RACIAL HEALING AFFINITY GROUPS FOR EDUCATORS

The Teaching Well is thrilled to announce another year of its Racial Healing Affinity Groups for educators! This year, the transformative RHAG will be offered to educators nationwide over the course starting in October 2023. Groups will meet on Thursdays at 4:30pm PT for 1.5hrs with a passionate and diverse group of facilitators committed to racial healing and communal transformation. Register by August 21st at 9am PT.  Spots are filled on a first-come-first-served basis, so don’t hesitate to register today. To learn more about this program, visit www.theteachingwell.org/racialhealing. Reach out to community@theteachingwell.org if you have questions. 

 

A Journey with Embodied educators for anti-racism

What is it—

A set of five affinity groups of 15-50 educators convene in race-alike spaces to begin the process of affinity-based healing. Members listen, become open to one another’s perspectives and experiences, and allow themselves to be impacted and transformed by the experience. Members engage in somatic practices to address the trauma and bias that lives in the body.

When is it—

From October 2023 to April 2024 , all affinity groups meet for ninety minutes on Zoom once per month. See schedules below.

Why Now—

Conditions are fertile for profound societal transformation. Now is the time to explore the intersection of racial identity and education, understand the impact of racial trauma in the professional sphere and practice healing our bodies through somatics, and connected communication.

Program Fees +  Financial Accessibility—

The RHAG experience for the 2023-24 school year includes: Six 1.5hr affinity groups, a closing and opening ceremony, and supplemental support all led and designed by highly experienced somatic and racial healing facilitators. The real cost for this initiative is approximately $600 per person. Through generous funding from the Kellogg Foundation, The Teaching Well is able to offer this year’s programming at half the cost for Institutions and a quarter of the cost for Individuals.

Sliding Scale Rates: $75 - $150* - If you’re an individual who’s not financially supported by an institution and $150 is beyond your budget, there are a limited number of sliding scale payment plan spots with up to a 50 percent rate reduction. The individual would self-identify what amount they are able to pay based on the pay scale. If the reduced rate is still unaffordable please contact community@theteachingwell.org

Individual Rate: $150 - The individual rate is for individuals that are registering without financial support from an institution like a school, district, etc.

Institution Rates: $300 - The Institution Rate is for individuals whose attendance in RHAG is financially supported by an institution like a school or district. This is also that per person rate for any Institution that wishes to purchase a bundle of seats for its educators.

Redistribution Rates: $450 - The Redistribution Rate is for individuals and institutions with the financial means to pay for the full rate ($300) and to sponsor an individual seat ($150). The surplus resources from the redistribution rate allows for more individuals to access the RHAG experience at a Sliding scale rate.

* As you approach the question of pricing, please consider your current financial situation, identity-based privilege, relative earning potential, and access to financial support from your family/network. If you have people in your life who could support you to pay for this offering, please utilize that network. Paying the Individual or Institution rate allows The Teaching Well to offer discounts for those who need it. We prioritize our Sliding Scale Rate for Black and Indigenous people with financial need are prioritized here, as well as others whose marginalization creates financial barriers.

History in the Making

  • May 25, 2020

    The state-sanctioned murder of George Floyd, a 46-year-old BLACK man, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA triggers an ongoing wave of racial uprising across the nation.

  • June 12-17, 2020

    The Teaching Well responds to the unprocessed pain caused by systemic violence and hosts its first racial healing affinity groups for White, African-American, Latinx, AAPI, and Multi-racial educators, drawing 125 participants across the US and Canada.

  • October 5, 2020

    In response to the resounding request for expanded racial healing spaces, The Teaching Well applies for a $500K grant from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation (WKKF). The grant is part of WKKF’s Truth, Racial Healing, and Transformation effort, which works to create multi-sector collaborations to address the holistic and contemporary effects of racism.

  • February 1, 2021

    The Teaching Well receives $500K from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation to create a national series of racial affinity spaces for our nation’s educators and school leaders to dive into their racial identities and the ways they impact their work with students.

  • April 26, 2021

    The Teaching Well convenes a Wisdom Council of thought leaders in the fields of healing justice, somatics, mindful leadership, and racial healing to offer guidance and support throughout this emergent and groundbreaking work.

  • July 20, 2021

    The Teaching Well convenes a Multiracial Facilitator Council of 23 experienced somatic practitioners representing nine racial affinity groups: AAPI (Pacific Islander, East Asian-, and Southeast Asian-American), Black, Cross-Tribal Indigenous, Haudenosaunee (Onondaga Nation), LatinX, Mixed Race, SWANA (Southwest Asian and North African), South Asian, and White.

