Written By Maria Frontera
Edited by Alyssa Alayon
Photography by Sammi McGiveron
SUNY Geneseo recently recognized the success of Dr. James Oigara and Dr. Julie Troman in hosting a Redlining Workshop alongside Coordinated Care Services Inc. (CCSI) to prepare Elementary Education majors for field placements within Rochester City Schools.
Dr. James Oigara and Dr. Julie Troman are both professors within the Ella Cline Shear School of Education at SUNY Geneseo. They each teach sections of CURR 317: Social Studies and Curriculum Integration course, which is required for Early Childhood with Childhood Education majors, specifically those with a concentration in Social Studies. Alongside CCSI, they hosted a workshop focused on Redlining in Rochester, NY on February 21, 2025. Students from CURR 317 were required to attend, and the presence of Geneseo students, faculty and staff interested in learning more about redlining was encouraged.
CCSI is a local organization that focuses on innovative solutions in human service delivery. Their mission: “to support and empower students, teachers, and communities with the tools to engage with and own their local history of civil rights through inquiry, equity, and civic action.” CCSI prepared an interactive powerpoint, as well as handouts for this workshop entitled: “Local History Matters: Teaching the Impacts of Racism, Resistance and Advocacy in Western, NY.” Activities for this workshop included primary sources, as well as personal narratives from individuals who lived during periods of redlining in Rochester, NY. Facilitated discussion as well as informational packets aimed to pick apart socioeconomic disparities that still exist today as a result of local racism.
The pertinent issue of redlining in Rochester, NY had significant impacts within communities and school systems that can still be seen today. With SUNY Geneseo students fulfilling education placements within the urban areas of Rochester, Dr. Oigara communicated the goal of this workshop as planning “to help teacher candidates [learn] about the history of redlining in Rochester city and how it impacts communities today” as well as “help participants to become better future teachers, especially teaching in city schools.” Throughout the two hour interactive workshop, students were asked to look at maps and discuss with peers the implications of the actions displayed in the figures. Dr. Oigara explained that the structure of this workshop aimed to “help teacher candidates understand redlining as a systematic practice that disadvantaged the blacks and other minorities, especially being denied financial services, such as loans or mortgages. This explains the differences in level of education or school resources in city schools compared to suburbs”.
During the seminar, we spoke with Julie Troman who communicated that the workshop “is really related to the work we're doing in the classes, particularly in teaching social studies to elementary students… Through this program, we integrate student teaching while also raising awareness of the intersection between teaching social studies to young children and some of the history [of] our own community”. When asked about her prior experience with the topic of redlining, Dr. Troman responded, “I've read some books and I've seen some speakers talk about it. I think most people think about segregation as something that happened long ago in the past, often associating it with Jim Crow. However, there are still very real instances of racial segregation situations happening. So I think it's really relevant for our candidates to see that because a lot of them aren’t from the area”. With a primary role in organizing and scheduling students’ education placements, Dr. Troman tries to “[make] sure they have rural, suburban, and urban experiences”. She emphasized the importance of this workshop in preparing students for experiences within Rochester City Schools.
Dr. Troman also mentioned that “most people are most comfortable in the type of school they grew up in. They become an expert in the setting they went to school in. They tend to imagine themselves teaching in a similar environment and some may return to their hometowns to teach, others will discover whole new perspectives, whole new worlds.” During the workshop, she specifically noted that “it's also really important that we bring awareness to [the fact that] their students in their classrooms are different from themselves. And that they're thinking about that when they're doing their planning”. Teacher candidates were provided with tools in this workshop to use in their future classrooms that related specifically to the teaching of social studies content, as well as general tools for developing a strong classroom community.
In between workshop activities, we talked to a few students regarding their thoughts on the topic of redlining and its significance in schools. One student explained that this workshop was a requirement for the course, “but then when I was here I was like oh my gosh this is really relevant to what I want to be doing later.. I think this is still relevant, especially because I'm a minority. So I need to know who I'm gonna be teaching, and there's a big education gap that we need to work to close”. Another student explained that “[The workshop] was required for a class but now being here l have seen how important it is because we're placed in the Rochester school district. So we're learning a lot about the demographics of our students and then I'm also from the Rochester area, so it gives me more knowledge of where I'm from.”
Following the workshop, we asked Dr. Oigara to explain how this workshop will enable teacher candidates to be successful within future placements. He explained that this experience will “help candidates develop equity-focused teaching practices that starts with recognizing that not all students come to the classroom with the same advantages. Some may face barriers, such as socioeconomic challenges, literacy skills or learning disabilities. As future teachers they will need to be aware of these disparities and adapt their teaching methods accordingly. The workshop provided the opportunity for the candidates to have the knowledge they need to be successful in the classroom.”
The success of this workshop lies in the knowledge gained by students which is applicable in both SUNY Geneseo field placements, as well as future classrooms. The dedication of Dr. Oigara, Dr. Troman, CCSI, and Geneseo students in understanding redlining in Rochester, NY, and its lasting impact on the community is admirable. This workshop provided teacher candidates with the tools to understand their student demographics, develop instruction that identifies the history of local racism and how these actions still affect schools today, and lastly, create a strong sense of community amongst students in their future classrooms.