Anti-Racism Commitments
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The horrific and persistent violence against Black Americans combined with a pandemic that has disproportionately affected communities of color has led us to renew our anti-racism commitments as an organization.
We know that racial justice does not happen through one single statement or act. Our promise is to uphold our commitments today, tomorrow, and in the years ahead.
This work is part of a broader commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion. We recognize the harmful realities that persist in our communities not just based on race and ethnicity, but based on immigration status, sexual orientation and gender identity, and beyond. However, our broader equity work will include an explicit focus on pursuing anti-racist and anti-discriminatory practices as an organization. We acknowledge the role that whiteness and dominant culture play in our work, and we are committed to confronting that reality as part of these commitments.
Our primary role as an anti-racist and anti-discriminatory organization is to do our work with excellence.
Early childhood development is a justice issue. Literacy is a justice issue. Space and dedicated programming where parents can focus their energy and power on their own self-actualization is a justice issue. We are here for more equitable outcomes for children and families in our communities, and one day, in many communities. Read our Theory of Change
WE WILL:
Create developmentally appropriate and culturally responsive methods by which we explicitly teach about identity development, diverse cultures and ideas, and anti-racism
Begin to design opportunities for students to engage in identity, diversity, and social justice work that builds throughout their time at The Primary School
Encourage student voice, choice, and community action across grade levels
Recommit our approach to working with families with humility, partnership, and inclusion, including training staff and making it explicit and measurable in our model
Provide resources and spaces that invite families to discuss race and racism at home and as part of parent spaces at The Primary School
Our team must embody anti-racist and anti-discriminatory practices.
We must act with cultural humility at all times and include members who represent the identities and lived experiences of children and families in our program. While we are building from real strengths, we have much more to do to live out this commitment. This means holding space for reflection, learning, and courageous conversations. It also means acting in congruence with our values as we build our talent practices and organizational culture with an explicit lens of diversity, equity, and inclusion.
WE WILL:
Reinstate social justice reading groups as an ongoing, cross-team learning space
Dedicate staff professional development time to topics of identity development, teaching tolerance, cultural humility, and anti-racism
Train leaders, starting with an all-day retreat with our leadership team which currently under-represents the communities in which we work
Continue our work to recruit, support, and advance staff who represent our communities
We must promote anti-racist, anti-discrimination practices and policies beyond our walls.
While our nonprofit status as a 501(c)3 limits the time we can apply directly to advocacy, we can and should take a more active stance within those boundaries to promote anti-racist, anti-discrimination practices and policies beyond our walls. We also know that staff can be an enormous resource to each other, sharing opportunities to mobilize and organize toward positive change. We want to take the opportunity as an employer to support that work formally.
WE WILL:
Leverage communications and policy team toward explicit anti-racism and anti-discrimination advocacy goals, joining forces with co-conspirators in our communities
Work with staff and families to promote voter education and voter participation in local, state, and federal elections
Launch a forum for staff to share opportunities with each other to take individual action to pursue anti-racist and anti-discriminatory practices and policies
We must keep anti-racism a priority by staying active and accountable to our commitments.
This cannot be a moment that flares up and then fades away. It is an ongoing fight that must remain a priority when other needs inevitably compete for organizational resources and attention. It must be an ongoing commitment that we make with transparency and accountability. This includes publishing our plan, forming structures for accountability, and formalizing action through explicit goals and reporting.
WE WILL:
Set and share community representation goals for The Primary School’s Boards of Directors by July
Launch internal DEI Task Force made up of The Primary School’s staff with charter, decision rights, and facilitator support by September. Meet the members of the DEI Taskforce
Develop charter and decision rights for ongoing parent engagement structures in East Palo Alto and Hayward by September
Publish our multi-year Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Plan in coordination with our 3-year Strategic Plan by December (note: with teachers and families on summer vacation, we will start this summer and finish in the fall)
DEI Taskforce
The DEI Taskforce was formed in Fall 2020 to oversee the development of a multi-year DEI Plan and hold our organization accountable to our diversity, equity, and inclusion goals. Learn more >>
