Education Community Council
The purpose of the Education Community Council is to act as a liaison between the Dudley Flood Center and the current K-12 education community. The Council will advise Dudley Flood Center staff in the development of programmatic and policy initiatives and act as Dudley Flood Center liaisons to schools and districts.
2022 nominations are closed.
To learn more, click here.
Who We Are
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 |
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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. |
Student Voices Blog Series |
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The purpose of the Student Blogs is to uplift the voices of students who are committed to disrupting systemic inequities in education. This blog series offers student the space to address issues of educational inequities that are persistent in their schools and districts. Click here if you are current K -12 student interested in submitting a blog addressing issues of educational inequities in NC. |
Color of Education |
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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.
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Click here to access archives. |
North Carolina School Desegregation & Resegregation
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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. |
Publications
Pre-K Through 12 Education and COVID-19: Landscape Analysis of Impact Indicators |
Study Group XVI Committee on Racial Equity: Action Plan and Recommendations |
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| 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.
Meet Our Team
Dr. Deanna Townsend-Smith
Senior Director
Ashley Kazouh
Associate Director
Malasia McClendon
Program Coordinator
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