DIVERSITY, EQUITY AND INCLUSION
Congressional School's Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee is comprised of parents, faculty, school administrators, and board members. The committee meets frequently to engage in conversation and plan initiatives around the advancement of diversity, equity, and inclusion at Congressional School.
Sharing and celebrating our individual differences bring us together, while teaching and modeling values like integrity, kindness, respect, perseverance, and responsibility further strengthen our sense of unity. The result is a cohesive and caring community where children are free to be their authentic selves.
Primary Areas of Focus and Attention
- Talent Acquisition, Retention & Support
- Parent Support & Awareness
- Student Involvement, Education, Awareness & Admission
- Communication & Global Awareness
THE SCOPE OF DIVERSITY AT CONGRESSIONAL
These aspects of diversity include-but are not limited to:
- Race
- Sexual Orientation
- Gender/Gender Identity and Expression
- Ethnicity
- Learning Differences/Styles
- Age
- Religion/Spirituality
- Ability
- Socioeconomic Status
MISSION STATEMENT
Congressional School’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee, in partnership with the broader Congressional community - past, present, and future - continuously strives to recognize, respect, engage, and celebrate the individual differences and identities represented in our community.
We seek to advance diversity of race, religion, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, physical ability, or any other distinguishing feature through the recruitment and support of students, faculty, staff, administrators, and Trustees representing diverse identities.
LEAD MIDDLE SCHOOL GROUP
Our LEAD Middle School Group stands for Leaders in Equity, Advancement, and Diversity. Any students in 6th-8th grade are welcome to join the group during lunch once per rotation. The aim of the group is to educate, celebrate diversity, listen and share opinions in respectful ways, and plan activities for the school around relevant topics. The group is run by several eighth graders who also report back to the school's Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee to ensure student voices and opinions are heard at a higher level.
DEFINITIONS
Implicit Bias refers to "relatively unconscious and relatively automatic features of prejudiced judgment and social behavior." (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)
Diversity in the social context refers to "a successful community in which individuals of different race, ethnicity, religious beliefs, socioeconomic status, language, geographical origin, gender and/or sexual orientation bring their different knowledge, background, experience and interest for the benefit of their diverse community." (embracingdiversity.us)
Our teachers are the guides and models for our students and in recognizing this, we have also formed a Faculty Advisory Committee to ensure an infused programmatic perspective and that our faculty has a voice in future initiatives.