DIVERSITY, EQUITY, AND INCLUSION
Marvelwood School prides itself on treating all members of our community with dignity and respect. The school constantly strives to create a diverse, equitable, and inclusive school climate. We make every effort to help everyone feel safe and comfortable to be who they are and to feel supported by the community. Marvelwood is committed to being a school that values and celebrates diversity as essential to the experience of our students and staff and where no form of discrimination is tolerated. Students are given the opportunity to make change by working with faculty to create this environment through the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Board and the Cultural and Social Awareness (CASA) Community Service group. In addition to these groups, students, faculty, and staff are given the opportunity to strengthen their understanding of diversity, equity and inclusion through our yearlong IDEAS programming.
DIVERSITY, EQUITY, AND INCLUSION BOARD
The Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Board is a student-led and faculty-supported group whose members work as advocates for their fellow students and act as a liaison between the student body and the administration. The main focus of the DEI Board is to ensure that the school is an inclusive environment where everyone in the community feels supported and understood.
PROGRAMMING
CASA
IDEAS: Inclusion, Diversity, Equity Action Seminars
CASA
The Cultural and Social Awareness (CASA) Community Service group works together to strengthen the Marvelwood community’s understanding of diversity, equity, and inclusion, bringing education and discussion to the wider school community through on-campus activism.
CASA members actively and empathetically strive to:
- be role models in the community;
- Be allies to all those who face discrimination due to their social identities;
- Be active bystanders;
- Be respectful to all faculty and students;
- Be present, share knowledge, and spread compassion;
- Educate others in the community.
IDEAS: Inclusion, Diversity, Equity Action Seminars
IDEAS is a yearlong series of seminars, programs, activities, and events where the entire Marvelwood community thinks about and engages actively in examination of cultural and social topics related to diversity, equity, and inclusion. We embrace and respect differences as we prepare our students to become informed, empowered citizens of an increasingly diverse and challenging world. Each year, IDEAS addresses a curriculum based on one of Marvelwood’s core values: Honesty, Respect, Responsibility, and Service. The program offers opportunities to demonstrate our commitment to important values of cooperation, courage, responsibility, empathy, self-control, and kindness.
The IDEAS program supports a school-wide effort to ensure that we are consistently reviewing and improving our school culture, curriculum, and community for all of our members while reaffirming Marvelwood’s pledge to celebrate diversity and inclusion through education and action. Activities include CASA Movie Nights, when students will watch a movie highlighting a topic related to diversity, equity, and inclusion. After a discussion about that topic, students are required to produce an opinion through a project of their choosing. Real Talks are times when members of the student body can participate in a roundtable discussion of important issues, chosen and moderated by members of CASA. Members of the DEI Board and CASA give presentations during all-school meetings. International Heritage Nights bring students and faculty together to prepare and serve foods from different cultures, offering the community a unique and enjoyable culinary experience. The DEI Board sponsors the Alumni Panel, where graduates answer questions about what college and the professional world is like, and how issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion arise and are addressed in those worlds beyond Marvelwood. We also bring outside speakers on to campus to give their perspective on a variety of topics. Near the end of the school year, the CASA group promotes Cultural Fest, highlighting arts, crafts, and foods from around the world.
