Equity Leadership Group
Our Mission:
Contribute significantly to the school's climate of acceptance, respect, and equity for all.
The goals of the group are to:
- Establish awareness by looking at diversity and equity from a variety of perspectives
- Develop leadership skills
- Foster resilience in speaking up against negativity
- Learn the skill of leading discussions on sensitive issues
- Empower students to speak up
- Impact the community at large by creating workshops, programs and advisory activities
Recent Events:
2021 KidsCourt Competition Winners
Recognition at the Board of Education Meeting
Monday, June 7, 2021
Presentation for the WestWoods Diversity Club
Schoolwide Advisory: Hurtful and Hateful Language
In effort to encourage friendly and kind interactions among our peers, the ELG created a presentation for our peers about microaggressions. Employing presentation slides, pause point discussions, videos, and proactive circles, students learned and discussed what not to say or do, as well as tools that they can use to speak up against hurtful and hateful language.
New Equity Bulletin Board in the Main Foyer
Partnering with our Younger Peers
Many members of the ELG created a presentation and proactive circle with the students in the equity group at West District School. Thanks to a connection from Gina Guglietta, we got to know our younger peers and discussed ways that diversity and equity are embraced at our schools.
Book Study: This is Your Time by Ruby Bridges
Along with the Diversity Club and students from the CREC program, we read and discussed the recently published book by American activist and hero Ruby Bridges.
Press Release - Ruby Bridges (1).pdfParticipation in CT KidsCourt Academy
A few ELG members applied and recirnearned entracceptance into the KidsCourt Academy.
kids court academy brochure.pdfBlack History Month Assembly
Students Attend a Seminar for BIPOC Youth
The Center of Racial Justice and Youth Engaged Research at UMass Amherst is offering this opportunity to students ages 11-14 in January and February. The RHC Lab is a community space for self-identified Black, Indigenous, and middle-school students of color who are interested in exploring racial healing and collective liberation in an inquiry-based, healing-centered way. The purpose of the program is:
- To gather a group of BIPOC youth across the so-called U.S.
- To build collective community based on shared values, common purpose, and accessibility
- To explore and analyze the racialized, gendered, and disabling effects of capitalism through political education with youth
- To explore and embody notions of healing justice and collectivism through problem-posed, dialogical, and experiential learning approaches
- To gather an archive of cultural ethnographies that compile and celebrate our personal and collective resistance practices
Honoring Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s Legacy
Members of the Diversity Club and the Equity Leadership Group wrote essays about MLK's legacy for the State of Connecticut competition.
Presented Peer Survey Data and Suggestions to IAR Faculty and Staff
Members of the ELG analyzed the data collected from the peer survey that they created in the Fall and shared the results at a Faculty Meeting. They provided staff members with suggestions and possible action steps based upon the data that they analyzed.
Equity Matters with Health and Safety, too.
Two of us redesigned the equity bulletin board to encourage everyone to do her/his part to keep our community healthy and safe.
Some of us were interviewed about our equity work for an IAR video.
We surveyed our peers about their experiences with connected learning because we want to make sure that the experience is equitable for all.
We are currently analyzing the results and plan on designing action steps.
Then, we will present our analysis at a Faculty Meeting.
GoogleMeet with Zoe Jenkins
Zoe Jenkins, a high school senior, has made a difference in her school related to anti-racism. An article that she wrote was published in Education Week. The members of the Equity Leadership Group and the Diversity Club read and discussed her article, as well as what she was doing in her school to bring about positive change. We also reflected upon our own work at IAR. Then, both groups joined together to meet with Ms. Jenkins via GoogleMeet. Our discussion with her was extremely powerful and empowering, as she and many of us shared personal stories of bias and discrimination and how to overcome situations by calling people in and educating people about the issues.
Letters of Support to Congresswoman Jahana Hayes
A subcommittee of the ELG have written letters to Congresswoman Hayes to show our support against the people who had attached her with racial epithets at a Zoom campaign event recently. We were sickened and saddened that people in a civilized society would stoop to such offensive behavior. We felt as though we should reach out to her to let her know that she is not alone and that there are good people out there who view her as a fellow human being who deserved respect.
Student Voice and Agency
Check out the video below that students made about their equity work at IAR.
Copy of Master Equity Video.mp4Peer-to-Peer Survey about Equity and SEL
The ELG has been crafting ideas and creating on a survey for peers to check in with peers about how they are feeling about and coping with hybrid learning. It is an anonymous survey that will go out to students soon. Then, we will analyze the data and create action steps to help address any needs that our fellow students have.
Participating in the IAR Opening Ceremony.
Mary Hannan represented us well by giving a speech during the virtual ceremony.
Raising awareness of Women's Rights and the 19th Amendment.
Getting ready for the start of school with an equity welcome message.
KidsCourt Competition sponsored by the Connecticut Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities
Equity Leadership Group Members Help the Community
For #BeKindOnline week/day, students in the Equity Leadership Group at Irving A. Robbins Middle School, with the help of the Diversity Club, came up with the idea to spread kindness and appreciation to their peers by creating a digital poster of a "You Rock!" rock.
Starting Monday, they sent the digital poster that they created to some of their peers.
This was the Equity Leadership Group's way of spreading kindness online for their peers and taking part in the national initiative. In fact, they liked their plan so much that they asked if they could send it to parents and friends outside of the IAR community.
Be Kind Online, You Rock!.pdf
How to stay safe and keep yourself not bored video.mp4Equity Leadership Training
Members shared their experiences at the Parent Forum with the IAR faculty
March 3, 2020
Members presented at the Parent Forum on February 27, 2020
This was a student-led presentation on IAR's equity and diversity initiatives. Students showcased highlights of their outreach and their connections with FHS and other surrounding communities. Their student leadership has transformed our school climate and culture into a more inclusive one.
We had the opportunity to attend many presentations at FHS for Social Justice Week.
- Equity Leadership Group members, some of whom are also active members of the Diversity Club presented to district-wide faculty at the FPS Professional Development on October 19, 2019. They shared what they have been doing at IAR to create a welcoming and respectful climate for all and they led proactive circles to encourage teachers to think about their own culture and the cultures of their students.
