Our students will benefit immensely from attending a diverse school that celebrates and supports students of all backgrounds, including different races/ethnicities, socio-economic levels, gender identities and sexual preferences, religions and abilities.
There are strategies to employ within the school system that will benefit students (e.g., increasing the number of teachers of diverse backgrounds, increasing the cultural competency of educators and administrators, increasing the use of multicultural curriculum, and building connections and shared experiences with students in racially diverse school districts, etc.).
Goal 1A:
Support the schools to become more culturally competent and welcoming.
Action Steps:
● Support the district/schools in delivering the curricula on African American/Black and Puerto Rican/Latino Studies, Asian American/Pacific Islander and Native American studies.
● Advocate for the district/schools to respond appropriately to hate incidents locally.
● Support students and parents impacted by hate incidents.
● Support the district/schools in recruiting more teachers and staff of diverse backgrounds.
● Research funding opportunities for equity work in the schools; and support the application for funding.
● Continue to meet with school administrators/staff and PTOs and attend board of education meetings to raise concerns and provide support.
● Continue support of Witness Stones education projects.
Goal 2B: Collaborate with community agencies to implement activities to increase cultural awareness among school-aged students.
Action Steps:
● Conduct research on activities for school-aged students to increase cultural awareness and exposure.
● Collaborate with towns or nonprofit organizations to support events during school and extracurricular activities for school-aged students using technology and other innovative ways to engage children. For example: Multicultural assemblies, multicultural book drives, multicultural writing projects with community and classrooms, multiracial baby dolls, intergenerational multicultural clubs.
● Research funding opportunities.
Goal 3C:
Provide opportunities for parents to learn about raising children in a diverse world.
Action Steps:
● Collect feedback from parents to determine what they would like to learn about educating children on diversity, equity, and how CoDE can support parents and children.