Community Partnerships
Our efforts to establish DEI fluency at Sequoyah must exist outside of the school sphere and function in the context of the broader community in order for diversity, equity, and inclusion to truly be a lived experience for our students and families, faculty and staff. The school has been forging new and strengthening existing community partnerships, including:
The Critical Conversations network of schools strives to establish a shared space for nuanced, deliberative, challenging discourse and professional development around equity and justice that recognizes the interconnected nature of humanity that is fundamental to the survival and wellbeing of our species and our planet. The network is composed of public, private, parochial, and charter schools from across the nation and around the world.
As a member school, Sequoyah has been sharing with our community (via the SNAC) opportunities to join enriching, educational opportunities via an online speakers series. These conversations are led by thought-leaders and changemakers who are experts in their field, bringing topics about equity and justice to the fore such as “America: The Unfinished Social Experiment” by Lisa Ling; “The Biology of Belonging” by Dan Siegel; and “Reason to Worry: The Emerging Identity Crisis of Boys and Men” by Richard V. Reeves. Additionally, the school has used its member access to integrate Critical Conversation transcripts, lesson plans, and speaker videos into teaching and learning at the high school, particularly on Community Connections Day in January.
The mission of Private School Village is to cultivate and harness the power of community to positively transform the private school experience for Black and brown families so that students fully thrive. PSV empowers parent engagement to instill student well-being, normalize inclusive and equitable communities, and encourage lasting systemic and institutional policy and process change that will impact a student’s healthy development.
Sequoyah is a member of PSV/Somos PSV and encourages our community to connect with other families both at Sequoyah as well as at peer schools across Greater Los Angeles to support their independent school experiences. We are also looking for a parent volunteer who is interested in representing Sequoyah in the Somos PSV Parent Ambassador Program. Look for announcements about PSV and Somos PSV events and opportunities in the SNAC.
Upcoming Event:
Parent2Parent Virtual Mix & Mingle
Sunday, April 23 from 3-5 p.m. (RSVP by April 20)
From PSV: This is an opportunity for current parents of Black children and Black administrators, faculty, and staff at Sequoyah to welcome newly enrolled parents of Black children during this virtual social. (More information is available in the SNAC!)
Sequoyah School references the Learning for Justice “Social Justice Standards” as a resource in our diversity, equity, and inclusion work with students, families, and staff. Founded in 1991, Teaching Tolerance is dedicated to reducing prejudice, improving intergroup relations, and supporting equitable school experiences for our nation’s children. The program provides free educational materials, including these Social Justice Standards. The standards are a framework for anti-bias education, providing schools with a roadmap for anti-bias education for K-12 programming with age-appropriate learning outcomes. The standards provide a common language and organizational structure that educators can use to guide curriculum development and support schools in their efforts to be more just and equitable.
For several years, Sequoyah has participated in the Southern California Diversity Recruiting Fair hosted by Harvard-Westlake School. The fair is an event where faculty, staff, and administrators from underrepresented groups who are interested in working in independent schools can meet representatives from area schools to explore employment opportunities. This past March, Sequoyah participated in both the in-person and online fairs with more than 50 peer schools to talk with prospective employees about open positions and the Sequoyah School culture. Attendees heard from independent school students and listened to panel discussions about teaching in independent schools; working as an administrator in independent schools; and diversity, equity, and inclusion in education.
