A Welcome and Invitation from the Planning Committee:
North Dakota Study Group
Annual Meeting
February 14th – 17th, 2008
Agenda:
Courage During the Storm: Organizing for Community Action and Education
Location: Resurrection Center for Collaborative Education
Woodstock, Il.
On behalf of the 2008 Planning Committee, we invite you to attend the 36th meeting of the North Dakota Study Group. The meeting will take place, on President’s Day weekend, February 14th-17th, 2008, in Woodstock, Illinois.
At our planning committee meeting this summer, we focused on the vital importance of organizing: organizing for broad social change, organizing to strengthen classroom work, and everything in between. Through these discussions, we came to our theme for this year: “Courage During the Storm: Organizing for Community Action and Education.” Our theme comes particularly from the work of the Highlander Center, but also from the many voices of organizing, resistance and creating the new that have infused NDSG from its inception.
Highlander Research and Education Center:
In the interest of developing an agenda that supports our work as educators and activists, we will open the 2008 gathering with a presentation from long-time Highlander activists. Since 1932, Highlander has gathered workers, grassroots leaders, community organizers, educators, and researchers to address the most pressing social, environmental and economic problems facing the people of the South. They have had a unique role in the larger social and labor history through much of the last century.
The People's Institute:
The People’s Institute for Survival and Beyond (PISAB) is a national and international collective of anti-racist, multicultural community organizers and educators dedicated to building an effective movement for social transformation. They engage in anti-racism training and organizing support. They will help us think more deeply about racism and organizing in our schools, communities and work.
Fyre Youth Squad:
Those of you who attended in 2007 will recall the powerful presentation from Broderick Webb from New Orleans, who talked about the Fyre Youth Squad. This year, Broderick will be back with Squad members to share with us their experiences and insights about educational organizing in New Orleans. Fyre Youth have brought Bill Cosby to their school, John McDonogh High; held rallies in New Orleans and Baton Rouge; and engaged in the daily organizing necessary for social change. Teachers Panel: Teachers are central to our work and to the heart of how we create action plans that serve the children in our communities. This year, we will hear from teachers new to the classroom who will share their experience at the intersections of organizing and teaching.
Nebraska STARS Program:
Nebraska has developed a statewide system of assessments that is fundamentally unlike the state tests that control schooling in every other state. A Nebraska panel will explore the development and impact of the Nebraska STARS program. Assessment Director Pat Roschewski, researcher and author of Reclaiming Assessment Chris Gallagher, and Jan Hoegh, former principal and now Department staffer will share the Nebraska experience with us.
Each year, we have a reading to discuss. This year, we ask people to read The Long Haul, Myles Horton’s autobiography and the Highlander story. The book is “a testament to power of people to triumph over injustice and inequality.” If you do not already have it, please purchase it from Highlander directly, allowing them to make a little extra on each one. Go to http://www.highlandercenter.org, click on Resources and then the book catalogue for 2006-2007. It can also be ordered from Amazon.com.
As is our tradition, there will be Works in Progress (WIP) sessions, Home Groups, and Affinity Groups. If you would like to share your ongoing work with our colleagues in a small WIP session, send a description to Helen Featherstone (feather1@msu.edu) and Jay Featherstone (josfe@msu.edu). Please include your proposed format and whether it will be a one hour or two hour session.
In an effort to maintain the diversity of our membership, we have created a financial aid fund. If you would like to request financial aid, please address a request, before December 1, to Mary Harris (mary.harris@unt.edu). Preference will be given to requests received before that date. If you would like to contribute to the financial aid fund, please include it with your registration.
We look forward to the collective sharing of wisdom, the good fellowship, the mix of the political and the poetical, the give and take of a group of people who are diverse and enjoy a lively sharing of theory and practice. We appreciate the unrushed time frame that allows for the development of our thinking and a lasting commitment to creative consideration of the possibilities for change.
Please join us. Note that we mostly arrive Thursday evening so we can get started right away on Friday morning. On Sunday, we conclude early enough for people to make early afternoon flights home.
