The Dudley Flood Center for Educational Equity and Opportunity (Flood Center) will serve as a hub to identify and connect organizations, networks, and leaders to address issues of equity, access, and opportunity in education across North Carolina. The Flood Center is born out of the findings and recommendations of the Forum’s Study Group XVI: Expanding Educational Opportunity (2016), co-chaired by Dr. Flood, as well as the Forum’s Color of Education partnership, which aims to achieve racial equity in education across North Carolina through building connections and engagement across fields of research, policy and practice. The Flood Center aims to continue this work by informing discussions on policies impacting equity & social justice, supporting and advancing equity-focused educator programming, and promote discussions around how schools are funded at the local and state levels, in hopes of achieving equity, access, and opportunity for each and every young person in North Carolina.
Vision
The Dudley Flood Center for Educational Equity & Opportunity envisions an education system that provides every student in North Carolina with access to equitable, culturally responsive, and high-quality educational opportunities that lead to success in college, career, and citizenship.
Mission
The Dudley Flood Center for Educational Equity & Opportunity strives to work collaboratively to take action toward addressing issues of systemic racism by advocating for structural changes in policy and practice to build an equitable education system that meets the social, emotional, and academic needs of NC’s diverse student population.
Student Voices Webinar Series
So often we engage in discussions about education without including students, our primary stakeholders. This Flood Center series on Educational Equity and Opportunity leads with the voices of our students. Please join us monthly for a 1.5 hour session that will provide us space to hear from and engage with students and one another.
Color of Education
Color of Education is a partnership between the Public School Forum of North Carolina, the Samuel DuBois Cook Center on Social Equity at Duke University, and the Center for Child and Family Policy at Duke University’s Sanford School of Public Policy. Sandra Wilcox Conway of Conway and Associates also provided key partnership design for Color of Education. The partnership seeks to build bridges across the fields of research, policy, and practice and bring together the knowledge and perspectives of communities, educators, policymakers, experts and other key stakeholders focused on achieving racial equity and dismantling systemic racism in education across the state of North Carolina.
Equity Digest
The Dudley Flood Center proudly presents the “Equity Digest” a monthly newsletter designed to keep readers abreast of the work of the Flood Center as well as evidence-based research, statewide programmatic and policy efforts, and professional development and funding opportunities that promote educational equity in North Carolina public schools.
Click here to view the archives.
Color of Education Past Summits
Click here to view past Summit info.
Color of Education Event Calendar
Mapping the Movement
North Carolina School Desegregation & Resegregation
North Carolina’s commitment to providing an equal public education to all students within the state began in 1776, when it included the right to public education in its original constitution. Following the landmark Brown v. Board of Education ruling in 1954, many Southern states engaged in immediate backlash, publicly proclaiming that they were not giving up their segregated system of schooling. While North Carolina’s approach to desegregation was less violent than other Southern states, it was by no means progressive, at least immediately following the Brown decision. However, 20 years after the Brown ruling, North Carolina would be recognized nationwide as the blueprint for successful integration strategies.
This timeline explores the policies, court cases, and important historical events that shaped not only school desegregation in North Carolina, but also the resegregation that has occurred in more recent years. This project attempts to highlight the lived experiences and stories of those who lived through desegregation, and fought to create equal schooling opportunities for all North Carolinians. To learn more about any of the topics covered in this timeline, please consult our resources page and literature review. We would like to thank Jenn Ayscue, Sandra Conway, Danita Mason-Hogans, and the UNC Southern Oral History Program for their support, expertise, and guidance throughout this project.
| Dr. Tawannah Allen (Jackson), High Point University | Dr. Scott Elliott, Watauga County Schools | Ann McColl, The Innovation Project |
| Tom Bradshaw, Jr. Public School Forum Board Emeritus Member | Dr. Alice Garrett, Flood Group | Dr. Marjorie Campo Ringler, East Carolina University |
| Matt Bristow-Smith, Edgecombe Early College High School | Dr. Anthony Graham, Winston Salem State University | Dr. Kathy Spencer, Southeast Education Alliance |
| Tracey Burns, NC Department of Natural and Cultural Resources | Dr. Patricia Hilliard, Friday Institute | David Young (BOD representative), Participate Learning |
| Renee Cavan, Truist | Dr. Martinette Horner, UNC-Chapel Hill | Dr. Dudley Flood, Honorary Member (non-voting) |
| Nicky Charles | Dr. Connie Locklear, Public Schools of Robeson County Indian Affairs |
Background
To expand, deepen, and elevate our policy and programmatic work centered on educational equity, in October 2020, the Forum launched the Dudley Flood Center for Educational Equity and Opportunity (Flood Center) through a catalytic grant provided by the Burroughs Wellcome Fund and Sandra and Peter Conway to operationalize the Center. The Flood Center’s namesake is Dr. Dudley Flood, an educator and champion of school integration in North Carolina. In the years following the Brown v. Board of Education decision that mandated school desegregation in the United States, Dr. Flood and his long time colleague, Dr. Gene Causby (1934 – 2014), traveled to every corner of the state to unite divided communities and work toward integrating our public schools. His legendary commitment to school integration and his belief that every child deserves an equitable educational opportunity will serve as the foundation and beacon for the work of the Flood Center. Dr. Flood is a long-time Board member of the Forum.
