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The New Voices Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Team aims to create a school culture that promotes an inclusive, diverse, and equitable learning environment where all students feel that they belong and that their experiences and perspectives matter.
We aim to cultivate and integrate our students’ diverse identities into every area of our school culture, providing them with opportunity for creative expression and student voice.
“We all should know that diversity makes for a rich tapestry, and we must understand that all the threads of the tapestry are equal in value no matter what their color.”
Maya Angelou (1928-2014)
Important Dates:
| March 4, 2022 | Student DEI Meeting |
| March 5, 2022 | New Voices School Pride Day* |
| March 8, 2022 | District 15 Equity Congress |
| March 9, 2022 | District 15 Student Equity Congress |
| March 9, 2022 | Diversity, Equity, Inclusion Team Meeting |
| March 18, 2022 | Student DEI Team Meeting |
| April 1, 2022 | New Voices School Pride Day* |
Upcoming Student Opportunities:
NYCDOE STEM SUMMER OPPORTUNITY
STEM Matters NYC offers a variety of programs during the summer for students in grades K-12 including one-week camps and multi-week high school internships and courses. If you are interested in animal science or aerospace, marine biology or mechanics, ecology or engineering, and so much more, come discover, investigate, design, and create with us!
The summer application will be out soon. Visit https://spep.libguides.com/STEMprograms to get more information and sign the mailing list for program updates.
Diversity in the Classroom
Classroom Highlights
New Voices celebrated Black History Month throughout February. Below is a snapshot of how teachers aligned curriculum to highlight and celebrate people of African descent and their achievements and influence.
Student Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion Team
Students have the opportunity to participate in furthering the equity work being done at our school by participating in conversations about current events related to diversity, equity, and inclusion as well as help plan community-wide diversity events.
Ms. Gonzales, a 7th grade humanities teacher, is the group advisor.
Our Student Diversity, Equity and Inclusion team began meeting in January and meets twice per month.
The team is currently working on developing a DEI calendar that features diverse holidays and cultural events. Each month will focus on highlighting marginalized groups with a focus on how to respect, support, and celebrate these individuals.
Diversity, Equity, Inclusion Team Updates
The Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Team is a collaboration between parents, teachers and administrators. We meet monthly to discuss, identify and implement change within our school community as it relates to diversity, equity, and inclusion.
After an initial analysis of needs assessment data, we have identified sense of belonging and school community as an area of need for our students and families. In an effort to improve these areas, the DEI team has improved efforts of communication regarding social-emotional supports available to students. Additionally, we will be focusing on increasing opportunities for students and caregivers to participate in school wide events, virtually and within the classroom.
We are further engaging all students and faculty in activities to increase school pride and appreciation of our school community through school pride events and initiatives.
GSA News
The New Voices Gender and Sexuality Alliance has over 25 members across all three grades this year! GSA is a safe space for students to meet, support each other, and talk about school, life, and current events as well as participate in service-learning projects.
In February, the New Voices GSA participated in Respect for All Week. Tuesday, February 15th was Pronoun Awareness Day. We handed out over 150 handmade pronoun pins and educated the community as to why using the correct pronouns is important. On Thursday, February 17th, New Voices community members showed support for the LGBTQ+ members of our community. The GSA gave out over 250 rainbow ribbons and flag pins while explaining why being an ally is important. In March, we plan to finish presentations for staff on gender and sexuality as well as begin art projects celebrating the diversity of our school.
The GSA continues to be an integral part of our community, allowing students to socialize across grades, make new friends, and discover new interests in a safe space for all students.
NEW VOICES | MS 443 