Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging
Alta Vista School is dedicated to nurturing an inclusive community that celebrates all aspects of our multifaceted identities. We believe that in order to sustain such a community, we must engage in intentional and ongoing processes of self and institutional reflection to make Alta Vista a safe environment for our students, faculty, and families. We strive for all members of our community to become agents for positive change in our evolving world. AVS is proud to partner with SMART, a San Francisco focused nonprofit organization that champions education equity by supporting students in overcoming systemic barriers on their journey to a college degree.
The Parent Group Diversity and Inclusion (DEI) Committee, made up of AVS parent volunteers who collaborate with administrators and faculty members, aims to foster a safe and welcoming environment for our families and to support school-wide DEI initiatives. We work in collaboration with room parents, our Director of Equity and Community, faculty. and administration to provide guidance on being inclusive and welcoming., In addition, we try to help facilitate conversations and problem solving should conflicts arise. The DEI Committee organizes educational workshops on DEI topics and assists in DEI celebrations throughout the school year. Join the DEI Group in ParentSquare to stay in the loop.
Programs & Initiatives:
- Monthly DEI Discussion Group
- Online media resource list for parents and children
- Training for faculty and families facilitated by Mosaic Project and Help Each Other Out
- Annual participation in SF’s PRIDE Parade
- DEI-themed topics and cultural celebrations presented in our community meetings
- AVS is a member school of SPEAK
DEI Resources
We welcome community suggestions to add to this list.
Reading - Articles
- How to Spread Antiracism: Popping the Bubbles of Denial by Kevin Donovan
- Beyond the Golden Rule. A Parent's Guide to Preventing and Responding to Prejudice from Teaching Tolerance
- Teaching Young Children About Race from Teaching for Change
- What White Children Need to Know About Race by Ali Michael and Eleonora Bartoli
- How to Talk to Kids about Race and Racism from TODAY Parenting Guides
- The Black Lives Next Door by Richard Rothstein
Reading - Books
- Emergent Strategy by Adrienne Maree Brown - Creating Social Change
- So You Want to Talk About Race? By Ijeoma Oluo
- How to Be An Anti-Racist by Ibraham X. Kendi
- Subtle Acts of Exclusion: How to Understand Identify and Stop Microaggressions by Tiffany Jana and Dr. Michael Baran
- White Fragility by Robin D’Angelo - Essential reading for White people
- Me and White Supremacy by Layla F. Saad
- Mindful of Race by Ruth King - Mindfulness and Race
- How to Be Less Stupid About Race by Crystal F. Fleming, a personal, humorous, irreverent dive into the history and politics of systemic racism
- My Grandmother’s Hands by Resmaa Menakem - Healing Racial Trauma and Police Trauma
- Why We’re Polarized by Ezra Klein - Intersection of Racism and Political Polarization
- The Color of Law: The Forgotten History of How our Government Segregated America, by Richard Rothstein, on the history of housing segregation
- Jesus and John Wayne: How White Evangelicals Corrupted a Faith and Fractured a Nation, by Kristin Kobes Du Mez, the history and present-day championing of white supremacy on the Christan Right
- Overcoming Bias: Building Authentic Relationships Across Differences by Tiffany Jana and Matthew Freeman
- Caste by Isabelle Wilkerson, history and origins of U.S. caste system as compared to India and Nazi Germany by the Pulizter Prize-winning author of The Warmth of Other Suns
Listening
- Speaking of Racism podcast
- Good Ancestor Podcast with Lalya F. Saad
- NPR's Having 'The Talk': Expert Guidance on Preparing Kids for Police Interactions may assist the conversation for families with children of color.
- Code Switch Podcast from NPR
- Nice White Parents from New York Times and Serial
- Brene Brown's interview with Sonya Renee Taylor: The Body is Not an Apology
Watching
- 13th - Mass incarceration
- COVID-19 & Racial Embodiment - 2-part conversation with Resmaa Menakem and Robin D’Angelo
- TED Talk: How to teach kids to talk about taboo subjects by Liz Kleinrock
- TED Talk: Is my Skin Brown Because I Drank Chocolate Milk? by Dr. Beverly Tatum
Watching with Kids
- Harriet - Harriet Tubman
- Facing Frederick - The Life of Frederick Douglass
- MOTV - The Mosaic Project's virtual campfire / YouTube channel
- Segregated by Design a short animated film on the history of housing segregation, narrated by Richard Rothstein
Children’s Books
- The Breaking News by Sarah Reul
- Sulwe by Lupita Nyong’o
- All Because You Matter by Tami Charles
- The Proudest Blue by Ibtihaj Muhammad
- I Too, Am America by Langston Hughes
- Separate is Never Equal by Sylvia Mendez
- Young Water Protectors by Aslan Tudor
- The Day You Begin by Jacqueline Woodson
- Dreamers by Yuyi Morales
- Mae Among the Stars by Roda Ahmed
- When We Were Alone by David Robertson
- Little Leaders: Bold Women in Black History by Vashti Harrison
- Alma and How She Got Her Name by Juana Martinez-Neal
- The Colors of Us by Karen Katz
- The Story of Ruby Ridges by Robert Cole
- The Skin You Live In by Michael Tyler
- Happy in Our Skin by Fran Manushkin
- The website Here Wee Read also has comprehensive book lists for all ages, including infants.
- See Conscious Kid for many other BIPOC book recommendations for kids.
Curated Resource Lists
- Action Guide for Families: 12 Tools & Tips for Taking Interpersonal Action For Social Change - from The Mosaic Project
- Conscious Kid - Educational resources for parenting through a critical race lens
- Scaffolded List of Anti-Racism Resources
- Mental Health Resources for BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color)
- Embrace Race: 10 Tips for Teaching and Talking to Kids About Race
- Embrace Race: 5 Things to Know if You Love a Mixed-race Kid
- Embrace Race: 8 Tips for Talking to Your Child about Racial Injustice
- Anti-Racism Resources for Parents