Affinity Groups and Clubs
Affinity Groups and clubs provide safe spaces for members of our community to explore their identities and shared experiences. They offer the opportunity to connect, build community, and construct positive relationships. These groups also serve as a platform for the voices of our community to be heard. All groups are facilitated by an MKA representative who shares the same identity.
For Students:
Affinity Groups
At the Primary School:
- Black Student Affinity Group
- AAPI Student Affinity Group
At the Middle School:
- Black Students
- AAPI Students
- Jewish Students
At the Upper School:
- Black Student Affinity Group
- Unidos@MKA
- Asian Students
- Multiracial Students
- MiND
- Arab Students Association
- Spectrum (LGBTQ+ Students)
Diversity and Inclusion Clubs
At the Middle School:
- Diversity Club - The Diversity Club works with the faculty diversity and inclusion leaders to help promote diversity and inclusion at the Middle School. Activities include assembly programs, educating the community, and organizing school-wide events to raise awareness about issues related to race, religion and other marginalized identities.
- B.U. (Be Yourself) - B.U. is a student driven Middle School Gender and Sexuality Alliance that is hoping to educate themselves and others about the LGBTQ+ community. The group consists of allies and members of the LGBTQ+ community with the hope that everyone has a safe place to be themselves.
At the Upper School:
- Student Diversity Leadership Committee (SDLC) - SDLC is a student-led organization at MKA that empowers its members and its community to:
- Examine and question social injustices, including privilege, racism, inequity, and discrimination in the MKA community
- Create new opportunities to learn, train, and grow as informed and proactive citizens
- Work towards creating a more diverse, intersectional, and inclusive community through community engagement, meaningful and restorative dialogues, and collaboration with students, faculty, and administration
- Gender Sexuality Alliance (GSA) - To create a safe space for everyone and to design programming to educate the MKA community about LGBTQ issues
- Student Curriculum Committee - This group was formed in the summer of 2020 by students who possessed the desire to discuss their experience with MKA’s curriculum. The Student Curriculum Committee partners with the Administration and faculty to help to advance the school’s anti-racist work.
- Shades of Color - The mission of Shades of Color is to promote an environment of solidarity for students of color and celebrate diversity. The club welcomes all students and serves as a safe space for students to discuss issues that students and other people of color face.
For Parents:
Diversity and Inclusion Parent Committee (DIPC) - DIPC is a standing committee comprised of MKA parents who believe that diversity and inclusion are central to academic excellence. The committee works to support the mission and commitments of MKA by promoting an inclusive and diverse school community for all students and their families. The committee assists the MKA Diversity & Inclusion Team in its goals as well as acting as a focus group and/or sounding board. In addition, DIPC will provide counsel on the diversity and inclusion challenges and opportunities that we face as a school. Lastly, DIPC helps to promote diversity and inclusion work within the MKA community.
Affinity Groups:
Parent affinity groups provide a safe environment for parents to explore diversity, inclusion, and anti-racism at MKA as it relates to the parent and student experience. The meetings provide an opportunity for parents Pre-12 to connect and share experience.
- Parents of Students of Color (POSOC)
- Black Parents and Caregivers
- AAPI Parents and Caregivers
- South Asian Parents and Caregivers
- LGBTQ+ Families
- Junt@s Hispanic/LatinX Parents and Caregivers
- MKA Jewish Parents and Caregivers
- Parents and Caregivers of Gender Expansive MKA Students>
To join one of the above groups, please email Paris McLean, Assistant Head of School for Diversity, Inclusion, and Antiracism
For Alumni:
Black Alumni Network Initiative (BANI) - BANI provides mentorship for MKA's students of African descent, including information sharing and networking in a variety of ways:
- Hosting virtual meetings/webinars for students and alumni about careers in various fields
- Hosting virtual meetings/webinars for Middle and Upper School students about student life and college selection
- Brokering mentorship opportunities for MKA's Black students with MKA Black alumni