About
Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Belonging
Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging Mission Statement
At Charles Armstrong School, we commit to the ongoing personal and professional work necessary to:
- Cultivate and maintain an equitable and inclusive community where all members feel safe, valued, respected, and that they belong.
- Build a strong sense of identity and social justice in students and adults so that we can express ourselves genuinely and advocate for others.
- Recognize and celebrate diversity to prepare students to thrive in our interconnected, global community.
- Continuously evaluate systems and practices to eliminate systemic bias and inequity.
At Armstrong, we recognize that diversity isn’t just about our learning challenges— our neurodiversity—as a dyslexic community.
Diversity encompasses— among other things— race, socio-economic class, cultural heritage, gender, age, and sexual orientation. It’s what makes a community unique and rich and ever growing.
Armstrong’s Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging (DEIB) task force team is working hard to educate our own community on what it means to be truly inclusive. We want all members of our community to be seen— to feel respected, valued, and encouraged to show up as their fully authentic selves. To this end, our staff and teachers regularly engage in classes, readings, and discussions—many designed by some of the best consultants on diversity—to build on their sensitivity to, and understanding of, our eclectic community.
At Armstrong, we are also aware of the importance of affinity groups, such as the GSA (Gender and Sexualities Alliance). While still in its infancy, this group will eventually provide support and solace for students who belong to the LGBTQ+ community and/or whose family members do.
Armstrong's outreach is not just confined to our campus. Armstrong has a resource list of books, feature films, short films, podcasts, etc. that raises awareness about DEI and its importance in building a stronger, safer, better world for us all for our parents and care givers. In additional, every month, parents and caretakers are encouraged to take part in a discussion group whose aim is to promote understanding and empathy for all the people in our community and the world at large.
At Armstrong, we hope not just to unlock the minds of our dyslexic students, but to inspire our entire community to carry on the important work of social justice.
Our growing awareness of our rich diversity will permeate our classrooms, starting in elementary school all the way through 8th grade. Using the Pollyanna Curriculum, our students are already learning about the “isms,” from racism on, that limit our society. They are grasping how to value one another, advocate for what they need, and form strong identities in a world that is still fraught with social restrictions and injustice.
The School admits students of any race, color, and national and ethnic origin to all the rights, privileges, programs, and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the school. It does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national and ethnic origin, or sex in the administration of its educational and employment policies, admissions policies, financial aid programs, and athletic and other school-administered programs.
