Rooted in Justice, Rooted in Peace: Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Justice, and Belonging in a Montessori School
As a Montessori School with a proud tradition of inclusion, Washington Montessori School has built our community around the values of independence, belonging, and purpose. At WMS, student agency and educational excellence are the direct result of their sense of belonging. Our school focuses on building respectful, equitable, and supportive connections among students, between teachers and students, and with staff, parents, and the wider community.
We also recognize the work of Peace Education is ongoing and we must continue to build on Dr. Montessori’s mission by strengthening our anti-bias and anti-racist approach. Our students must recognize injustice and work for peace in relation to the great challenges of our day: institutionalized racism, socioeconomic inequality, political polarization, and discrimination on the basis of social identifiers like gender, sexuality, religion, immigration status, physical and cognitive ability, different ways of learning, body size and shape, and socioeconomic status, among other factors.
Our ultimate goal is to meet and surpass the expectations of the first-class educational institutions we send our students to after they graduate — and to become a beacon for Peace and Justice in the greater community.
Below is a plan for our Peace Education work based on our school’s mission and values (in bold), the plans we have already undertaken, and the outcomes we seek to achieve. This plan is always a work in progress. If you have questions or suggestions, please reach out to any WMS administrator.
Our Mission
Washington Montessori School creates an inclusive and joyful environment supported by a deeply rooted community of families and educators…
To support this goal, we have:
- Crafted the school’s priorities, budget, and long-term goals with an eye to Peace, Justice, and Belonging work.
To support this goal, we will:
- Seek ways to increase the sense of belonging of students, staff, and families.
- Assess our hiring practices and compensation model to hire an exceptional and diverse staff.
- Become a resource to the greater community. For example, we want to help deepen the conversation and learning among Montessori schools and independent schools throughout our region.
…where children embrace their individual and collective potential…
To support this goal, we have:
- Supported the WMS Community Partnership Program (CPP) with Children’s Community School over decades to increase our school’s racial and religious diversity, despite the challenges of being in a relatively homogenous area.
- Expanded the CPP to include students from two nearby cities and three schools.
- Created more family orientation opportunities and information systems to increase a better sense of belonging at WMS for all families new to the community.
And we will:
- Continue to expand the Community Partnership Program.
…ad prepare to live with integrity in a changing world.
To support this goal we will:
- Assess how we empower students to engage in community service, encouraging deep learning and engagement.
- Widen learning opportunities available to our students in every plane of development, particularly around questions of identity, diversity, and justice.
- Audit and continue to strengthen our process at every program level for addressing microaggressions in the educational environment, with the goal of modeling growth, learning, and repair as fundamental to living with integrity in a changing world.
Our Values
INDEPENDENCE
When given responsibility, agency, and freedom within limits, children develop resilience, confidence, flexibility, and self-reliance.
To support this value, we will:
- Provide training for staff so that they are confident in facilitating conversations about difficult topics.
- Provide structured time and space for safe discussions of challenging topics, recognizing that it takes time for children to develop and express their own ideas.
BELONGING
Mutual respect, compassion, empathy, collaboration, and kindness build an environment of trust in which a diverse group of individuals can thrive.
To support the goal of building an environment of trust, we have:
- Formed a Peace, Justice, and Belonging Steering Committee made up of representatives from the Board, Staff, and parent body.
- Adopted Community Meeting agreements for adults and children.
- Held schoolwide book club discussions.
- Invited experts and educators to come speak to parents, faculty, and Board members.
- Provided faculty with professional development time and resources to undertake group learning projects.
- Worked with trained facilitators.
- Built the groundwork for affinity groups and dedicated Ambassador positions.
To support this value, we will:
- Continue building on our skills with workshops and conversations in order to more fully express our positive regard for children of all identities.
PURPOSE
Our prepared environment creates space for children to be curious, creative, active learners who engage with their own education, pursue excellence, and chart their course in an evolving world.
To support this goal we have:
- Provided space and facilitators for affinity groups.
- Joined the Troutbeck Symposium to encourage our middle school students to engage in original research on people whose history is not fully represented.
To support this goal we will:
- Seek opportunities to expand student knowledge and understanding of culture and identity.
- Support the development of other affinity spaces for students or adults.
Our students become lifelong learners who understand who they are.
To support this outcome, we have:
- Supported the creation of an affinity group for parents of neurodiverse learners.
- Provided support for teachers to learn how to support and celebrate neurodiverse learners.
They value other people, treating them with dignity and kindness.
To support this outcome, we have:
- Begun a “Windows and Mirrors” Book Collection at WMS and hosted our first Windows and Mirrors book fair.
- Purchased a book chosen by each child in the school to build out our collection.
And we will:
- Use research-based resources to structure learning for our students.
They believe in their ability to solve problems and contribute to the world in positive ways, and see life as filled with possibility.
To support this outcome, we have:
- Shared Dr. Martin Luther King’s 6 Peace Principles throughout the school.
