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Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

Statement of Purpose and Belief: Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

SPF Students Holding US Flag

 We believe that all students have a right to learn in equitable and inclusive classrooms that foster a sense of belonging.

Equitable and inclusive classrooms are places where each student’s identity is affirmed through the physical environment, interactions and relationships among students and teachers, the curriculum, resources and materials, and methods of instruction.

In equitable and inclusive classrooms, ample mirrors and windows are provided for all students so that they can learn about themselves and others, celebrate the ways that diversity contributes to our society, and forge connections based on the universal needs and desires of all human beings.

In creating and fostering equitable and inclusive classrooms, we recognize that social, cultural and historical factors influence the extent to which specific student identities have been made invisible, have been disparaged, or have been denied.  As such, equity demands that a concerted effort must be made to incorporate explicit instruction on topics that recognize and affirm the identities and experiences of marginalized people while building students' skills in engaging in these topics through respectful dialogue and collaborative inquiry.  

As a result of learning in an equitable and inclusive environment, developing a sense of belonging and positive self-identity, and learning about how prejudice, discrimination and bias affect individuals and society, our students will work towards the following goals:

  1. Identity: Each student will demonstrate self-awareness, confidence, family pride, and positive social identities while communicating their values and experiences in ways that invite understanding and build bridges with others.
  2. Diversity: Each student will express comfort and joy with human diversity; use accurate language in speaking of human differences, engage in meaningful dialogue across lines of difference; and form deep, caring human connections.
  3. Justice: Each student will increasingly recognize unfairness, and engage others in productive conversations about injustice; acquire language to describe unfairness, and gain understanding that unfairness hurts.
  4. Action: Each student will demonstrate empowerment and the necessary skills to act with others, against prejudice and/or discrimination, including the ability to facilitate difficult conversations, build coalitions across differences, and engage in respectful advocacy.