Historical Context for APS Affinity Groups and Spaces
Over the past several years, affinity spaces for APS employees emerged throughout APS in response to what was seen as a need for connection between individuals with similar characteristics. In the fall of 2019, the Mental Health Providers of Color (POC) Group launched in response to the following: to address issues related to retaining staff of color, to address microaggressions in the workplace, to provide support for ethnic groups, to build cross-cultural alliances, to promote equity, to respond to issues of bias and to ensure staff of color were feeling validated.
Further, the Mental Health POC Affinity Group formed with the vision that networking would provide stable communication, create a connection of support and maintain visible partners. More specifically, these relationships would facilitate the recruitment and retention of teachers, staff and leaders of color to help students shape successful futures. In 2021, the Latinx Affinity group was launched to create a safe space for Latinx teachers, staff and leaders to discuss challenges and opportunities in our district and beyond. The group provides Latinx educators with a forum to voice and discuss needs and priorities. The aim is to create lasting change to promote the well-being, hiring, retention and professional growth of Latinx educators.
During the 2020-2021 school year, APS partnered with Promise54, a national organization focused on the intersection of talent and diversity, equity, and inclusion. APS participated in the Denver Talent & Equity Consortium (TEC) to get support in developing and beginning implementation of a plan to strengthen its recruitment and retention of educators of color in APS. A key challenge identified through surveys and focus groups was that there is wide variation in the extent to which staff believe they can bring their whole selves to work, particularly for staff of color. In order to address this challenge, the APS_Promise54 Action Plan established a goal of building a working environment that respects and values the presence of cultural differences in the system. It also identified the creation of affinity groups for different populations in the district to make connections with other colleagues, to have a safe space to discuss challenges and successes and to have support and/or resources. In December 2020, the APS_Promise54 Action Plan was adopted by the APS Leadership Team for implementation.
In order to implement this action step and broaden access to affinity spaces for staff, members of the Mental Health POC Affinity Group, Latinx Affinity Group, and members of the APS Promise54 Core Team collaborated in the Spring/Summer 2021 to develop a framework for establishing district-wide affinity spaces.
During the 2021-22 School Year, four District-Sponsored Affinity Groups were established:
Asian-American Pacific Islander Affinity Group
Black African American Affinity Group
Indigenous Peoples of APS Affinity Group
Latinx Affinity Group