Beyond #BLM: Meet Kevin Simpson of AIELOC, the Association of International Educators & Leaders of Color
Kevin Simpson founded The Association of International Educators and Leaders of Color (AIELOC) - an org devoted to amplifying the work of international educators and leaders of color with a focus on advocacy, learning, and research. Kevin is an entrepreneur and educator whose work came into my frame of reference earlier this year when I was introduced to the AIELOC group by a colleague and friend. Since 2008, Simpson has been focused on education in the MENA region, assisted numerous schools with accreditation, training, development, and served as a thought partner to investors on school start-up projects. Simpson is co-founder of the UAE Learning Network, has co-authored papers on American curriculum in the MENA region with a focus on Common Core State Standards, the Next Generation Science Standards, social studies, the arts, and the history of American Education in the UAE. His company, KDSL Global is an education consulting company based in the USA and in the UAE. Simpson and his team have served thousands of schools, organizations, educators, and leaders worldwide in over 20 countries.
One of the biggest takeaways from speaking to Kevin for me was his tireless commitment to the various communities he serves. Starting with the community of his 4th grade classroom, and ensuring their exposure to global reference points, and then broadening out to his AIELOC work to elevate and amplify voices of educators of colour - specifically certain groups such as female leaders of colour. AIELOC’s work is in many ways just beginning to be seen by those educators who were not already a part of the affinity group, and that is also part of the issue. If as an educator I was not taking the time to understand that this group needed to exist back in 2017, then I was also not paying attention to my own privileges. As a person of mixed heritage who “can pass” for white, has a British passport and has never been knowingly overlooked in the international school system for my ethnicity, I am aware that I have lived an entirely privileged experience within the sector. Knowing that more visible minorities experience the gamut from microagressions about well-spokeness, all the way through to blatant discrimination, I am acutely aware that those of us who don’t experience this have a duty to call it out, and support our colleagues who do have to live it. As Kevin says, it is everyone’s work to do, and it starts with the individual first.
Talking to Kevin and engaging with AIELOC has broadened my perspective and re-affirmed my commitment to the self-enquiry, learning and unlearning he spoke about. If you have been undertaking similar work, I encourage you to follow AIELOC on twitter, @globalKDSL and the AIELOC group on facebook if you identify as an educator of color. And even if you are not, then there is a fantastic list of ways in which you can lead for change in your own organisations, starting with the investigation of school or university policies, the use of mentoring and investment in professional development of staff as well as the creation of leadership pipelines
Resources: AIELOC: http://aieloc.org Black in International Schools Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/black.in.international.schools
Sign Joel LLaban’s Anti-Racism in International School Accreditation petition on Change.org: https://www.change.org/p/explicit-inclusion-of-anti-racism-in-international-accreditation-standards/u/27081824?recruiter=1113515413&utm_source=share_update&utm_medium=facebook&utm_campaign=facebook
Decolonise the IB Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/decolonise_ib/
Liberate Meditation https://liberatemeditation.com
Ayana https://www.ayanatherapy.com
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