EQUITY & INCLUSION
AT THE CLUSTER

With support from the Capitol Hill Community Foundation, we have launched a partnership with Kindred. Kindred supports schools and school systems to realize the collective well-being of all students and families. Its vision is that children and families thrive without difference by economic situation, racial or ethnic identity, ability, or other designation. Our partnership over the course of three-to-four years will involve conversations and actions between parents, staff, and school leadership as we tackle issues of racial and economic segregation within our school community.
 

• Year 1: Kindred’s team supports the development of authentic relationships between diverse groups of parents and staff by facilitating small-group dialogues about their backgrounds, race and equity, and goals for their students.

 

• Year 2: Kindred’s team trains and coaches parent and staff dialogue participants to lead groups with other parents and staff to reach the broader school community. 

 

• Years 3-4: Kindred supports parents and staff to ensure that their school’s parent organizational bodies into equity-driven action groups.

 

Parent selection process

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In total, we sought out 12 parents who are truly invested in fostering an inclusive and equitable school community at the Capitol Hill Cluster. Given the uniqueness of the Cluster, we also centered the voices of families who have been historically missing from critical conversations about the school’s initiatives. To reach this goal we worked with the Parent-Teacher Association, school leadership, and the Race, Class, & Equity Group to identify, recruit, and select dialogue members who reflect the diversity of the school community. 

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​You can learn more about Kindred by watching their recruitment video or by reaching out to Ryan Jones, Facilitator and Organizer, at ryan@kindredcommunities.org if you have any questions.

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The latest

Kindred is excited to continue the first year of our partnership with the Capitol Hill Cluster school community. During our first year, we are working to support the development of authentic relationships between diverse groups of parents and staff by facilitating 10 small-group dialogues about their backgrounds, race and equity, and goals for their students. Throughout the dialogue sessions, participants also consider educational and racial inequities that may exist in the school community and possible collective actions that can be taken as both parents and staff members to ensure that all students and families are able to thrive (see graphic of dialogue arc below).

 

In the Cluster community: 

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• The parent dialogue group has completed 7 out of 10 sessions and the next meeting will take place on Thursday, April 8. The group continues to maintain 13 participants who have explored topics around their educational experiences and the educational experiences of their parents/caregivers and have learned to identify microaggressions and ways to intervene and/or repair when observing, experiencing, or perpetuating them. During the next session we will be examining how inequity manifests in test scores and other indicators of future financial opportunity and lived outcomes.

• The staff dialogue group has completed 8 out of 10 sessions and the next meeting will take place on Thursday, April 1. The group has 12 participants who have explored ways in which racial privilege and disadvantage show up in the school community and what their roles as staff members are in working toward equity. They've also explored how institutional bias manifests in school systems and the ways in which staff, families, and children experience school. In the next session, the group will be joined by Principal Berkowitz who will learn more about their experience in Kindred dialogue groups and their ideas for collective action to address racial inequities in the school community.