DIVERSITY

Diversity is foundational at MCPC

At MCPC, we recognize the importance of diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice work in our curriculum and how we build our community. We know that this is an ongoing process that evolves year to year. 

A core belief at MCPC is that it is healthy and good to talk about our differences, whether those conversations are simple and positive, or more complex and challenging. Our teachers integrate diversity and inclusion across all elements of the curriculum: explicitly acknowledging and celebrating differences and similarities; teaching kids to make room for each other and work out conflicts; inviting families to bring their culture, heritage, and identity to circle time and holiday celebrations; Spanish incorporated into preschool activities and the optional afternoon Spanish program; books and materials that are representative of our kids and families. Our teachers and parent education coordinator (one of our family jobs) also provide multiple forums for parent learning and discussion; past topics have included: supporting kids with special needs, talking to kids about race, breaking down gender assumptions, and how to approach problematic holidays. 

Anti-Bias Principles

MCPC’s curriculum draws on the work of Louise Derman-Sparks, Debbie LeeKeenan, and John Nimmo on anti-bias in early childhood education. The basic tenets are identity, diversity, justice, and activism -- or, in simple and age-appropriate terms, “I’m OK” (identity), “You’re OK” (diversity), “That’s not OK” (justice), “OK, let’s do something” (activism).

who we are

Our school community changes each year as children “graduate” and new families join (or alumni families re-join with younger children!). In the past few years, our community has included LGBTQ+ families, immigrant and multilingual families, children with disabilities or who are neurodivergent, and varied religious and cultural backgrounds. For the 2023- 2024 school years, about a third of our families have one or more parents of color. 

diversity committee

MCPC’s parent-run diversity committee is active in shaping the school’s culture and practices. The parents with the role of Diversity Committee Chair facilitates the meetings that take place at least 4 times at year.

Diversity Committee Mission Statement

Diversity in our membership substantially enriches the experience of our entire community. The MCPC Diversity Committee exists to advance the values of social justice, equity, and inclusion at our school. The Committee understands the following functions and associated actions as critical to supporting this mission:

  1. Structuring our admissions process with the aspiration toward a membership that is proportionately demographically representative of Oakland with respect to race, class, gender, sexual orientation, disability, etc.; 

  2. Ensuring that MCPC community culture is welcoming and as safe as possible to current and prospective members of marginalized groups, and that all community members feel fully part of creating and shaping the culture;

  3. Supporting MCPC kids, parents, and teachers to be able to function with sensitivity and skill around issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion; 

  4. Working closely with the Board and Director to ensure these values are actively incorporated across the school, not only within the Diversity Committee’s meetings or specific recommendations.

Past and ongoing work of the Diversity Committee includes:

  • restructuring our tuition and admissions process on how to make our school more accessible to families

  • conduct intentional check-in around a diversity/equity/inclusion to the daily parent-teacher meeting at the end of each school day

  • “book parties” to cull outdated books from our extensive school library (more than 1,000 titles!) and replace them with more-representative and newer books. 

  • ensuring funds and staff development days are available for DEI training for our salaried teachers

  • collaborating with Parent Education chair to include DEI trainings for our monthly parent ed workshops

  • creating the role of an “ombudsparent” to facilitate restorative conversations for adults

  • developing and adhering to our school committments regarding our Land Acknowledgement and Equity Statement.

Current and Future Diversity Work at MCPC

Our 2021-2026 strategic plan elaborates on the goals and values in our mission statement, with specific action items under three main headings: admissions and access, school culture, and curriculum and staff. The below is an overview. 

Under admissions and access, we aspire toward a community that reflects Oakland to the greatest extent possible. We realize that the participation requirements of our school (including financial commitment and family assumptions) present a barrier to many families, and are exploring ways to lower these barriers while retaining MCPC’s special character. 

We also recognize that the goal of a diverse membership is meaningless without a school culture that is intentional about welcoming all families, and being shaped by all families. We strive for a school where diversity, inclusion, equity, and justice are everyday topics, woven into all aspects of what we do, whether that’s open conversations at general meetings, the language we use, or the types of materials we offer the kids. We aim to support each other’s growth and learning, while protecting and respecting the emotional labor of people experiencing systemic injustice in their daily lives. 

While our school is parent-led and parent-run, our director and teachers do much to set the curriculum. We work with them to make sure our curriculum and learning materials are up-to-date, representative, and reflect our anti-bias principles, and encourage and support our teachers (financially, where feasible) to expand their own knowledge and teaching repertoire.