Inclusion & Community

The Common School Statement on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

Background

Oppression has been interwoven in the fabric of our nation and continues to shape how societal structures, including our schools, function in the United States today. Given this history, The Common School recognizes that as a school community, we exist within this context. It is for that reason we strive to center diversity, equity, and inclusion in our mission.

Mission

We, at The Common School, value the civil and human rights of individuals to be their authentic selves, identify freely in the world, and to have these rights respected and protected. We work with intentionality in thought and action as we live out these values in our daily lives, and in relationships with our students and the broader Common School community. 

Commitments

The Common School is committed to being an inclusive school that aligns with our values of equity and justice. The Common School believes in each individual’s autonomous right to identify and portray their social identities. These include but are not limited to: race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, ability, religion, nationality, and age.  

As an inclusive school we:

• Strive to understand how social identities, and social inequities, impact all of us;

• Recognize misconceptions and stereotypes, stop their spread, and strive to reeducate ourselves and others; 

• Support the right to self-reflect and self-identify in ways that affirm a positive sense of self;

• Teach and model empathy, compassion and respect;

• Design an intentionally inclusive, justice-focused curriculum;

• Teach students, faculty, and staff to be allies and upstanders;

• Engage our wider community in social justice learning;

• Empower everyone to be part of positive change at the school.

Call to Action

The Common School is a place and space of ongoing growth and learning. All who join The Common School community are expected to join us in sharing our values of equity and justice. We know that this is life-long work and that we are all on a journey of continual learning, un-learning, and re-learning. We will assume good intentions, seek to understand alternative perspectives, and take responsibility for our impact as we strive to more fully embody our values through our actions.