Equity and Belonging Overview

At Stevens, we appreciate and celebrate the inherent value in having a diverse staff and faculty, providing windows and mirrors for our students and families. Our students need to see their own qualities and identities mirrored in their faculty, and benefit from the opportunity to see through "windows" into different experiences, cultures, values and backgrounds. Research has shown that students from all backgrounds benefit both socially and academically from being members of diverse classrooms. Diversity refers to the full range of human differences within overarching similarities. These differences can be visible or invisible, mutable or not. Schools foster diversity by ensuring that their communities include people from many different backgrounds and perspectives (NAIS, Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging).

• Stevens students have opportunities to connect with peers from many different cultures in a number of ways.
  • 8th graders participate in an exchange program with students in Mexico City and collaborate on online projects throughout the year.
  • In Science class, 5th grade students have collaborated with a school in Nigeria in partnership with Level Up Village.
  • Sixth grade students have video conferenced with students in Colombia, Argentina and Mexico during their Spanish classes.
  • Middle school Mandarin students have conferenced with peers in China to discuss their common interests and unique perspectives.
• Students examine issues of equity and social justice through our Classroom Advisory Program (CAP) and Social Studies curriculum, and have been able to take action when they see needs or injustices in their communities. Examples of action that our students have taken include:
  • Successfully petitioning for Diwali and Eid to be designated official school holidays (implemented 2022-23)
  • Publicly advocating against Florida's "Don't Say Gay" law, which limits classroom discussions of sexual orientation and gender identity
  • Meeting with public officials to discuss local efforts to fight climate change
  • Soliciting book donations to populate Hoboken's "Little Free Library"
  • Planting trees in our neighborhood parks on Arbor Day
  • Gathering donations of school supplies for orphanages in Mexico City
  • Teaming up with other Hoboken schoolchildren to make sandwiches for three local shelters and food pantries
  • Organizing a school-wide pledge against antisemitism amid a nationwide rise in violence toward Jewish people
  • Walking 1.5 miles in support of Girls Rising and the 129 million girls out of school around the world
  • Cleaning up the shorelines in Hoboken and Jersey City
  • Donating dry goods and childcare resources to local organizations including the York Street Project, the Hoboken Shelter, Welcome Home Jersey City, and St. Lucy's Shelter.

Professional Development
Every year our faculty and staff have the opportunity to attend workshops and conferences locally, nationally and internationally. Our faculty have attended: NAIS People of Color Conference; the White Privilege Conference, The Lion’s Story Institute,  the NYSAIS Educating Girls Symposium, the NYSAIS Gender and Human Sexuality Conference and many more. Our academic team has also attended the NAIS Diversity Leadership Institute. We have also had the opportunity to come together across constituencies (students, staff, faculty, administrators, alumni, parents and caregivers) at the Widening the Lens Conference each year, where we explore different themes around diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging within our own community as well as share with other NJAIS schools.

Visiting Professionals

• Valarie Kaur “See No Stranger” Keynote Address 
• Dr. Sandra Chapman “Children’s Development of Difference,” “Benefits of Affinity Groups,” “Experiencing Affinity Groups” 
• Rosetta Lee, Tamisha Williams, Kawai Lai “Visual Strategies for Facilitating Middle School Affinity Groups”
• Tiffany Taylor Smith "Building a Culturally Competent School Community"
• Ackerman Institute "Creating Gender Inclusive Schools: Supporting Students Beyond the Binary"
• Sara Wicht "Facilitating Critical Conversations in the Classroom" and "Social Justice 101"

Reading to Support Our Ongoing Learning
Summer reading has included:

• See No Stranger: A Memoir and Manifesto of Revolutionary Love by Valarie Kaur 
• How Children Succeed: Grit, Curiosity, and the Hidden Power of Character by Paul Tough
• Mindset by Carol Dweck
• Totto-chan: The Little Girl in the Window by Tetsuko Kuroyanagi
• Mind in the Making by Ellen Galinsky
• Blindspot: Hidden Biases of Good People by Mahzarin R Banaji
• Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson
• George by Alex Gino
• Let's Get Real: Exploring Race, Class and Gender Identities in the Classroom by Martha Caldwell and Omar Frame
• Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates
• White Fragility by Robin Diangelo
• White Like Me by Tim Wise
• The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

Research shows that children are aware of differences between one another from a very early age. We also know that families use a variety of approaches when discussing difference with their children.
Below are links to some resources that you may find helpful when it comes to talking to children in a positive, non-judgmental way about these issues:

• The Question Corner (a variety of resources on talking to children about difference provided by Anti-Defamation League)
• Talking to Kids about Gender Stereotypes (MediaSmarts)
• Teaching Young Children about Bias (Edutopia)