Upcoming Trainings

Scroll down to see all our available trainings and workshops. If you have questions regarding the posted trainings and workshops contact Paul Bonnici at 919.962.1544 or bonnici@unc.edu.

Omar ibn Said was born into a well-educated family around the year 1770 in Futa Toro, in contemporary Senegal. In his thirties he was kidnapped, enslaved, and transported to Charleston, South Carolina. He escaped from his first enslaver and was later imprisoned in Fayetteville, North Carolina. Jim Owen, brother to the governor of North Carolina, purchased Sayyid, and he spent the next fifty-three years of his life with the Owens. Said went on to write a series of manuscripts in Arabic which draw broadly from a range of theological sources, defying the American misconception that African slaves were uneducated and uncultured. Said is most famous for being the only known enslaved person in the United States to write an autobiography in Arabic. His writings attest to robust educational traditions and systems in West Africa, as well as to enslaved peoples’ resistance to the conditions of the American South. Said died in 1864, just a year before the American Civil War ended.

Join Carolina K-12, the NC Museum of History, and UNC’s Center for Middle East and Islamic Studies to learn about the incredible life, work and resistance of Omar Ibn Said, as well as the often-overlooked role of Muslims in Antebellum America. Participating scholars include:

• Naomi Feste, an independent scholar in the Triangle, who will provide an overview of Muslims in Antebellum America
• Dr. Carl Ernst, a preeminent scholar in Islamic Studies at UNC currently investigating and translating Said’s manuscripts, who will discuss the life and writings of Said
• Yasmine Flodin-Ali, a Ph.D. student in Religious Studies at UNC, who will illuminate the portrayal and racialization of Said in period newspapers
• Bryan Rusch, a Ph.D. Student of Art History at Duke University, who will locate Omar’s life journey spatially using his writings and historic documents as a guide
• This program is open to any K-12 educator/staff member, as well as those at the community college or university level.
  APPLY HERE

The Light of Truth – October Virtual Series Honoring Ida B. Wells

Every Week in October!

More than a century after she began her journalistic work, Ida B. Wells-Barnett was posthumously awarded the Pulitzer Prize in 2020. To celebrate the life and work of of this pioneering Black journalist, advocate and educator, the Orange County Community Remembrance Coalition (OCCRC), in partnership with others including Carolina K-12, is hosting a series of six virtual events throughout October 2020. The symposia of panel discussions, lectures, an educator workshop, and performances will highlight the ways Wells-Barnett used her power of words to fight racial violence while shining “the light of truth” across the nation on lynching at its height. Register for as many of the programs as you like via the link below, including a keynote by Nicole Hannah Jones and a special session for 8-12 grade teachers!

Space is limited – register here today!

Virtual CEUs

CEUs are provided for all programming, including virtual programs. Click here for more information on requesting CEUs for virtual programming.

Cancellation for Carolina K-12 Trainings

Carolina K-12 is dedicated to assisting teachers by providing free trainings, materials, participant meals, etc. Carolina K-12 does not require a deposit or fee to attend our trainings; therefore, we ask that registered participants needing to cancel do so at least one week prior to the training date. Please understand that participants who do not cancel their spot in a timely fashion prevent teachers on the waiting list from participating.

Attend the Program in the Humanities & Human Values’ General Seminars at a Discount & Receive a $75 Stipend Post-Attendance!

In addition to the free teacher trainings offered by Carolina K-12, educators can also register to attend the numerous seminars offered by the Program in the Humanities and Human Values (the Program.) While these lectures are designed for a general audience and will not include pedagogical training, they are an excellent way for teachers to broaden their content knowledge in various subjects as life-long-learners.

Scholarships covering 50% of the tuition are available for all Adventures in Ideas seminars for currently employed full-time teachers, librarians, and administrators in K-12 public and private schools and community colleges. These teacher scholarships for general seminars are made possible by generous donors to the Humanities Program. Check out the listing of general programs offered by the Program in the Humanities & Human Values here.

If you see a general program you would like to attend, take the following steps to apply for the 50% discount:

• If filling out the paper registration form, complete and sign the “Attention Teachers” portion of the form and enclose payment (the full tuition less the 50% discount.) Optional meals are also served for a fee; should you choose to participate in the optional meal, you’ll add that amount to your discounted tuition amount.  If registering online, please follow the instructions listed on our registration page.
• Funding restrictions do not allow us to award scholarships to substitute or retired teachers. The Program’s “first time participant’s discount” or a “three or more discount” may not be combined with a teacher scholarship.
• Should you need to cancel your participation, $30 is non-refundable. Reservations for optional meals may be cancelled up to noon two business days before a seminar.
• Applications without a signature or payment cannot be processed and will be returned.
• Please note that scholarships are not needed for any event hosted by Carolina K-12, which are free of charge to teachers. Scholarships are only needed for the Program in the Humanities & Human Values’ general programs.

Teachers who attend the Humanities Program’s Adventures in Ideas seminars can apply for a $75 stipend via the Daisy Edmister Fund!

Visit the Daisy Edmister Fund site for more information. 

Scholarships for Teachers at Raleigh Charter High School

Thanks to a generous gift from Novie Beth Ragan Gad, whose children are graduates of Raleigh Charter, both full and part-time teachers at Raleigh Charter High School are eligible to receive a scholarship to any Humanities Program seminar. Funds will be reimbursed upon successful completion of the seminar. For information, please call 919.962.1544.

Custom Trainings

Carolina K-12 also offers customized trainings for individual schools, school districts, and extra-curricular programs (i.e., 4-H, Youth Councils, etc.) We can also organize a professional development retreat for your group at UNC-Chapel Hill.  Costs vary. To learn more about our customization options, as well as our trainings for after school and youth leadership programs, please contact Christie Hinson Norris at 919.843.9387  or cnorris@unc.edu.

Professional Development Spotlight

From Segregation to Civil Rights: A Journey through North Carolina’s History

On January 14th, 2008, Carolina K-12 (then named NC Civic Education Consortium) hosted a training for North Carolina history educators on teaching about our state’s diverse past.

• Check out this video for an inside look at our teacher workshops!
• To access the curriculum from this workshop, click here.