Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
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English Equity Work
The EMS Equity Group is made up of faculty representatives from each division, the high school counselor, K-8 and high school principals, the admissions counselor, and director of advancement. The group is a place to give focused attention to the school's efforts to continually grow in its vision to be a "learning community where every student belongs, thrives and lives God's call."
Background: In June 2020, the EMS Strategic Leadership Team established a Grupo de Equidad Racial in the wake of the death of George Floyd and world-wide protests that provided a long overdue wake-up call to address systemic racism in our institutions and country. A preamble to the group's working document stated:
Eastern Mennonite School was founded in 1917 by Mennonites for Mennonite students. EMS has undoubtedly hurt people of color throughout its history, while offering benefits to people of white, and Mennonite, background. This included racial discrimination in its admission process up through 1948, when black students were first allowed admittance to EMS. [See a timeline publicada por Eastern Mennonite University, que comparte su historia temprana con EMS.] Como seguidores de Jesús, creemos que estamos llamados a abogar por un trato justo para todo el pueblo de Dios. Los disturbios civiles de la primavera de 2020, en medio de una pandemia global, nos despertaron a un trabajo más deliberado para educarnos, involucrar a nuestros estudiantes y ser parte de los cambios sistémicos necesarios para abordar la desigualdad racial en nuestra escuela, comunidad local. y en todo Estados Unidos. El Grupo de Equidad Racial fue formado por el Equipo de Liderazgo Estratégico de la escuela y celebró su primera reunión el 16 de junio de 2020.
All faculty and staff members were invited to join. The group met via Zoom throughout the 2020-21 school year. Participants included faculty from each of the three divisions, administrators, school counselors, and other staff.
Beginning in February 2021, the school engaged resource people from the Virginia Center for Inclusive Communities (VCIC) to lead faculty-staff in workshops on implicit bias, and smaller working teams in additional conversations. Soon, the work moved from focusing on racial equity exclusively to broader equity work.
Equity training and work over the years has included:
- 15 employees took part in a three-part racial equity and inclusion training hosted by Virginia Association of Independent Schools.
- Evaluación del currículo de estudiantes sociales / historia e incorporación de más perspectivas e historias de BIPOC a partir del otoño de 2020. Conciencia de que todo el currículo debe revisarse con una lente de equidad racial. Ese proceso está comenzando.
- Adición de dos clases a nivel de escuela secundaria: Historia Afroamericana y Literatura Afroamericana
- Each staff and faculty member set one of their professional development goals for the year 2020-21 to connect with a racial equity theme.
- 2021 faculty-staff professional development focused on implicit bias awareness training with the Virginia Center for Inclusive Communities (VCIC).
- Summer 2021 a small group met with a representative from the VCIC to identify priorities and strategies for an EMS Equity Team in the coming year.
- The chapel theme for grades 6-12 in 2020-21 was: “This is My Story” with an emphasis on belonging. Speakers reflected on EMS mission to be a learning community where every student “belongs, thrives and lives God’s call,” and share stories of times when they felt they belonged -- and times they didn’t feel they belonged. See el canal de YouTube para ver los enlaces.
- Updated document on teaching controversial topics.
- Racial equity work was added to the Strategic Pathways 2020 document and visited at the board level periodically.
- Ongoing intention to host chapel speakers from diverse communities.
- Mark Metzler Sawin, Eastern Mennonite University history professor and expert on local history, helped the school understand its history, particularly in terms of race, as well as Mennonites in the Shenandoah Valley. Mark spoke at la capilla de EMS in January 2020 about EMS history.
- Ongoing development of library resources and web-based resources for faculty and staff personal education, and curricular support.
- Estampado: Racismo, Antirracismo y Usted:: A Remix of the National Book Award-winning Stamped from the Beginning by Jason Reynolds and Ibram X. Kendi was added to 9th grade US history class.
- Elementary school faculty book read, Me and White Supremacy by Layla F. Saad in 2020-21
- EMS land acknowledgement concept was introduced in chapel and task force established to develop for integration into school culture.
- 10 students participated in the school's Civil Rights Tour E-term in spring 2022
- Updated hiring policy in 2023. "It is our policy to practice equal opportunity without regard to an individual's race, color, national origin, sex, age or disability in the application of any policy, practice, rule or regulation."
- Dynamic strategic plan, 2023-26, includes work towards belonging for all students at EMS, serving a diverse world, and serving diverse learning needs.
- Encouraged a faculty & staff walking field trip to learn the history of the Newtown community (historically an African American neighborhood) in Harrisonburg as part of the 2023 Fall Faculty Conference
While hundreds of students have graduated from EMHS with an education that nurtured them and prepared them for the future, some students left here carrying hurts and stories of pain. We acknowledge that students of color and others may have experienced pain that has not been acknowledged. For that, we are sorry.
Si desea compartir su historia, queremos escucharlo. Al compartir historias, honramos a aquellos que han sido heridos y esperamos aprender cómo podemos hacerlo mejor.
Por favor envíeme un correo electrónico or Maria Archer. Si no se siente cómodo comunicándose con nosotros, no dude en hablar con un consejero, pastor o amigo de confianza y pregúntale si estaría dispuesto a conectarse con nosotros para que podamos encontrar un proceso que le resulte cómodo.
Paul Leaman, Head of School
Información Adicional
Lea la carta que Paul Leaman, director de la escuela, compartió con los estudiantes de los grados 6-12 y los padres de los estudiantes K-12, así como con los profesores y el personal después de la muerte de George Floyd.
Lea un artículo del 23 de junio de 2020 que anuncia el lanzamiento del Grupo de Trabajo de Equidad Racial.
Read an article about the Civil Rights E-term in spring of 2022.