In November, Deep Center held our second annual Unconference—Calling the Village, a space and place for educators of all types to gather, imagine, and create community with each other. 

The Unconference is one component of Deep Center’s programs for educators who share our commitment to fostering educational experiences where each person—including teachers, along with young people and family members—is valued in their full and complex humanity. “We know that working in education comes with many challenges and rapid changes,” says Associate Director of Restorative Practice and Culture, Alexis Goodwin. “What the Unconference offers is a way for all types of educators to find community and create action steps to best support the future of education we all want to be a part of.”

What’s An Unconference

An “unconference” is a participant-driven conference model. Unconferences, in collaboration with Georgia Southern University’s College of Education, prioritize participant voices (in this case local educators) as leaders and decision-makers, in contrast to traditional conferences that often feature researchers, academics, or experts that are unfamiliar with the specific challenges and strengths of a local context.

The spirit of an unconference reflects our Deep Center approach to learning and community. Our Unconference will feature opportunities for participants to be playful, creative, and reflective and serve as a platform to elevate participants’ visions for how teaching and learning could look like in Savannah-Chatham County and the surrounding areas.

Our Unconference exists to lift up good work being done across the Savannah-Chatham area through learning and community-building activities led by local educators, alum Deep Center’s National Writing Project Summer Institute. Participants have the chance to listen and share their experiences as an educator and a full person.

“Our attendees represented a much wider range of folks than just traditional K-12 educators,” says Megan Ave’Lallemant, Associate Director of Transformative Culture. “We also work with a number of student teachers who are looking at going into education and who are looking to connect with current educators, as well as folks in community education and educators in higher education.” 

Not Just a Day, But a Calling

The Unconference happens every year and educators of all types are encouraged to get involved. To learn more, visit Deep’s program interest form. 

“Our hope is that if this is an educator’s first touchpoint with us, that it will be the first of them coming back to other events” says Mel Kutner, Director of of Restorative Practice and Culture. “We have so many opportunities for educators, whether that is joining our Fierce Self Compassion workshops in the winter, getting involved with Healing Schools, or becoming a leader in their school in their own right.” 

To learn more about Calling the Village: 2024 Unconference, click here, or get in contact with our Healing Schools team!