences implementing a systemic approach to restorative and equitable discipline called Codes of Character, Conduct, and Support:

  • Dr. Effie McMillian, Chief Equity Officer, Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools (NC)
  • Joseph (Joe) Curtis, Superintendent, Pittsfield Public Schools (MA)

We’ll discuss systems and policies needed for transformative change. We’ll also drill down to explore the classroom practices that promote student engagement and prevent off-track behaviors, and schoolwide interventions that help students learn key SEL skills, repair harm, and reenter the classroom ready to learn.

Please join us to learn more about District Codes of Character, Conduct, and Support and the difference this approach is making in two districts. Register today by clicking on the date and time in this link and filling out the registration form that follows!

Civics inquiry lesson: Has Dr. Martin Luther King’s Dream Been Fulfilled?

What are you teaching to commemorate Martin Luther King Jr. Day? If you’re looking for free, high-quality, adaptable, standards-aligned resources carefully crafted by teachers, we’ve got you covered.


Check out the Center for Civic Education’s new civics inquiry lesson, “Has Dr. Martin Luther King’s Dream Been Fulfilled?” The lesson is perfect for upper elementary to middle school students and can be adapted for high school learners. This multimedia lesson, aligned to Center programs and national standards, is sure to immerse teachers and students in this important question.

Looking for more resources to teach Martin Luther King Jr. and the civil rights movement? We invite you to explore these options for grades 7–12: Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s Six Principles of Nonviolence (podcast series) Martin Luther King Jr. and the Power of Words (lesson plans)

Teach Climate Network Workshop: Engaging Youth Through Climate Storytelling

Thursday, January 11th, 4pm CT
Register Here


What are climate stories? How can they be useful tools for teaching about climate change? What else can we learn through personal climate storytelling? Explore these questions and more in a two hour interactive workshop, “Engaging Youth Through Climate Storytelling.” The workshop will begin with an introduction to climate storytelling: what it is and why it matters, before grounding it within the classroom experience. Participants will then transition into a reflective writing exercise meant to get them started thinking about their climate story. The workshop will end with an invitation for participants to share their own experiences talking about climate change, and walk away with some practical resources and next steps for bringing climate storytelling to their students.

Apply now: Global Institute of Human Rights Certificate Program

University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School Global Institute for Human Rights Certificate Program, May 28-31, 2024 – Registration is now open.

The Global Institute of Human Rights Certificate Program is an immersive, live virtual online course of study aimed at undergraduate students, graduate students, and new career professionals passionate about a career in human rights advocacy, or just looking to enhance their understanding and awareness of the laws, norms, policies, movements, and strategies critical towards addressing the world’s most pressing human rights challenges. This opportunity is unique compared to traditional academic studies of human rights, as the focus of this program is to bring working human rights advocates from around the world to the table, allowing them to share their experiences with the next generation of human rights advocates.

Learn more

Program highlights include:

  • Theory Blended with the Examination of Developing Trends in Human Rights
  • Unique Chance to Directly Learn from Leaders and Experienced Practitioners in the Field
  • Opportunity to Discover How Human Rights Intersects with Other Careers
  • Sessions designed to offer a Gateway to Becoming an Effective Leader & Advocate for Human Rights
  • Opportunity to Network with Peers & Fellow Advocates from Across the Globe

Taking place May 28 through 31, the 2024 Global Institute for Human Rights Certificate Program will be a four-day, live, virtual (online) experience that aims to provide a firm understanding of a range of issues, including, but not limited to: LGBTQ+ rights; refugee and migrant rights; women, peace, and security; environmental and climate justice; artificial intelligence for good; and access to justice and technology.

All participants who complete the program will receive a Certificate of Completion from the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School.

Turning Point Summit 2024

The World House Global Network – Youth Working Group & The Dais

Turning Point Summit is a global platform where people can engage in dialogue, establish a shared vision, and work towards realizing it. The summit’s goal is to organize a global network of people who will commit to a year of social action on the critical conflict issues impacting their lives and the lives of their communities. Its objectives are to identify challenges and opportunities, stake positions on them, and formulate strategic solutions. To realize these, the summit will offer participants inspiring keynote speakers, real-time interactive engagement, and free training on nonviolent social action on the political culture, social institutions, and civic participation necessary to foster the justice, peace, and prosperity its theme fosters: Where do we go from here? A revolution of values.

Event dates: March 21-24, 2024

>> Learn more at https://www.turningpointsummit.org
>> Details about the Summit – https://bit.ly/TPS2024Resources
>> Turning Point Summit Community Whatsapp Group for Information – https://bit.ly/TPSWhatsapp
>> Application Form Link: https://bit.ly/TPSApply

Episodes 21 & 22 with Dr. Monisha Bajaj are available on Human Rights Education NOW!

