Center on Culture, Race & Equity

CCRE Collective

The Center on Culture, Race & Equity (CCRE) at Bank Street College is launching a new year of the CCRE Collective, an online cohort program designed to support teams in reimagining and redesigning inequitable systems in learning and community environments. Whether you work for a school, district, governmental agency, or non-profit, the CCRE Collective will guide you in your journey to building inclusive and anti-racist environments where children, families, and staff of all backgrounds can thrive.

The CCRE Collective will run from October 2023 to May 2024. We welcome organizations invested in equitable systems change and that can support the full participation of three to four key staff members with experience leading conversations about race, equity, and inclusion. This year, we will be accepting up to 10 organizations (three to four individuals per organization) for a total of up to 40 cohort participants.

This year’s program will include:

  • Four foundational workshops designed to build your capacity for equitable systems change
  • Four Communities of Practice that facilitate real-time application of skills and knowledge
  • Four Coaching for Equity Circles that provide both direct coaching for equity experiences while building your capacity to coach others
  • Insights and tools to navigate transformation in an organizational context
  • A cohort-based model designed to foster connections and relationships that will sustain you personally and professionally in the journey towards a more equitable world

Submit an Application

Read More About Our 2022-23 Program

Programming at a Glance

  • Participants & Key Dates

    Qualified organizations must:

    • Demonstrate previous knowledge and work related to equity and anti-racist practice within their organization
    • Have a clear understanding of organization-specific equity concerns, resources, and goals
    • Have a team of 3-4 that is representative of different roles across the organization (e.g., a parent coordinator, teacher, an administrator, and a parent)
    • Have a clear plan and commitment to protect time and space for team to participate in Collective programming during the traditional work day

    Key Dates:

    Event Date/Time Link
    Information Session 1 Wednesday, May 10
    4:00 PM – 5:00 PM EDT
    Register
    Early Bird Applications Due* Friday, May 26 Apply Now
    Information Session 2 Tuesday, June 6
    10:00 AM – 11:00 AM EDT
    Register
    General Applications Due Monday, August 21 Apply Now
    Decisions Announced Monday, September 18 N/A
    Participant Confirmation Date Friday, September 1 N/A
    Opening Session (Foundational Workshop 1) October 2023 – TBD N/A

    *Teams who apply by the early bird deadline and are accepted will receive two (2) additional sessions with a CCRE facilitator during the 2023-24 school year to support their work.

  • Our Model

    CCRE Collective programming at a glance

    All CCRE Collective sessions will be three hours long and will take place during standard working hours (US Eastern Time). Dates are estimates and subject to change at this time. 

    Foundational Workshops:

    The Foundational Workshops will provide grounding knowledge that will support our work across all sessions throughout the year. The four workshops will focus on four foundational equity elements:

    Workshop 1 | Understanding Racism: Then and Now (October 2023)
    This foundational session will deepen participants’ understanding of the origins and current-day manifestations of racism in American society. This grounding knowledge will be used to explore effective anti-racism practices and policies.

    Workshop 2 | Push-out, Erasure, and Criminalization in Education Settings (November 2023)
    Participants will explore how BIPOC, poor, disabled, and LGBTQ+ children are disproportionately pushed out of education settings. We will critically analyze how institutions, policies, practices, and mindsets often protect and sustain dominant culture to the detriment of historically excluded youth in schools.

    Workshop 3 | Anti-Racist Practice and Designing for Brilliance (January 2024)
    In this session, participants will develop/deepen the mindsets, skills, and practices that can interrupt inequitable practices and policies. We will use research-backed, strengths-based approaches to design for the brilliance of all students.

    Workshop 4 | Leading for Equity (March 2024)
    In this final session, participants will begin to develop strategic plans and action steps that will be used in their organizations to advance equity. We will reflect on our learning journey and commit to maintaining a network of support as people lead for equity in their communities.

