The Prichard Committee has used our Equity Lens Campaign to focus and highlight how equity is embedded into public education in Kentucky, as well as the importance and relevance of equity in schools. As we continue this exploration, Prichard has identified several experts in equity that will share their perspectives on where we are in the Bluegrass and where we need to progress to improve equity outcomes. 

Our final interview is with Dr. Jessica D. Klanderud (Clan-der-rude). Dr. Klanderud is the Director of the Carter G. Woodson Center for Interracial Education and an Assistant Professor of African and African American History at Berea College.   

Dr. Klanderud stated: “When we think about the variety of learners that we have in the classroom, whether it be at the Pre-K level all the way up to higher ed, everyone needs to hear their story in a way that they can respond to.” 

She received her master’s degree and Ph.D. in History from Carnegie Mellon University where she studied African American History, American History, Comparative Slavery, and the History of Poverty in America. She is currently working on a manuscript entitled, Struggle for the Street: Social Networks and the Struggle for Civil Rights, a study of formal and informal social networks and power on the streets during the Civil Rights Movement in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.  Her research focuses on neighborhood street-level dynamics of class and race as African Americans defined their own spaces in the 20th Century.

Author

Chaka Cummings joins the Prichard Committee from Sayre School in Lexington, where he served as the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusivity co-chair, as well as a middle school social studies teacher. Over nearly 2 decades, his career has spanned the gamut as an educator, school administrator, and coach. Chaka has worked with several schools to help advance their DEI practice, leading affinity groups, designing and facilitating professional development for faculty and staff, and supporting numerous school-wide committees focused on equitable policies and practices. Chaka received his Bachelor’s in Education Studies from Berea College. He received his MBA from the University of Kentucky. Chaka is, also, pursuing his Ph. D in Studies in Higher Education, focused on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion through the University of Kentucky.

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