Community Belonging

At MKA, we believe the work of Community Belonging should be seen in all facets of school life, from curriculum and pedagogy to athletics and the arts. Guided by our Office of Community Belonging, our faculty and staff work to affirm the identity of our students and families. Our goal is to develop a diverse and cosmopolitan community where everyone feels at home and where students become prepared to engage with our dynamic 21st-century world.

• We believe that the diversity of experiences presented through an inclusive and representative curriculum develops our global cultural competency. To cultivate a love of learning, we encourage ourselves to explore and appreciate differences and similarities, to challenge stereotypes, and to acknowledge the range of perspectives within and outside of our community.
• We strive for equity and social justice as the foundation for our engagement with an increasingly complex world. To promote full and active citizenship and leadership, we engage with the world through the strength of our ethical leadership and recognize our deep interdependence with others.
• We uphold that an inclusive school environment fosters a culture of mutual respect, moral responsibility, and academic excellence. To recognize complexity and value empathy, we welcome, embrace, support, and encourage our community: its races, cultures, genders, and sexualities, its experiences and economics, its aspirations, abilities, and affiliations.

Creating an inclusive and representative curriculum is more than changing curriculum and content: it’s a mindset; it's active and ongoing, and it’s a curricular practice that teachers engage in. It begins with all teachers identifying their own biases and then designing units of study that honor and are relevant to the students whom they are currently teaching. It includes discussing real-world issues, designing assessments grounded in student voice and choice, and providing opportunities for students to learn from one another.

All students should see themselves represented within the curriculum. The course resources (i.e., images, books, primary sources, and films) that teachers use for instruction must reflect the diversity of the student body. We have to expose students to a broad range of voices when exploring issues such as racism, classism, and discrimination.

As part of an inclusive and representative curricular practice, teachers are committed to:

• Honoring their students’ narratives
• Providing multiple perspectives within their disciplines
• Providing all students with opportunities to understand themselves, other members of the MKA community, and the global society
• Ensuring that MKA is a safe environment in which to explore and discuss multiple perspectives, ask challenging questions, and create positive social change

MKA offers groups and clubs for both students and adults that provide safe spaces for the community to explore their identities, share experiences, and foster a sense of belonging. By bringing people together around shared experiences, these gatherings nurture meaningful relationships and reinforce the supportive fabric of the MKA community. They also empower members to express themselves openly, ensuring that every voice contributes to the collective strength and unity of the school.