    Coaching for Equity Circles:

    Grounded in the CCRE Coaching for Equity Model, the Coaching for Equity Circles will provide participants with direct coaching experiences while building their capacity to coach others. Circles will be held in:

    • October 2023
    • November 2023
    • February 2024
    • April 2024

    Communities of Practice:

    The Communities of Practice will provide a space for participants to learn by building relationships with one another as a cohort and practicing the application of tools and protocols to solve emergent equity challenges in their communities. Communities of Practice will be held in:

    • November 2023
    • December 2023
    • February 2024
    • May 2024
  • What to Expect

    What you can expect from us:

    • Experienced and caring facilitators with a deep investment in your growth and success
    • A holding environment where people are encouraged to practice, test, and grow in their skillset while being held accountable for their energy and impact
    • An eagerness to learn and grow from your expertise and feedback

    What you can expect to experience:

    • Research-based programming that is firmly rooted in the principles of adult learning
    • Action-oriented programming that results in the development of strategic plans and action steps
    • An intimate group experience where vulnerability fuels growth and change; a lifelong network of equity-minded professionals in your field
    • Discomfort, challenge, community, laughter, and love

    What we expect from you:

    • A $30,000 institutional investment for a team of three from your organization, or $32,000 for a team of four (see next tab for additional details on pricing).
  • Program Cost

    Our program requires a $30,000 institutional investment for a team of three from your organization, or a $32,000 institutional investment for a team of four. If you believe your team is a good fit for the CCRE Collective but the cost to participate presents a barrier, please reach out to us

  • Apply Now

     Applications to the CCRE Collective are due in two phases:

    • Early Bird Application Deadline: Friday, May 26, 2023
      • Teams who apply by the early bird deadline and are accepted will receive two (2) additional sessions with a CCRE facilitator during the 2023-24 school year to support their work.
    • General Application Deadline: Monday, August 21, 2023

    Applicants who are accepted will be notified by August 14, 2023, and are asked to confirm their participation by September 1.

    Apply Now

  • FAQ

    If you have any questions that are not addressed in the FAQ or elsewhere on the CCRE Collective website, please feel free to contact us at ccre@bankstreet.edu.

Info Session Recording: The CCRE Collective

Want to learn more about the CCRE Collective? Watch a recording of our recent information session.
Participant Voices
I have a sense that the equity issues that we’re facing are super real because I hear them echoed in the sentiments of other people in this collective… that this is very much part of what schools are going through together, or this nation is going through together, this country… is in some ways reassuring. And also, I think I have a sense of the marathon that this work is, as opposed to the sprint.
Year 2 Participant
Participant Voices
One of the big things we’ve been doing… is around the ‘why.’ Folks are now getting to a place of really untangling why they specifically should do this work, need to do this work, and are in fact here doing this work.
Year 2 Participant
Participant Voices
CCRE has provided me with the knowledge, organizational integrity, and fire to keep myself accountable into doing equity work. I am so grateful for all the work you have put in during the call and behind the scenes. I feel ready to continue to bring what I have learned with my colleagues and transform our school community.
Year 1 Participant
Participant Voices
Thank you for your leadership and guidance! Each session left me thinking more deeply about systemic racism and helped me to begin thinking about ways to make change happen. This is a complex and highly emotional topic, and some sessions were heavy. But, each time, I came away with hope and found more joy in my work. Now I have a concrete plan to move forward.
Year 1 Participant
Participant Voices
We, as a community, really didn’t have access to the tools and resources that we needed to be able to do this work effectively. We didn’t have the language, the grounding, a baseline shared understanding, or way to kind of begin to communicate and even see how serious the issues alike are and how much they’re impacting.
Year 1 Participant
Participant Voices
One thing I’ve appreciated about this experience is that [CCRE] brought forth conversations that I hadn’t even thought about and doing it in a way that is really honest and vulnerable. Those experiences have been really, really valuable.
Year 1 Participant
Participant Voices
I’m able to come at [equity issues] from a different perspective or a different lens, which I didn’t have before. I think it promotes a lot more conversation within the people around me as well. It opened up something that wasn’t there before.
Year 1 Participant
Participant Voices
The coaching has such an impact on how we go through our daily time at school… I think the act of listening is something that we are all doing more of and in a more deliberate way. And I know I’m hearing deeper questions being asked.
Year 1 Participant