At ANCS, we value the diversity of our school community and are actively and intentionally ensuring that all members of our school family are served well through equitable and inclusive policies, practices, and opportunities.

Diversity

Diversity is a representation, visible or not, of people from different backgrounds and identities. It involves bringing different ideas, perspectives, lived experiences, talents, values, and worldviews together to represent the variety of communities within the School Family. Diversity includes, but is not limited to race, culture, religion, gender, gender expression, sexual orientation, age, national origin, socio-economic status, ability, health status, learning style, immigration status, education, family structure, marital/partnership status, language, and physical appearance.

Equity

Equity provides fairness by ensuring access to resources and opportunities that are reflective of diverse needs, identities, and experiences. This requires collective understanding of the root causes of outcome disparities, acknowledging historical, systemic, and individual biases and privileges, and being informed by current data and best practices. ANCS commits to pursuing equity in a way that preserves dignity through differentiation, culturally responsive practices, and authentic and open communication.

Inclusion

Inclusion is an action and a behavior that ensures that all people feel they are safe, welcomed, and that they belong. This means putting diversity into action with skill and intentionality to ensure everyone feels valued and included, and that they have support to develop and share their authentic selves, speak their truths, and engage in their best work. It means actively seeking out voices that have been traditionally underrepresented and/or marginalized while being careful not to call any one person to represent an entire group or community.

Revised April 3rd, 2023

Strategic Priorities

  • Define “diversity”, “equity”, “inclusion” and other key terms to clarify what they mean in our school context. Publish these definitions in prominent places and refer to them frequently
  • Make diversity, equity and inclusion a clear and concrete focus of the school’s strategic plan, with goals, priorities and timelines
  • Expand the school’s diversity, equity and inclusion scope to include work across a range of differences – learning abilities, gender (including non-binary), cultural, etc. – and not just race and class
  • Expand the school’s student centered approach to diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives
  • Develop a diversity, equity and inclusion syllabus for each grade level, outlining lessons and teaching strategies that follow the K-8 progression
  • Communicate clearly and regularly to the entire school community about progress towards DE&I goals and areas of opportunity
  • Build an inclusive school community that values diversity and seeks ways to address inequities
  • Provide community learning opportunities for parents/caregivers
  • Develop a comprehensive framework of tools, resources, policies, and community agreements that collectively work to create an environment where conflicts can be effectively mediated, and cultural insensitivities can be appropriately addressed
  • Build internal leadership capacity (both formal and informal) to address, dismantle, transform policies, practices, and systems that promote inequity
  • Provide space for consistent, coordinated DEI learning experiences for all employees

More resources are coming soon.