Inspiring Others To Encourage Tomorrow Symposium

Bridging the Equity Gaps

We welcome parents, care providers, educators and community partners to join us for a free symposium to engage in strategies to support students facing unique challenges. Learn trauma informed practices that help address equity gaps in education for students who experience foster care, homelessness, and encounter the juvenile justice system. You’ll hear first-hand from individuals with lived experiences and gain valuable resources to better understand and support the intersectionality of students and families, ultimately helping to change their educational trajectories.

Continental breakfast provided. Lunch on your own.

Breakout Sessions

- Be An Ally! LGBTQ+ Supports, presented by Erica Hansenbeck, FUSD Climate & Culture

- Changing the Narrative for Foster & Homeless Youth Academic Achievement: Strategies & Tools for Families & Educators, presented by Dr. Lisa Mitchell, FUSD African-American Academic Acceleration (A4)

- Enhancing Academic Success for foster and homeless students through school counselor supports, presented by Nancy Witrado, FUSD College Career Readiness (CCR)

- Empowering Parents: Tips and Tools for Promoting School Attendance, presented by Norieda Perez, FUSD Attendance and SARB

- Helping Children Heal From Trauma, presented by Dr. Deshunna Ricks, I am Valuable

- Nothing About Us Without Us, presented by Jessica Chandler, Chandlers Healing Services

- Special Education & Section 504 Informational Session, presented Patrick Morrison, FUSD Special Education

- Understanding and Responding to Behavior Through an SEL Lens, presented by Joe Zavala, FUSD Social Emotional Learning

Click here to learn more about our breakout sessions.

Registration - Donations Accepted

While attendance is complimentary, we encourage you to consider donating to Project ACCESS senior scholarships. All proceeds will go towards empowering students who have overcome adversity to achieve their academic goals.

Please make your contribution at: https://foundation4fusd.org/donate/

Please direct donations to "Game Changers".

Keynote Speaker - Jessica Chandler

Jessica Chandler spent most of her adolescence bouncing between group homes and Juvenile Hall until she emancipated at age 18. Since then Jessica received her Bachelor's Degree in Psychology and Masters of Social Work from Cal State University Northridge.

Jessica is a national advocate for children and families involved in the child welfare and juvenile justice systems. She sits on the Board of Education Coordinating Council (ECC) on behalf of probation youth; The Nehemiah Project LA, supporting transition-aged youth in the LA area; and previously served as the Los Angeles County Ambassador for Child Welfare.

Jessica began her advocacy working with the Alliance for Children's Rights, a non-profit legal services agency where she focused on serving pregnant and parenting teens in foster care, and extension/proper implementation of foster care services until the age of 21. Jessica has been at the forefront of providing representation and advocacy on behalf of the Department of Children and Family Services and the families they serve for over 15 years. She has traveled the nation as a subject matter expert from local classrooms and locked facilities in Los Angeles County, California where she was born , to conference rooms, national media networks , legislative hearings, and even the White House in Washington, D.C., on behalf of our nations most vulnerable populations. Jessica participates in various stakeholder’s meetings, taskforce meetings, and implementation hearings across the nation in attempts to improve the outcomes for youth in the foster care/juvenile justice system. Jessica has provided numerous testimonies and advocacy for increased services and funding from the LA County Board of Supervisors on behalf of various vulnerable populations in the child welfare system which have resulted in the passage of legislation and the creation of the multiple task force and funding resources. In 2016, Jessica was selected to be a subject of the first ever motion picture documentary film about the Department of Children and Family Services, as a testimony of what child protection agencies can achieve when dedication and passion is coupled with the implementation of best practice and policy. The Documentary " Foster" made its world premiere on HBO in May 2019.

Jessica is a passionate speaker who believes that through partnership and love we can disrupt the negative outcomes prevailing in the lives of our nations most vulnerable populations. She is currently a social worker investigator with the Los Angeles County Dependency Lawyers. Jessica works with parents and families navigating LA county's dependency and juvenile justice systems to with the hopes to encourage and inspire them to overcome case issues and access critical resources to maintain or reunify with their families. Jessica utilized the supportive adults and resources in her life to change the trajectory of her future. Jessica believes that "we are all one caring person away from being a success story!"

Panel

Join us for an insightful panel discussion where experts will share their knowledge and experiences on navigating the educational system and utilizing resources to support students in foster care, those facing homelessness, and those involved with the juvenile justice system. Discover how to effectively use District and State data and Title 1 and LCAP funding to enhance student belonging, social-emotional well-being, and academic achievement.

• Ashlee Chiarito, Executive Officer-State and Federal
• Dr. Zerina Hargrove-Brown, Assistant Superintendent- Analysis, Measurement, Accountability
• Jammy Harris, Former Student of Project ACCESS
• Abigail Arii, Foster/Adoption Parent
• Chynna Bell, Former Parent of Project ACCESS