#IBelongWDMCS Newsletter

This is a place to stay up-to-date with our Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) department news. Our regular staff and family newsletters will still have some DEI updates, but the majority of our information will live here (and be linked in those newsletters).

This newsletter is a place to find information, but it's also a place to find belonging. It's important to us to be transparent about how we are co-creating inclusive spaces with our community, and that's what this newsletter is for.

• Welcome Letter from Dr. Jok, Executive Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
• VIDEO: Recap of DEI Efforts in 2022-23
• Here's What's Next: Focus Areas for the 2023-24 Year
• Observances: October and November Calendar Observances

Team,

Good day! I hope this finds you and your family in good health. The 2023-24 school year is underway, and I wanted to share some thoughts with our WDMCS community on #IBelongWDMCS.

I joined WDMCS in August 2022, and the last year has been productive, challenging, and affirming. I appreciate the engagement of all members of our team — from the collaboration between families, staff, and schools to the brilliance and cultural wisdom of our increasingly diverse student body. I also acknowledge the impact of microaggressions, deficit language and practices, and othering of some members of our community.

As we move forward, we will continue to center the humanity of our community members through belonging. Our WDMCS DEI Shared Language Glossary defines belonging as “the feeling of security and support when there is a sense of acceptance, inclusion, authenticity, and identity.” American giant Dr. Maya Angelou once said, “You only are free when you realize you belong no place – you belong to every place – no place at all. The price is high. The reward is great.”

We are all responsible for co-creating necessary spaces that nurture, affirm, and celebrate the each unique individual. To start, consider reflecting on your identities and values and how you show up. Are your actions and behaviors aligned with your values?

Belonging is an individual and collective responsibility. Each member of our community needs to know their story, tell their story, and advocate for themself. James Baldwin once said, “You have to decide who you are and force the world to deal with you, not with its idea of you.” As we (re)claim our dignity and stories, remember you are not alone. You deserve to be seen, heard, affirmed, and celebrated here. You belong here. You are WDMCS.

Reflect and act on these questions:

• What does belonging feel like, sound like, look like for you?
• Who belongs in your inner circle?

This year, the WDMCS DEI Department will focus on developing capacity, co-creating sustained systems, and building culturally affirming processes that center the humanity of our students, staff, families, and school communities.

Oct. 9 is Indigenous Peoples' Day, followed by Native American Heritage Month in November. So, what's the difference between these two observances, and why are they so close together?

Indigenous Peoples' Day reframes Columbus Day and the narrative that Christopher Columbus "discovered" North America. First proposed by Indigenous people at a United Nations conference in 1977, Indigenous Peoples' Day was formally adopted through a presidential proclamation in 2021.

For Native American Heritage Month in November (and Native American Heritage Day on Nov. 24, 2023), proclamations under various names have been issued every year since 1994. Early advocates for a day of recognition were Seneca archaeologist and historian Dr. Arthur C. Parker and reverend and advocate Red Fox James, assumed to be of the Blackfoot Tribe. More recently, activists have pointed out that the proximity of Native American Heritage Month and Native American Heritage Day (Nov. 24, 2023) to Thanksgiving and Black Friday is not appropriate.

Keep Learning

• Native American History Month website
• Native American and Alaska Native Heritage Month documentaries from PBS
• "Rethinking How We Celebrate American History—Indigenous Peoples’ Day" — Smithsonian Magazine
• "For Many Native Americans, Fall Is The Least Wonderful Time Of The Year" — NPR Code Switch
• "Native American Heritage Day Falling On Black Friday Is 'Poor Taste,' Activist Says" — WBUR (Boston), NPR

If your family would like to learn about additional national and international observances in October and November, you can start with these resources: