DIVERSITY & INCLUSION STATEMENT

As an educator and as a learner, I have seen how environments with wide variety of identities, backgrounds and opinions foster better discussion and understanding of the contemporary issues. To address how I work towards a more equitable and inclusive classroom, I will focus here on my work as a university educator and as secondary public school teacher. 

I anticipate students entering an arts classroom to be diverse in a myriad of ways. Classes are comprised of different ages of learners, physical and cognitive abilities, races, belief systems, genders, and life experiences. Fostering a diverse learning environment also means recognizing that people entering my classroom will have different advantages and barriers that can create unequal starting points. As an educator, I am committed to offering support that helps to correct this imbalance, and to create a safe environment where all voices are valued.

During my five years at BASIS Mesa, we had an extremely diverse student body, with many international students that had grown up in different academic systems. As the students felt they could safely offer from their experience, the cultural complexity of our class lead to incredibly rich discussions, with a broader view of contemporary issues.

In my time as a public educator, I have worked with students from a wide range of socioeconomic backgrounds, including working from two years at a Public Title 1 school, with high numbers of low-income students who are considered at-risk for school achievement. Many of my students during this time would be the first from their families to graduate high school, from historically underserved backgrounds, or first-generation immigrants being received into communities where inclusion and equity was an uphill battle. My first message to all of my students was posted clearly and sizably on the wall above my main white board, a 14’ statement: You Are Enough.

In an effort to address equity issues amongst my student body, I scheduled specific workshop and studio days weekly. These days would alternate, with structured intensive workshops to teach skills and media to students who had little training or support, and open studio hours where students could access classroom and donated materials and resources to provide a safe space for more one-on-one access to instruction.

In art departments I have worked with, I’ve built a structure of student leadership. Representatives were chosen across different levels of advancement and areas of focus. Students leaders were critical in helping all voices feel welcome and needed in our department. They would plan activities, help research community exhibition and service opportunities, and became critical in pulling in their peers and growing our program. Entrusting students from all backgrounds with leadership opportunities builds student confidence that their voices matter and allowed our department to have a more full picture of our student body in our planning meetings. Our student art councils lead to other opportunities, such as a Gay Straight Alliance formed by one student leader, which I sponsored and facilitated.