In this full day workshop, Lorena Germán will demonstrate how teaching for and about justice is not only conceptual, but a praxis; it's not magic, but it is through these practices that we work on healing as an outcome of education. We need an innovative approach, offered in Textured Teaching. Grounded in culturally sustaining pedagogies (Alim, Paris 2017), Textured Teaching is an embodiment of this pedagogy for increased engagement, a striving toward justice, and acute skill-building.

Participants will: 

• Understand and name the four traits of Textured Teaching 

• Identify practices they can implement immediately to bring back a culturally sustaining pedagogy

• Workshop ideas for what to do in their classrooms, schools, and roles 

Through this workshop, participants will be able to move from theory into action and see sample lessons and units they can build their own ideas upon. There is too much at stake for us educators to be inactive in response to what we, students included, are facing.

Lorena is a three-time nationally awarded Dominican American educator focused on anti-racist education. She has taught English Language Arts from 6th through 12th grades in both public and private schools. Her work has been featured in the New York Times, NPR, PBS, Rethinking Schools, EdWeek, Learning for Justice Magazine, and more. She published The Anti Racist Teacher: Reading Instruction Workbook, and Textured Teaching: A Framework for Culturally Sustaining Practices about curriculum & lesson development focused on social justice. She’s a co-founder of #DisruptTexts through which she encourages teachers to work toward an inclusive ELA curriculum. As Co-Founder and Academic Director at Multicultural Classroom she leads professional development for teachers and creates teaching materials with and for leading literacy organizations. Lorena is also a former Chair of NCTE’s Committee Against Racism and Bias in the Teaching of English. She lives in Tampa, Florida.

Registration includes a copy of Textured Teaching: A Framework for Culturally Sustaining Practices. Attendees will receive five CEUs.

         --Program Schedule--

Breakfast and Registration opens at 8:30

Workshop 9:00-3:00 with break for lunch (provided)

 --Pre-Service Teachers--

A registration discount is available. Additional info is in described in the registration types.

**LOCATION**
Minnesota Landscape Arboretum
3675 Arboretum Dr, Chaska, MN 55318
(Click here for MAP)

Registration includes MCTE membership, admission to the Arboretum, continental breakfast, and lunch. All registrations must be made through this site. You may pay by credit card or by sending a check to MCTE's treasurer, Rachel Malchow Lloyd, at 425 Goodrich Ave., St. Paul, MN 55102.

After registering, you will receive an automatic invoice by email. If you do not receive this email, you may have mistyped your email address. If this happens, please contact Sierra Gilbertson at mcteinfo@gmail.com to double-check your registration.

Shortly after the invoice, you will receive a confirmation email. If you are paying by school or personal check, your confirmation email will include instructions for submitting your payment. In order to avoid being double registered, please pay with the same account that was used for registration.

Cancellation Policy

Because meal counts and materials costs are due in advance of the event, we regret that full refunds can only be offered for cancellations prior to October 15, 2025. No refunds issued after October 15.  

Note: If you need interpreters or other assistive services, please contact MCTE's Executive Secretary, Sierra Gilbertson: mcteinfo@gmail.com. MCTE cannot be responsible for payment of these services without advance notification. A room for nursing mothers has been arranged.