At Kennedy Heights Montessori Center, we stand with our Black students, families, and community members in protest against police brutality and systemic racism.
It has always been our mission to serve a diverse student body that reflects the Kennedy Heights neighborhood and surrounding communities. Our teachers and staff aim for racial representation in the classroom through a variety of books, toys, work materials, and learning aids. However, we recognize the need for more active anti-bias/anti-racist education, training, and policies/procedures. We will be implementing the following initiatives:
We will work to ensure the diversity of our school in the years to come, starting with the toddler program, which has traditionally been private-pay. Through a generous donation, we have established a scholarship to allocate two spots in the toddler program to low-income and minority students. We want to remove barriers to accessing high-quality early education services.
Post-pandemic, we plan to establish an adult lending library with resources regarding racism, white privilege, and anti-Blackness, as well as works by Black authors and artists. We hope this serves as a tool for learning and a pathway to advocacy.
We will immediately be exploring ways to bring anti-racist trainings to faculty and staff, and it is our goal to offer this to families as well. We aim to create opportunities for conversation among the KHMC community.
Anti-bias, anti-racism, and diversity initiatives will be an agenda item at every future Board meeting. As a reminder, Board meetings are held the second Wednesday of the month and are open to all KHMC parents and caregivers. We encourage open dialogue and we welcome your voice.