Racial Affinity Groups: Sample Agendas

These following sample agendas model how facilitators can use light-touch facilitation to create safe and inspiring spaces within racial affinity groups. The sample agendas below are all designed to run from 75-90 minutes. We have found this amount of time to work well, but facilitators should feel free to adjust both the times and activities based on the needs and interests of their racial affinity groups. As the group continues to meet and build trust, they may choose to have longer meeting times.

Time	Activity
5 minutes	Welcome, introductions, and review agenda
10 minutes	Connections: Name an educator(s) who has inspired you. Listen to My Teacher Loves Me.
20 minutes	Forming ground rules and agreements for the group (Everyday Democracy produced this sample set of norms for virtual meetings).
30 minutes	Supporting teachers of color Resource: A Letter to Teachers of Color Protocol: A.W.E. Protocol
10 minutes	Feedback: Plus and Delta Create a way for participants to give feedback in two areas: Plus: What worked? Delta: What could be improves? Participants can share their pluses and deltas on sticky notes and attach to chart papers labeled Plus and Delta; alternatively, the two categories can be placed on a whiteboard, chart paper, and people can write in comments in the two sections, or the group can just go around in a circle and share. If working virtually a Padlet, Jamboard, or other online tool could be used in place of chart paper.
5 minutes	Suggestions for next agenda
	Adjourn

Agendas for Discussing Texts, Videos, or Other Resources

Sample A

Time	Activity
5 minutes	Welcome, introductions, and reflections on feedback from the last meeting
10 minutes	Connections: What has been a bright spot in your week, day, year?
10 minutes	Review agenda, meeting agreements, and outcomes
35 minutes	Supporting teachers of color Resource: Dear White Teachers: You Can’t Love Your Black Students If You Don’t Know Them Protocol: 4 A's Protocol
10 minutes	Feedback: Plus and Delta Create a way for participants to give feedback in two areas: Plus: What worked? Delta: What could be improves? Participants can share their pluses and deltas on sticky notes and attach to chart papers labeled Plus and Delta; alternatively, the two categories can be placed on a whiteboard, chart paper, and people can write in comments in the two sections, or the group can just go around in a circle and share. If working virtually a Padlet, Jamboard, or other online tool could be used in place of chart paper.
5 minutes	Set agenda for next meeting
	Adjourn

Sample B

Time	Activity
5 minutes	Welcome, introductions, and reflections on feedback from the last meeting
10 minutes	Connections: Head, Heart, and Hands (view ice breakers)
10 minutes	Review agenda, meeting agreements, and outcomes
35 minutes	Supporting teachers of color Resource: America to Me Protocol: What surprised, angered or disappointed you? How does today’s film resonate with your experience as a student? To the lives of your current students? What are you doing to combat the inequities mentioned in the film? What more should be done?
10 minutes	Feedback: Plus and Delta Create a way for participants to give feedback in two areas: Plus: What worked? Delta: What could be improves? Participants can share their pluses and deltas on sticky notes and attach to chart papers labeled Plus and Delta; alternatively, the two categories can be placed on a whiteboard, chart paper, and people can write in comments in the two sections, or the group can just go around in a circle and share. If working virtually a Padlet, Jamboard, or other online tool could be used in place of chart paper.
5 minutes	Set agenda for next meeting
	Adjourn

Sample Agendas for Discussing Dilemmas or Teacher Work

Sample A

Time	Activity
5 minutes	Welcome, introductions, and reflections on feedback from the last meeting
10 minutes	Connections: What (or whom) are you feeling grateful for right now?
10 minutes	Review agenda, meeting agreements, and outcomes
35 minutes	Supporting teachers of color Guiding questions for discussion: What is something that you are doing in your classroom right now that you are excited about? Does anyone have a struggle that you would like help with? Do you have any resources that you have been using that you’d like to share? Suggested protocol: Ping Pong Protocol
10 minutes	Feedback: Plus and Delta Create a way for participants to give feedback in two areas: Plus: What worked? Delta: What could be improves? Participants can share their pluses and deltas on sticky notes and attach to chart papers labeled Plus and Delta; alternatively, the two categories can be placed on a whiteboard, chart paper, and people can write in comments in the two sections, or the group can just go around in a circle and share. If working virtually a Padlet, Jamboard, or other online tool could be used in place of chart paper.
5 minutes	Set agenda for next meeting
	Adjourn

Sample B

Time	Activity
5 minutes	Welcome, introductions, reflections on feedback from the last meeting
10 minutes	Connections: What was your experience with race as a child?
10 minutes	Review agenda, meeting agreements, and outcomes
30 minutes	Supporting teachers of color Use a protocol to guide teachers through sharing a piece of work of their own or looking at student work: Sharing and analyzing successes Getting feedback on teacher work Sharing and discussing student work
10 minutes	Feedback: Plus and Delta Create a way for participants to give feedback in two areas: Plus: What worked? Delta: What could be improves? Participants can share their pluses and deltas on sticky notes and attach to chart papers labeled Plus and Delta; alternatively, the two categories can be placed on a whiteboard, chart paper, and people can write in comments in the two sections, or the group can just go around in a circle and share. If working virtually a Padlet, Jamboard, or other online tool could be used in place of chart paper.
5 minutes	Suggestions for next agenda
	Adjourn

This resource was produced by the Great Schools Partnership and is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

How Can We Help Your Racial Affinity Groups Succeed?

Check out the rest of our racial affinity group tools. Also, contact us for more information about future professional learning group facilitator trainings.