inclusivity
Raised to the power of Mirman

Statement of Inclusivity

We are committed to building a connected community that embraces multiple perspectives and cultural competency to strengthen gifted education and growth in the whole child.

At Mirman, we strive to integrate inclusivity in our curriculum, school culture, and institutional identity.

We honor and support a community built on diversity of thought, experiences, and identities to best engage our students in the academic, sociocultural, and complex world in which we learn and live.

Dignity. Belonging. Justice.

Our equity and inclusion work is guided by the NAIS Principles of Good Practice; the Office of Equity, Inclusion, and Community; the Board Committee on Inclusivity; Mirman's Statement of Inclusivity, philosophy of education, and Core Values; and the overarching theme of "Dignity, Belonging, and Justice," where every member of the Mirman community has the right to be seen, affirmed, valued, and advocated for. 

Equity and inclusion at Mirman bridge three areas of school life: curriculum and instruction, culture and climate, and institutional identity. Guided by the Board of Trustees' vision and strategic plan, students, families, and educators partner together to teach, learn, and practice inclusivity and equity in our connected community.

Our work includes but is not limited to curriculum planning, affinity groups, community-wide education and programming, service learning, and campus activities and events.

Guiding Principles and Practice

We strengthen ourselves, our relationships, and our communities by affirming differences and enriching connections through cultural competency and anti-bias education. These intersecting practices enable us to nurture constructive lifelong learners through the following principles:
 
Cultural Competency — How we understand cultural differences and apply that understanding within the context of community. 

  • Cultural Self-Awareness: How does my cultural identity influence the way I interact on a daily basis?
  • Awareness of Other Cultures: What is my understanding of the culture of the individuals/groups I engage with?
  • Cross-Cultural Effectiveness Skills: What skills do I need to work effectively across differences?
  • Advocating for Equity through Inclusion: How do I manage the dynamics of privilege and bias that may impact my daily interactions, in order to work toward a better world?
Anti-Bias Education — What cultural competency looks like in curriculum, instruction, and community engagement through the lens of identity development

  • Identity: Students and community members will demonstrate self-awareness, confidence, family pride, and positive social identities.
  • Diversity: Students and community members will express comfort and joy with human diversity; accurate language for human differences; and deep, caring human connections.
  • Justice: Students and community members will increasingly recognize unfairness, have language to describe unfairness, and understand that unfairness hurts.
  • Action/Advocacy: Students and community members will demonstrate empowerment and the skills to act, with others or alone, against prejudice and/or discriminatory actions.

Affinity Groups

"Invisibility erases identity and experience. Visibility affirms reality."
— Louise Derman-Sparks and Julie Olsen Edwards

Adapted from Derman-Sparks and Edwards’ anti-bias education framework, Mirman launched affinity groups to affirm the identity and experience for all of the constituents that make up our community — students, families, and faculty and staff.

Affinity groups, regardless of age, are brave spaces to continue the ever-growing, ever-evolving work on our individual and collective identities. Never to function in isolation, these groups intentionally gather together to engage in cross-racial, cross-cultural, and intersectional dialogues.

These are spaces of connectivity, laughter, discomfort, discoveries, vulnerability, resilience, and most importantly, of immersion/emersion — we go in fully and come out more whole.

Affinity Groups are currently offered across both divisions on a voluntary basis, and are facilitated by trained faculty and administration. Students choose the affinity group(s) that speak to their identities with a focus on self-discovery, self-awareness, and self-affirmation.

For Families
The current affinity group offerings for families include:
  • Families of African Ancestry at Mirman (FAAM) is the longest-standing affinity group at Mirman and includes current Mirman students, parents and faculty as well as past Mirman students and families. FAAM is both a safe and brave space for Black families to connect, build and share their unique and collective experiences about what it means to be Black at Mirman. FAAM meets quarterly.
  • White Anti-Racist Model (WARM) is a community of support, education and accountability for White people. It is a place for us to move conversations about race and racism from the theoretical to the lived experience and as we begin and/or continue to practice what it means to be anti-racist. This space offers a safe, supportive, and collective place to develop our awareness and grow in our individual identities as people and parents.
  • Coming Soon:
    • Families of Children With Disabilities
    • Hispanic/Latinx Affinity Group 

For Students
The current affinity group offerings for students include:
  • Black Joy at Mirman (BJAM) is a space for Lower School students of African ancestry to connect, build cultural pride, and celebrate what it means to be unapologetically Black.
  • Black Student Union (BSU) is an affinity group for students who identify as Black/African American to connect, build, and share their unique and collective experiences about what it means to be Black at Mirman.
  • Feminists Learn International (FLI) is a chapter of Girls Learn International. FLI empowers and educates middle school students to (1) advocate for human rights, equality, and universal education, (2) build a movement of informed advocates for universal girls’ education, and (3) become the new generation of leaders and activists for social change. FLI is open to all genders.
  • Jewish Affinity Group is an affinity space to share experiences, concerns, and further develop students’ identities as Jewish people. This group is open to people who identify as culturally, ethnically, and/or religiously Jewish.
  • Kaleidoscope is an affinity space for students to connect over experiences and conversations about unique family structures. We celebrate all the beautiful and complex aspects that each of our families represent in our lives.
  • PRISM is a brave space for Mirman students who identify across the spectrum or are personally questioning to come together to explore their identities, discuss shared experiences & challenges, to build community.
  • ¡Unidos! is a space for Lower School students who identify as Hispanic and/or Latinx to connect with one another, share experiences, and celebrate Hispanic and Latinx culture.
  • White Allyship is an affinity space for recognizing, discussing, and understanding what being white means for yourself and others through an activist lens.
  • Students of Color Collective (SOCC) is an umbrella affinity space that brings all students of color and multiracial students together. SOCC makes visible the racial and ethnic diversity on Mirman’s campus by affirming individual and collective identities.
 
For Faculty and Staff
The current affinity group offerings for faculty and staff include:
  • Asian, Pacific Islander, South Asian (APISA) Affinity Group is a brave space for open dialogue to recognize the unique challenges Asian, Pacific Islander faculty and staff face and to provide a space for the diverse voices, narratives and experiences of Asian, Pacific Islander communities as we celebrate each other.
  • Black Excellence at Mirman (BEAM) is an affinity space for Black/African American faculty and staff to freely confront the issue of humanization, resist, connect, collectively heal and build together.
  • Gay, Lesbian or Whatever (GLOW) is brave space for Mirman faculty and staff who identify across the spectrum or are personally questioning to come together to explore their identities, discuss shared experiences & challenges, to build community.
  • International Affinity Group is a space to build a cross-cultural, international community at Mirman to connect, celebrate, and support each other.
  • Jewish Affinity Group is an affinity space to share experiences, concerns, and further develop faculty and staff members’ identities as Jewish people. This group is open to people who identify as culturally, ethnically, and/or religiously Jewish.
  • Hispanic/Latinx Affinity Group is a space to build, connect and celebrate with each other around what it means to identify as Latinx, Latina, or Hispanic in our communities.
  • Working Parents Affinity Group is an affinity space for working parents to come together to share their experiences, discuss resources and provide reciprocal support as we navigate issues related to being both an employee and a parent.
  • White Anti-Racist Alliance Group is a space for recognizing, discussing, and understanding what being White means for yourself and others through an activist, anti-racist lens.
For more information about IE, please contact the Director of Equity, Inclusion, and Community.
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Non-discrimination Policy

Mirman School is committed to building and sustaining a community
that is free from discrimination of any kind. Mirman School does not
discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, gender, gender
expression, sexual orientation, or national or ethnic origin in its admission
process or in the administration of any school program or policy.
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