We are pleased to announce the availability of our latest installment of podcast episodes in Human Rights Education NOW! Episodes 20 & 21 feature conversations with Dr. Monisha Bajaj. Dr. Monisha Bajaj is a Professor of International and Multicultural Education at the University of San Francisco. She is the editor and author of eight books and numerous articles on issues of peace, human rights, migration, and education, including  Humanizing Education for Immigrant and Refugee Youth and World Yearbook of Education 2023: Racialization and Educational Inequality in Global Perspective. Dr. Bajaj has developed curriculum and teacher training materials—particularly related to human rights, racial justice, ethnic studies, and sustainability—for non-profit and national advocacy organizations as well as inter-governmental organizations, such as UNICEF and UNESCO. In 2015, she received the Ella Baker/Septima Clark Human Rights Award (2015) from Division B of the American Educational Research Association (AERA).

Episode 21: Dr. Monisha Bajaj, Part One

In Episode 21, Dr. Monisha Bajaj shares her interest in human rights and human rights education, as well as her work at Human Rights Watch. Dr. Bajaj then discusses the work of Paolo Freire and Richard Pierre Claude. Next, she describes her work with Betty Reardon, and the evolution of the field of human rights education (HRE). Dr. Bajaj expounds upon the significance of social media and internet technologies in spreading HRE along with contemporary HRE challenges, including rising fascism. Later, Dr. Bajaj raises questions about the relevance of human rights and her thoughts on the impact of decolonization scholarship. She also explains the linkages between HRE and peace education; the importance of her work with immigrant and refugee communities; and the heightened presence of human rights across university programs. Lastly, Dr. Bajaj shares her thoughts on the reconceptualization of public discourse on human rights, and how the U.S. remains far behind in integrating HRE in mass public education.

Topics discussed:

  • Work at Human Rights Watch
  • Paolo Freire and Richard Peirre Claude
  • Dr. Betty Reardon
  • Evolution of the field of human rights education
  • Impact of social media and internet technologies in spreading HRE
  • Relevance of human rights 
  • Impact of decolonization scholarship 
  • Linkages between HRE and peace education
  • Work with immigrant and refugee communities
  • Reconceptualizing public discourse on human rights

Full topic listing available for PDF download HERE.

Listen on our Buzzsprout podcast website HERE



Episode 22: Dr. Monisha Bajaj, Part Two

In Episode 22, Dr. Monisha Bajaj shares HRE and peace education strategies to apply when working with marginalized groups, as well as her partner project with immigrant students in Oakland, California, and the book that emerged from the partner project. Next, Dr. Bajaj discusses how the HRE framework helps students from all backgrounds by broadening their perspective. Dr. Bajaj then explains the connections between HRE and social justice, and her thoughts on using HRE to focus on social and economic rights and address endemic problems. Dr. Bajaj also shares the importance of having leaders who are human rights-informed and her concerns for a growing authoritarianism in the U.S. and abroad. Dr. Bajaj then emphasizes the value of a national HRE conference, and John Terry and the New Jersey HRE conference on human rights and climate change. Lastly, she describes her most significant role models in HRE; a quote that summarizes her views on HRE; and one critical change she thinks would advance HRE in  the U.S. 

Topics discussed:

  • HRE strategies when working with marginalized groups
  • Partner project with immigrant students in Oakland, California.
  • HRE framework supporting students from diverse backgrounds
  • Connection between HRE and social justice 
  • HRE as a framework for working on social and economic rights
  • Importance of having leaders who are human-rights informed
  • Growing trend toward authoritarianism
  • HRE National conference
  • John Terry and the New Jersey HRE Conference
  • Significant role model and inspiring quote 
  • Critical change that would advance HRE in the U.S.  

Full topic listing available for PDF download HERE.

Listen on our Buzzsprout podcast website HERE.

Every Man, Woman, and Child & Every Living Soul The Original Musical Presentation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights

Composer and musician (Merrill Collins (We Declare!) teams up with Kristen Caven (The Winning Family) to present her original song that first brought the UDHR to the grassroots level.

Often performed for international peace organizations, Every Man, Woman, and Child makes engagement with this global document a musical pleasure for any community. Instructions, lyrics, scores and educational materials for presenting the thirty documents of the UDHR in a musical setting are included with a new, non-binary version of the song, Every Living Soul.

Adaptable for all ages, this project is perfect for musicians and non-musicians, religious leaders, yoga and dance teachers. Get songs wherever music is streamed, full scores are available on the publisher’s website.

>> Learn more
>> January 15, 2024 Workshop