Social Justice and Diversity
The school promotes a sense of social justice through a variety of in-school and co-curricular activities.
We look at the support of social justice through three lenses as student’s grow (1) raising awareness about differences in the youngest grades, (2) teaching students about bias and inequality and (3) taking action. Students from preschool to 12th grade learn various ways to take steps to break the cycles of oppression.
In the youngest grades, children are encouraged to talk about differences between themselves, their families and their friends. Children learn on a daily basis to respect and understand differences.
As they get older, students begin to learn about oppression. They are taught how to read about historical events such as Columbus’ endeavors critically by looking at the language that is used to describe the indigenous people. Even young students can take actions that foster discussion and sow seeds of understanding about inequality.
It helps students to understand the problems, when they raise money, take a field trip to the mall or buy clothes and toys for less fortunate families in our area. Upper school students participate in protests and study the speeches and writings of all kinds of advocates for the oppressed.
LGBTQ Club
For the past five years, the school has had an upper school LGBTQ Club and two years ago we added a middle school LGBTQ Club. These clubs have conducted workshops on raising consciousness and misgendering, sent representatives each year to the GLSEN (Gay Lesbian Straight Education Network) Student Leadership Conference and organized “Queer Con,” a regional conference for GSA’s and LGBTQ and allied youth. This student-created event included workshops, panels, speakers and other opportunities for students to build community and take action.