DIVERSITY, EQUITY, & INCLUSION
“The needs of mankind are universal. Our means of meeting them create the richness and diversity of the planet. The Montessori child should come to relish the texture of that diversity.” - Maria Montessori
Two years ago the IMS Board of Directors formed a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion committee to ensure that, in keeping with our general Mission Statement, IMS is fostering an environment in which all students and their families feel fully included, welcomed and embraced as equal and valued members of our community.
While this work is never ending, below is IMS' Equity Statement, a guide to ensure our community models equity and inclusion at all levels, where every child and adult feels respected and valued; and where people of all identities feel they belong.
WE ENVISION...
a safe learning community that values the lives, experiences, and contributions of people of all backgrounds. We desire to be a community that models equity and inclusion at all levels; where every child and adult feels respected and valued; and where people of all identities feel they belong. IMS is a multilingual community of educators that is committed to deepening their understanding of the historical impact of racism on our systems, institutions, cultures, and events in the United States and globally, in order to integrate our anti-bias, anti-racist learning into the classroom in a way that honors each and every student’s identity and learning development.
Presentations are given to shift common understandings of American history, like the story of the first Americans and Thanksgiving.
WE VALUE...
curiosity, collaboration, critical thinking, and empathy. We strive to honor and employ human rights and social justice values in all aspects of the organization, and intentionally include historically muted voices in leadership and teaching roles. Some of the ways in which we have committed to this important work include the following commitments:
- To work with an equity consultant to guide us in adopting practices that will support a community that values the lives, experiences, and contributions of people of all backgrounds. Our goal is to establish an organizational ethos that prioritizes humanity.
- To support a community that is diverse along various dimensions - including race, ethnicity, national origin, sex and gender identity, sexual orientation, neurodiversity, socioeconomic status, disability, religion, and family structure. Our goal is to prioritize multiculturalism and inclusion, as bridges to understanding people and to foster a deep respect for different groups.
- To continue to support and expand financial aid and actively increase diversity.
- To build an anti-bias, culturally relevant curriculum and supply resources to support that curriculum, this includes teaching (as developmentally appropriate) the full history of the world to include non-Eurocentric perspectives.
Classes celebrates holidays and cultures represented within and outside of their classrooms.
WE ACKNOWLEDGE...
that building an inclusive, racially equitable and diverse culture will be ongoing work and that transformation requires courage, persistence, commitment, and individual and collective accountability. We hope to lift our voices together and to listen to each other’s truths.
IMS staff working with Bryana Clover as part of our professional development.
Past Staff Development
In the 2022 -2023 school year, staff embarked on a year-long journey with Bryana Clover for a variety of trainings, including:
- Participating in Intercultural Development Inventory® to assess individual intercultural competence and Cultural Humility training
- Foundations of Race and Racism workshops
- Deconstructing Whiteness curriculum
- Race Affinity dialogue sessions
Looking to the Future
In the 2023-2024 school year, we plan to:
- Continue work with Bryana Clover to bring anti-bias learning into the classroom.
- Provide gender diversity workshops for staff.
- Provide parent education workshops about neurodiversity.
Articles
- Talking to Young Children about Race and Racism (from PBS Kids)
- Gender Diversity and Inclusivity in the Classroom (from the American Montessori Society)
- How to Talk to Kids about Race Ages 3-8 (from InCulture Parent)
Books for All Ages
- Early Childhood Anti-Bias Education Booklists (from Social Justice Books)
- 50 Children's Books About Diversity that Celebrate our Differences (from Book Riot)
- Coretta Scott King Book Award recipients (from ALA)
Podcasts & Social Media
- The Conscious Kid (Instagram)
- Here Wee Read (Instagram)