History of Sources Conference

Since 2005 the Sources of Urban Educational Excellence Conference has shaped discourse on the factors that define the social and academic experiences of children in urban communities and schools. The genesis of this conference was steeped in the affirmation of urban students and the teachers and their work to positively transform their own lives. From its inception, Sources has set out to share the reminder that brilliance in urban education is not unique and that the College of Education produces teachers and leaders who are experts in the cultivation of urban educational excellence.

Dr. Asa Hilliard III (Nana Baffour Amankwatia II), former Georgia State University Fuller E. Callaway professor of urban education, is the visionary behind the Sources Conference. It was always Hilliard’s desire to have public space to share ideas about the Afro-diasporic experience, the conditions of urban communities and best practices in serving urban children.

In the winter of 2004, Hilliard expressed to Dr. Susan Crim-McClendon, the Crim Center’s associate director at the time, his interest in creating opportunities for students in the College of Education & Human Development (then, just the College of Education) to present such work. Crim-McClendon supported that idea and immediately began reaching out across the Georgia State University campus and the Atlanta community to develop a conference that would highlight the work of urban education practitioners while also highlighting effective models of urban teaching and community building. In 2005, Crim-McClendon gave life to Hilliard’s vision and the Sources Conference was born. The name of the Sources conference was derived from the journal used by students in the college’s Urban Teacher Leadership program, where Hilliard served as a professor and mentor.

The first Sources conference was held in the Georgia State University Student Center at the end of spring semester of 2005. On that day, Hilliard served as the first Sources keynote speaker. The initial participants were students in the college’s Urban Teacher Leadership Master’s degree program and the Department of Early Childhood Education’s Urban Accelerated Certification and Master’s Degree program. These students were already responsible for presenting “problem-solution” projects as an academic requirement. The Sources Conference provided them with a platform to present their ideas at a conference. Professors and others students also attended the conference, providing support for presenters and establishing a safe space to discuss the challenges and successes in urban education.

The Sources conference connects all community members to the issue of quality education as a human right. What once started as a small conference highlighting the work of students in two master’s degree programs has now developed into the premier urban education conference in the Southeast. It has become a place for students, teachers, religious leaders, non-profits, lawmakers and other community members to present their work and learn best practices for enhancing education in urban schools and communities.

Today, 16 years after the first Sources Conference, narratives on public education are becoming narrower and less complex as popular media, research, and reform efforts define urban schools and communities as inadequate, deficient and under-performing; places to escape from as opposed to sources of excellence.

At the 16th Annual Sources of Urban Educational Excellence Conference, we intend to reconstruct this narrative by highlighting stories of change, equity and promise in urban education. The state of a community’s children is a reflection of the state of that community. Today we pose the question, “how are our children?” In 2021, it is still important to examine the social issues impacting education while keeping children central to the conversation.

In the years to come, the Crim Center looks forward to continuing to work with the community to re-frame the narrative of urban education. We will continue to bring gather with community members to develop solutions that support and nurture the genius of our children.

The Crim Center would like to thank Dr. Vera Stenhouse, Dr. Olga Jarrett and Dr. Susan Crim McClendon for contributing to the historical narrative of the Sources of Urban Educational Excellence Conference. We would also like to thank Georgia State University, the College of Education & Human Development and the countless volunteers, students, teachers, professors and community leaders who have supported this work for the last 16 years.