DEI Beats: Reflections on Diversity Week

Welcome to the first installment of DEI Beats, a new series from the Parent Organization Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion committee. In this edition, a kindergarten parent and an 11th-grade parent reflect on Diversity Week activities from both campuses, where students learned to affirm identities and were moved by bold performances.

“I was thrilled by the work in kindergarten of exploring what makes us unique. After reading All the Colors We Are: The Story of How We Get Our Skin Color By Kate Kissinger, the kids custom mixed and matched their skin tone in paint. This project was not only fun and exciting for the kids, it fostered conversations that created comfort in speaking about race and affirming individual identity.”

—Candace, Kindergarten Parent

“As a High School parent, I wasn’t expecting to walk in to the Oakwood gym and shed tears. On the Thursday of Diversity Week, the students experienced an amazing performance by five spoken word poets from Get Lit. Khalmal Iwuanyanwu’s piece really struck a nerve with the audience and got a standing ovation. Watch his performance on YouTube here and picture it in front of a packed house at the Oakwood gym!”

—Carolyn, 11th grade parent

As parents, if you have any DEI thoughts, observations, or inspirations that you’d like to share please submit to us and it can appear here in our NEW ongoing segment—PODEI Beats.