Committee Members:
Co-Chairs: Carol Foresta, Francisco Guajardo, Monty Neill
Planning Committee: Abdulla Alnouri, Bill Bennett, Joan Bradbury, Phyllis Bretholtz, Rebecca DeCola, Helen Featherstone, Jay Featherstone, Molly Foresta, Richard Gray, Mary Harris, Sid Massey, Greta McHaney-Trice, Carol Montag, Lynne Strieb, and Ann Wiener.
Logistical Details:
Costs:
This year the registration fee is $450 for a double occupancy room, $550 for a single for registrations received on or before December 15, 2007. Fees increase $25 after December 15, 2007. There is a rolling registration with a deadline of January 15, 2008 unless all seats fill before that date. The meeting fills very quickly and registration is on a first come, first served basis.
Partial Conference Attendance: Daily Conference Fee - $100 and includes meals for that day; Overnight room charge (for one night) - $150 and includes meals for that day.
Registration for the 2008 Meeting has closed due to capacity attendance - however, you can still add your name to the Waiting List for spots that open due to cancellations. Contact Judy Lescarbeau, Buxton School, by email at: Office@BuxtonSchool.org or by phone at (413) 458-3919.
Bus & Transportation Information:
Flights should be booked to O'Hare. We advise you to arrive on Thursday evening to be ready for the early morning session on Friday. Please remember as you make your reservations that there will be one bus from O'Hare Airport at 7:30 PM Thursday night and one bus back to O'Hare on Sunday leaving at 11:00 AM, arriving there in time for l:00 pm or later flights. The bus will be outside of the baggage claim area of American Airlines at Door 3A, lower level on Thursday night. There will be no bus service on Friday or Saturday. The cost for the bus is $30.00 each way.
If you miss the bus, you can call H & M Limo Service at 888-428-4785, McHenry Limo Service at 1-800-344-4466 or GNT Limo Service at 815-455-4060. The cost of a limo for one person is approximately $50.00.
If you are interested in a light supper when you arrive Thursday evening, a cold supper will be served from 6:00 - 8:00 PM. Cost is $10.00. Attention Bus Riders: You will not arrive at the Center in time for this meal, please plan accordingly.
The Resurrection Center at 2710 S. Country Club Road in Woodstock, IL 60098 is located 30 miles northwest of O'Hare Airport, about 90 minutes from downtown Chicago. The Center's telephone number is 815-338-1032 and their fax is 815-338-1017.
If you are driving from Chicago, take I-90 northwest (follow the Rockford signs) to Route 47 North. Exit to the right and continue l4 miles. Turn right onto Country Club Road for approximately 4 miles. The driveway, on the left side of Country Club Road, is marked by stone pillars.
Directions and Online Map to Resurrection Center
Contact Information
For general registration information, please contact:
Judy Lescarbeau at 413-458-3919 ext., 101 or email: office@BuxtonSchool.org.
For specific rooming information please contact:
Carol Montag by email: carmontag@comcast.net.
NDSG Diversity Financial Aid Fund:
To maintain the diversity of membership, we ask that you contribute whatever you can to the Financial Aid Fund established several years ago. Please make your check payable to the Financial Aid Fund, NDSG.
To apply for financial aid:
The NDSG Financial Aid Fund was created to increase the diversity of the NDSG Conference. Diversity is conceived broadly and can include ethnic and cultural background, age, region, social class, etc. In your application for financial aid, please let us know how you would contribute to the diversity of the Conference. Please include your background, what you are doing now, and why you would like to attend the NDSG Conference. Please be specific about the amount you need.
Submit requests for aid, before December 1, 2007, to Mary Harris (mary.harris@unt.edu). Preference will be given to requests received before that date.
Cancellation Policy:
Any persons canceling their participation in NDSG Annual Meeting before February 1, 2008, will be charged a $25 administration fee with the balance returned to the member. On or after February 1, 2008, no refund is guaranteed. We will endeavor to make partial refunds on an individual basis, depending on Resurrection Center’s final invoice.
