DEB
A YEAR IN THE LIFE OF DIVERSITY, EQUITY, AND BELONGING AT BFS By Dr. AnaMaria Correa
Director of Diversity, Equity, and Belonging I write this as the school year culminates and the thoughtfully planned rituals commence: Moving ups, graduations and farewells; touchpoints which connect us and evidence the extraordinariness of BFS. I am so grateful to work in my purpose, serve our mission, values and claim this school as a community. As I reflect on the year, the one gesture that had the most impact in the work of DEB was receiving the invitation to collaborate and co-create. From curating a whole day of professional development to partnership with divisional leaders to thought sharing with colleagues, these invitations legitimized the purpose of the office and made visible for me the integrity of this community’s commitment. Values of equity, community, wholeness, imagination, learning and justice enacted in authentic ways through the collective responsibility we all hold in our hands. In the spirit of centering all the ways we do the work, I share snapshots from divisional life which illustrate the
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ways souls, humanity, character, and criticality are nurtured in our school—not necessarily as guided through the DEB office—but as a collective experience; work that is the heart of the Brooklyn Friends School mission and takes us from where we have always been in ways that are grounded in the “now” of our world for learning that is timely and enduring. Preschool The foundational learning for Preschool was developing community and friendship which incorporates the NAEYC anti bias goals. Query: How are we the same and different and how do we celebrate each other and learn what is fair? Evidence of this is embedded in the curriculum, particularly in the choice of books and ongoing team reflection. Activity: AntiBias Principles in Early Childhood, Identity exploration, representation and conversations about family and what kindness truly means. Lower School In the Lower School, Kindergarten Head Teacher, Laleña Garcia, and Associate
Teacher, Olivia Sweet, engaged in an activity at morning meeting reflecting on the meaning of Collective Value. “The goal was to show that everybody is important and has the right to be safe and happy, no matter what religion they are, how much money they have, where they come from, their abilities or disabilities, or who they love. “Just like in our community, everyone has to be safe!” one child exclaimed. Children then took some time to think about things that are important to their KC community and work collaboratively on posters demonstrating the values as a community. As noted in class news, many children were moved to write words, as well as draw pictures, demonstrating their growing understanding of the power of words. After the activity was completed, the children looked at them together to share what they noticed, and discuss why they chose the images and words they did.”