  • September 2021 - May 2022

    The Teaching Well holds space for 9 racial trauma healing affinity groups. These groups meet monthly with participants across the United States. In these groups, they work to heal and prepare to collaborate across race.

  • June 28-30, 2022

    The Teaching Well hosts a Multiracial Convening where participants from all affinity groups will come together to share their experiences from the past year, exchange healing practices, and build bridges across difference.

  • August - September 2022

    Applications for affinity group participation open.

  • October 2022 - April 2023

    A set of six affinity groups of 15-50 California educators convene in race-alike spaces to begin the process of affinity-based healing. Members listen, become open to one another’s perspectives and experiences, and allow themselves to be impacted and transformed by the experience. Members engage in somatic practices to address the trauma and bias that lives in the body.

Multiracial Facilitator Council

Affinity Group Meetings

 

Racial Healing Affinity Groups

All facilitator meetings and affinity group sessions will happen on Thursdays at 4:30pm PT / 7:30pm ET for 1.5hrs. See exact dates below:

Fall 2023

Oct 5 - RHAG Welcome Ceremony

Nov 2 - RHAG Session #1: Becoming Embodied

Dec 7 - RHAG Session #2: Staying Grounded

Spring 2024

Jan 18 - RHAG Session #3: Resourcing Cultural Roots

Feb 8 - RHAG Session #4: Horizontal Harm

Mar 7 - RHAG Session #5: Practicing Beloved Community

Apr 11 - RHAG Session #6: Vision of the Future

Apr 18 - Optional: RHAG Extension Session

Registration OPEN NOW

The full cost of the 6-month experience is due upon registration. Please visit the FAQ section of this page to ensure that this experience is right for you prior to registration. If you have any questions, reach out to community@theteachingwell.org.

Testimonials

“I often feel a grand emotional release after I attend our meetings. My cup is not only full but overflowing. I cry heartily after our meetings , often tears for my students and our people that I have been holding in or holding onto and I feel lighter the next day and I continue to support my own black babies and my students.”

-Black Participant

 

“The body awareness practices have made an impact on how I show up in meetings with my colleagues. I'm now more aware of what's going on with the parts of my body and how they're reacting to certain situations. And I also now have some tools to self-talk and think through those reactions and what they might mean, especially in situations where characteristics of white supremacy culture may be at play.”

-AAPI Participant

 

FAQs

WHO IS ELIGIBLE TO JOIN THE RACIAL HEALING AFFINITY GROUPS?

  • Educators (classroom teachers, principals, classroom aides, social workers, etc) who work in any TK-12 school

  • Educators of any race, age, gender etc

  • Educators who are interested in and open to racial healing for the benefit of themselves, their colleagues and their students

  • Educators who are able to commit to all of the affinity group dates and times listed above

WHAT RACIAL GROUPS ARE THE AFFINITY GROUPS DIVIDED INTO?

  • AAPI (*Pacific Islander, East Asian, South Asian, Middle Eastern, North African)

  • Black

  • Cross-Tribal Indigenous

  • Latin@/x

  • White

WHAT IF I CAN”T MAKE ALL THE MEETING DATES?

Attending all 6 sessions is essential to creating spaces that can accommodate vulnerability and community-building. We ask that you reschedule other engagements to be able to commit to the full experience or choose to not participate this academic year.

I work in higher education, an education non-profit, etc - am I still eligible to participate?

We so appreciate K-12 adjacent work but are only providing this offering to individuals who work in K-12 school environments. If you have questions about whether or not you’re eligible for this experience, reach out to community@theteachingwell.org.

Will these be in person or virtual?

All affinity groups will be held virtually on Zoom. We encourage folks to always join from a laptop in a quiet, private space as the content of the gatherings will invite vulnerability and intentional small group conversation.

Do I need to have experience in racial healing or somatics to participate?

Not at all! You only need to be open and willing to engage.

CAN I RECEIVE CPE CREDITS FOR ATTENDING / WILL I RECEIVE A CERTIFICATE AT THE END OF THIS EXPERIENCE?

At this time, we cannot offer CPE credits; however, for participants who complete all 6 sessions, we can offer a certificate of completion.

WILL THERE BE A MULTIRACIAL CONVENING THIS YEAR?

We learned so much from our first Multiracial Convening, but won’t be recreating that experience in the foreseeable future. We hope to continue deepening the impact of our race-alike affinity work and offering self-directed opportunities for individuals to connect across racial differences.

Do you work with students full-time?

Are you ready to heal racial trauma?

Are you willing to engage in cross-racial conversations?