Events at the Cornwall Center
The Joseph C. Cornwall Center for Metropolitan Studies convenes educators, researchers, students, families, community organizers, and policymakers around the questions that shape New Jersey’s most vulnerable communities. Our events are spaces for honest dialogue, shared learning, and collective action toward education equity and urban well-being.
Throughout the year, we host webinars, panel discussions, community conversations, parent town halls, conferences, and workshops that connect research with lived experience. Programming is grounded in the traditions of the Freedom Schools, the Algebra Project, and decades of community-led organizing in Newark and across the state, and reflects our commitment to centering the voices of those most affected by inequity.
How to Participate
Most events are free and open to the public, and many are offered virtually so participants across New Jersey and beyond can join. In-person gatherings are held at Rutgers University–Newark and in community settings throughout the city.
Can’t attend live? Most of our webinars, panels, and public conversations are recorded and shared on our YouTube channel after the event, so you can watch on your own time and share sessions with colleagues, students, and community members.
Browse upcoming events below, or revisit past sessions in our archive. To receive announcements directly, join our mailing list or follow the Cornwall Blog for recaps and reflections.
Join Us & Revisit Past Events
The State of Bilingual Education in New Jersey
On Wednesday, June 10, at 5:30 PM EST, Joseph C. Cornwall Center for Metropolitan Studies hosted a conversation on the current state of bilingual education in New Jersey.
Bringing together perspectives from district leadership, bilingual education research, and classroom practice, this panel explored how policy and practice intersect, the opportunities and challenges facing bilingual education today, and what success should look like moving forward.
Panelists included Angelica Rodriguez and Anja Norman from Dover School District’s Bilingual and ESL Department, Dr. Alexandra Figueras-Daniel of Rutgers University, bilingual educator Betiana Caprioli of Morristown High School, and Vanessa Colon, a bilingual intervention teacher and multilingual family advocate in Morris County. The conversation will be moderated by Dr. Claudia Castillo-Lavergne of Rutgers University’s Joseph C. Cornwall Center for Metropolitan Studies.
Watch the recording on our YouTube channel →
From Gatekeeping to Growth
On Wednesday, May 7, at 3:30 PM EST, New Jersey educators and community leaders gathered for a thoughtful discussion on expanding AP course access in high-need communities.
Speakers offered insights on equity strategies, mindset shifts, and the gatekeeping practices that too often limit students’ opportunities, and together they highlighted lessons from districts that demonstrate what is possible.
We are grateful to everyone who joined us and contributed to this important conversation.
Watch the recording on our YouTube channel →
‘One Love, High Five, &Ten Toes Down
We were excited to host the first session in the New Jersey Mathematics Equity Webinar Series. The event took place on Zoom on Tuesday, March 31st at 5:30 pm.
This youth-centered conversation explored mathematics as a collective movement. Drawing on Prime Factors’ Double Up program in Newark, students and program leaders shared how they approach math as social, collaborative, and deeply human, countering the isolation and anxiety many young people experience in traditional classrooms.
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Pulse Workshops
