Diversity Conference In Philadelphia This Weekend
By Hadas Kuznits
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - The National Association of Independent Schools hosts its flagship diversity conference at the Pennsylvania Convention Center this weekend.
Nearly 4,000 people are in town through Saturday and are participating in the 2011 People of Color Conference and the Student Diversity Leadership Conference.
"The goal is to provide professional development and networking and learning for building diversity and inclusion in Independent Schools," said Gene Batiste, Vice President at the National Association of Independent Schools.
Batiste says the array of workshops gives people the tools to deal with a variety of diversity issues.
"I think the biggest challenge for people of color in Independent Schools is that there's a widening divide based on socioeconomic background," he said. "The experience of an African-American student who comes from a wealthy background is vastly different from a student who comes from a working class background that is diving the experience rather than uniting people who share a racial ethnic background."
