Diversity Statement

SEED - Seeking Educational Equity and Diversity - The National SEED Project trains leaders who facilitate their community in conversations to drive personal, organizational, and societal change toward social justice. Families and caregivers dedicate 90 minutes a month for a school year to engage in this program. 

PSOC - Parents of Students of Color - This affinity group for parents/caregivers of students of color has been in existence since 1995. Participants meet bi-monthly to support each other, learn, and engage with the wider community.

C4E - Caregivers for Equity - This is an anti-bias and anti-racist parent and caregiver group whose mission is to journey together to create a safe, vulnerable, and brave community focused on equity, diversity, inclusion, and justice through introspection and actionable work. We invite parents and caregivers from all FCS divisions to join us with open minds as we meet three times a year to learn and grow together. 

Middle & Upper School Affinity Groups
At FCS we provide racial affinity groups for all students in grades 6 - 12 and for FCS employees as well. Affinity groups are groups that intentionally bring together people who have a common identifier such as race, gender, or other social identifiers. In affinity groups, there is an understanding that individuals involved in the group can speak from the "I" perspective about that particular affinity group. In response to our equity audit results, we identified a need to create a uniform understanding around anti-racism, bias, and other terms that help to create a more inclusive and equitable community of belonging. Racial affinity groups allow us to tackle this aspect of our equity plan. In line with Rosetta Lee's work on affinity groups, we seek to create brave spaces for authenticity, allow for critical mass, provide positive identity socialization, resilience, empowerment toward action, and practice to engage deeply with others who identify differently. According to Beverly Daniel Tatum's work around affinity groups, we also seek to honor the ABCs, affirming identity, building community, and cultivating leadership. Our racial affinity groups are constantly reflected upon and modified for student impact, feedback, and new learnings. 

Upper School Clubs
ASA- Asian Student Association, Ableness/Disabilities & Learning Difference Group, Allies, The Brotherhood, BSF, GSOA, Int’l Cuisine & Culture/Students for Islamic Awareness, Jewish Affinity Group, Spanish Club, Sister Circle, Brother Square. Click here to read more about our club.

Every year our Faculty & Staff attend professional development workshops dedicated to Diversity, Equity & Inclusion. Here are a few:

• SEED
  The National SEED Project (Seeking Educational Equity and Diversity)^SM partners with communities, institutions, and schools to develop leaders who guide their peers in conversational communities to drive personal, institutional, and societal change toward social justice.

• Lion’s Story Racial Literacy Institute
  Lion's Story is powered by a collective of professionals dedicated to the work of racial literacy. Daily operations are led and managed by a team of mananging partners and staff, with support from a village of trainers and thought partners that help us carry out our mission.

• Race Institute 
  The Race Institute for K-12 Educators is an affordable and accessible opportunity for educators to grow their racial identities. We believe that it is the job of all educators to support the positive racial identity development of students; educators cannot accomplish this if they themselves do not have a positive racial identity.  The workshop takes place over the course of three 8-hour days.  The same group of 20 educators is present for the entire workshop, which creates an in-depth and personal experience as participants get to know one another and support one another to meet their goals.  Every institute includes a panel of local high school students willing to share their experiences with race in school. Listed below are the framing concepts on which the workshop was designed.

• White Privilege Conference
  For the past 20 years the WPC has examined challenging concepts of privilege and oppression and offers solutions and team building strategies to work towards a more equitable world. WPC is a conference designed to examine issues of privilege beyond skin color. WPC is open to everyone and invites diverse perspectives to provide a comprehensive look at issues of privilege including: race, gender, sexuality, class, disability, etc.

• People of Color Conference (POCC)
  The NAIS People of Color Conference (PoCC) is the flagship of the National Association of Independent Schools' commitment to equity and justice in teaching, learning, and organizational development. The mission of the conference is to provide a safe space for leadership, professional development, and networking for people of color and allies of all backgrounds in independent schools.

• National Diversity Practitioners Institute (NDPI)
  ​Our institute values the work of the practitioner by providing affordable and accessible professional development aimed at expanding the network of practitioners and enhancing the field of trusted practices in equity and inclusion. Our institute strives to raise the value of institutional diversity work.  Our members direct diversity from their place at the table, creating action plans that are unique to their organizations and supportive of their career development.