Photograph of two girls with their arms around each other

Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Justice (DEIJ)

We are hard at work “growing better humans.”

We strive to build and support an inclusive environment where everyone feels safe, accepted, and valued. We teach students to honor the diversity of experiences and backgrounds.

We are committed to promoting inclusion, embracing diversity, and engaging in social justice work.

We recognize that these efforts are complex and ongoing. We are committed to the guiding principles of actively questioning our own biases, promoting educational experiences and conversations that deepen our understanding of social justice, and honoring our authentic selves and those of others in safety and respect.

An Integrated Approach

By providing classroom guidance through age-appropriate, grade-specific curricula and integrating DEIJ initiatives throughout the school, we spotlight diverse viewpoints in the stories we tell and the narratives we reinforce.

Our curriculum is structured through the lens of DEIJ

Using literature and current events to teach Social Justice issues

By Rachel Sattinger, a 4th-grade teacher at Gateway School

Discussing religious similarities and differences

“How can we work together to fight the hate escalating in the world?”
-7th grade student

Growing for Good

The Growing for Good program helps students understand access to food and what and how the supply chain works.

Faculty Support

We are committed to providing ongoing training and support for our faculty and staff to move towards anti-bias and anti-racist stances as educators.

Social Justice Framework

We want a school that honors diversity, equity, and justice. We strive to teach children how to speak when they see injustice and to build a collaborative and respectful learning community together.

Our staff was trained by Kim Burkhalter of Learning for Justice, a Southern Poverty Law Center project. Its mission is to work in partnership with communities to dismantle white supremacy, strengthen intersectional movements, and advance the human rights of all people. At Gateway, we believe this work to be central to our Mission, Vision, and Values, and all of our teachers use the Social Justice Standards to inform their classroom conversations and environment.

Authentic Self

Our staff was trained by Joel Baum of Gender Spectrum to understand the Dimensions of Gender. We learned the full complexity of gender identity, and why the dominant binary model is flawed. We discussed how to reduce our unconsciously gendered language to promote inclusive environments. We were guided on how to implement gender support plans.

This work has transformed the language in our classrooms, hallways, and playground, with families and caregivers. It has helped us identify and prioritize ways to ensure our campus and field trips are gender-inclusive and safe for all participants regardless of how they identify.

Ongoing Learning

We recognize that this work is never “done” and we will continually reflect on our understanding of race and ethnicity, religion, ability, class, immigration, gender and sexuality, bullying and bias, and rights and activism, and how each plays out in our practices, policies, and curriculum.

We hold a space for intentional and emergent conversations and discussions, and actively question and reflect on our own prejudices and implicit biases on a regular basis.
Once a year we participate in All Staff Reads and Reflections. We've read White Fragility by Robin Diangelo, Caste by Isabel Wilkerson, How to be an Anti-Racist by Ibram X. Kendi, and many others.
Faculty meets monthly in order to reflect on the lessons we're leading students through and how we're discussing current events and world news with children in a developmentally appropriate yet honest way.

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