“I dream a world where racism will no longer be. Where people black, white and every hue will look at each other as equals. In my world it matters not what you look like, but what you act like.”
A collaborative poetry, art and music composition inspired by Langston Hughes, with contributions from every 4th through 8th-year student.
Anti-Racism Statement
Oak Meadow commits to an active peace and anti-racist education for each person in our community to thrive, as we deepen our self-awareness and honor the dignity of all.
In this on-going work, we resolve to model active learning and commitment to:
Anti-Racism
We are committed to being anti-racists in word and deed. We acknowledge that we need to value and uplift each and every person, hearing, respecting, and embracing everyone’s full participation in our school. The diversity in our community makes us stronger and supports our humanity. We all have things to offer and much to gain as we develop healthy relationships and skills in a welcoming, inclusive, and equitable community.
Maria Montessori challenged educators to see that, “We are the sowers – our children are those who reap. We labor so that future generations will be better and nobler than we are.”
Cultural Humility:
Honoring our work is an ongoing process of education, as we learn about our own biases and listen to the experiences of others. We resolve to work collaboratively and be reflective as we expand our understanding, empathy and compassion. We resolve to openly address and dismantle racist attitudes and policies, seeking to correct the harm and impact of these realities by decentralizing white supremacy culture inherent in our community and society.
Active Investment:
We commit to investing time, energy, and resources in our school practices, policies, curriculum, and pedagogy in order to be an anti-racist community that shares and celebrates differences of gender, race, ethnicity, religious beliefs, abilities, mental health, family structure, socioeconomic level, culture, age, sexual orientation, language, and learning style. We resolve to learn to identify and reject stereotypes, micro-aggressions, and prejudices. We embrace multiple perspectives as we guide one another toward equity and justice.
Intentional Community:
Our commitment to being welcoming and valuing diversity, equity, and inclusion must be reflected actively in our hiring, admission, and retention practices and policies. A true reflection of our values will be demonstrated through outreach, recruitment, and scholarships to underserved communities. Relationships and lasting connections with affinity organizations will help us grow as a diverse community.
Accountability:
We resolve to examine leadership structures, procedures, policies, curriculum, and programs to continuously ensure equity and justice in our community. We resolve to develop and implement clear action plans and model accountability measures for individuals and for the school as a whole. We commit to acknowledging successes, mistakes, and failures and to seek strategies to improve and rectify our mistakes. We are committed to open transparency in our communication and accountability in our ongoing efforts. We welcome questions, concerns and criticisms as we strive to constantly do better.
