Art Program Mission Regarding Diversity, Equity, and Race

This year as my professional practice goal with my art department we have set this as our mission statement. I have created a new section of my website devoted to building resources and revising my lessons you can find under the DEI section.

Art Program Mission Regarding Diversity, Equity, and Race
In alignment with Burlington High School’s core values and learning expectations for students, the BHS (BPS) Art Program will 

• Examine and revise the BHS curriculum to include equitable and authentic representation and highlight the indispensable contributions that people of color have made to the world; 
• Identify our practices and programming that maintain systemic inequity and take the steps necessary to enact change;
• Engage administration, faculty, and staff in ongoing professional development that ensures educators understand and implement equitable classroom practices that promote justice for all;
• Create actively antiracist educational spaces that prioritize student voice;
• Develop and communicate a clear protocol for addressing race-related issues that impact BHS community members;
• Empower ourselves and our students to communicate and collaborate in ways that work toward solutions to the continued problems of inequity in the world; 
• Model respect, empathy, and responsibility in our classrooms and develop meaningful opportunities for students to learn the power of these values

First Steps:

• Commit to explore/read many of the resources in this document; take notes; gather ideas.
• Develop a limited (well-curated, not overwhelming) list of references and resources to share with art students at each grade level.
• Full-hour department meetings in new school year, with first portion devoted to equity issues