The work of the Flood Center will leverage our strengths and knowledge gained from the Forum’s Study Group XVI Report: Expanding Educational Opportunity in North Carolina and the Color of Education Initiative to partner with schools and districts to make tangible progress toward educational equity and opportunity. We seek to build on these ongoing efforts and our role as a statewide convener of diverse stakeholders to create opportunities for system-wide changes that will help to advance equity for communities and populations directly impacted by systemic inequities.
About Dr. Dudley Flood
Dr. Dudley Flood is an educator and champion of school integration in North Carolina. In the years following the Brown v. Board of Education decision that mandated school desegregation in the United States, Dr. Flood traveled to every corner of the state to unite divided communities and work toward integrating our public schools. His legendary commitment to school integration and his belief that every child deserves an equitable educational opportunity will serve as the foundation and beacon for the work of the Forum’s new Center for Educational Equity and Opportunity.
2022-2023 Educational Equity Fellow
The Dudley Flood Center is excited to announce that we are seeking an 2022-2023 Educational Equity Fellow! Last year our Fellows exhibited their passion for educational equity and strengthened their research, evaluation, and leadership skills through the Fellowship. We are thrilled to be able to support another graduate student towards their goals!
Our Team
Deanna Townsend-Smith, Ed.D.
In her capacity as Senior Director, Dr. Townsend-Smith will advance and expand the current programmatic and policy efforts of the Flood Center in an effort to achieve its mission of addressing issues of systemic racism by advocating for structural changes in policy and practice to build an equitable education system that meets the social, emotional, and academic needs of NC’s diverse student population.
Dr. Deanna Townsend-Smith has been working in education for over 20 years. In 2014, she earned her doctorate in Educational Leadership. She has worked and gained expertise in a variety of roles, including as a teacher, mentor, new teacher coach, administrator and, most recently, as the Director of Board Policy and Operations for the North Carolina State Board of Education. Prior to that role, Dr. Townsend-Smith served as the assistant director in the NC Office of Charter Schools. Deanna has a passion for education and has dedicated her life’s work to the field. Most of her career has been spent in North Carolina, where she resides with her husband and son. In her spare time, she enjoys spending quality time with friends and family, reading, and traveling.
Ashley Kazouh
Ashley is the Associate Director for the Dudley Flood Center for Educational Equity and Opportunity at the Public School Forum of North Carolina. In this position, Ashley guides policy and research priorities related to racial equity, manages the Flood Center Fellowship program, and oversees the programmatic efforts of the Flood Center. Her current research has centered around strengthening the teacher pipeline, focusing on understanding the barriers within licensure policies and requirements that prevent candidates, especially those from diverse backgrounds, from entering the teaching workforce within North Carolina. Ashley is also a member of the Governor’s DRIVE Task Force, charged with creating a plan of action to increase racial, ethnic, and linguistic diversity within North Carolina’s educator workforce.
Before moving to the Triangle, Ashley earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology from Wake Forest University. After college, she gained a passion for education and racial equity through influential experiences such as facilitating social justice workshops for students as an Americorps member in Memphis, TN, and collaborating with community members to promote the academic, socio-emotional, and behavioral well-being of students as a Program Coordinator at Big Brothers Big Sisters.
To continue making strides in social justice, Ashley completed a dual Masters’ degree in Social Work and Public Administration at the University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill. Her focus on understanding and addressing systemic issues surrounding race, organizational culture, and practices has been a consistent motivator and has validated the work she does at the Public School Forum of North Carolina. Ashley recognizes the disparities and inequities within education and nonprofit leadership and as a native of High Point, NC, she has a strong passion for advocating for all people throughout the state.
Malasia McClendon
Malasia is the Program Coordinator at the Dudley Flood Center for Educational Equity and Opportunity. As the Program Coordinator, she provides overall support and organization for the Flood center, manages and coordinates communications, and drafts and disseminates information about the Flood Center’s programmatic and research efforts. Additionally, she supports the programmatic work of the center such as the Student Voices Webinar Series, Rural Teacher Leader Network, Color of Education Summit, and other programmatic efforts as needed. Prior to joining the Public School Forum, Malasia was a Fellow at the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation where she made funding recommendations in accordance with the Foundation’s grantmaking strategies, organizational values, and priority areas. Additionally, she managed the recruitment and selection processes for the Non-Profit Internship Program and the Fellowship Program.
Malasia is a native of North Carolina and earned a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from North Carolina State University. During her undergraduate experience, she participated in the North Carolina General Assembly Internship Program, supported research as a Research Assistant at the T.E.A.C.H. National Center, and interned with the James B. Hunt Institute. On campus, Malasia created safe spaces for students of color and those disproportionately affected by systemic inequities by reactivating the campus chapter of the NAACP. Additionally, Malasia participated and led service trips internationally to teach English. Malasia has a heart for education. She aspires to experience a world where education policy is informed by quality research and accounts for historical inequities faced by students and communities.
Our Funders
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