Faculty and staff gathered on Friday, August 11 to kick off their equity and inclusion work for the year, which focuses on building their capacity to best serve the needs of each and every child. There they learned about various classes, workshops and experiences held throughout the year that will broaden their professional development in this area.
“The world our students enter will demand sophisticated cross-cultural and critical thinking skills that can only develop through intentional interactions with folks whose life experience and perspectives are different than their own,” said Head of School Lisa Lyle. “All children benefit from an educational environment in which they develop both deeper self-awareness and a better understanding of how others see the world. Only within a diverse community of learners can that happen, and while necessary, diversity alone is not sufficient.”
Opportunities for MICDS faculty and staff include: Waking Up White: A Book Study of Waking Up White by Debby Irving; Seed-Sprouts; Anti-Bias Education for Young Children; Black and Brown Girl Toolkit: Exploration through Literature; SEED: Seeking Educational Equity and Diversity; Routes and Roots: Do My Routes and Roots Contribute to Oppression, Using our Commutes and Family History to Explore Unconscious Bias; Books and Bias, Bias in Books; Courageous Conversations; Representation Project; Point Made Films: I’m Not Racist, Am I?; Culturally Responsive Teaching and the Brain; Using Current Events to Explore About Bias, Diversity and Social Justice; and Mini-Culture Tours of St. Louis.
Lyle also shared, “We must foster an inclusive community, one in which each child and adult feels known, valued, challenged and supported. Our Mission demands this of us: ‘Now more than ever, our nation needs responsible men and women prepared to meet the world’s challenges with confidence and embrace all its people with compassion.'”