Statement of Community

Maintaining a diverse teaching and learning community is a high priority for Norwood School. In 2008, the Diversity Committee of our Board of Trustees invested considerable time in efforts to elaborate on the fourth pillar and to underscore its importance at our school. The result is the following Statement of Community:

Norwood School is a diverse, multicultural, and inclusive community. Being truly diverse and multicultural means that all individuals are valued and supported in every aspect of our school community. As stated in the fourth pillar of our Mission and Philosophy Statement, “we respect and protect the dignity and worth of all members of our community without regard to race, color or national origin, religion or creed, gender, sexual orientation, family composition, economic status, age, learning style, or physical ability.”

We believe that education is both broadened and strengthened by the inclusion of people with a broad range of backgrounds and perspectives. We believe that all of us both contribute to, and benefit from, the similarities and differences we bring to our school. Each one of our students, parents, faculty, and staff brings to our community a unique perspective, background, and set of experiences and we believe that we are the richer for it. We are thus strongly committed to enrolling and supporting a diverse student body and to maintaining a diverse faculty and staff. We believe this enhances the quality of our students’ education and prepares our children for citizenship in an increasingly pluralistic society.

Committees and Groups

• Parents of Students of Color Committee
  The purpose of this committee (PSCC) is to further build a community at Norwood that understands and acts on issues of special concern to students of color and to institute plans and programs to help these students achieve the highest level of personal and academic success.
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• Parent SEED
  This nationally recognized seminar program, Seeking Educational Equity & Diversity, meets monthly to explore reading, exercises, and vigorous discussion about equity and diversity to encourage mutual self-exploration.
• SEEDling
  Seventh and eighth graders are invited to monthly meetings to explore in-depth issues of equity and diversity through a curriculum rich in thoughtful discussions. This is a dynamic process designed to encourage students to move with greater compassion and undrestanding through the world.
• Students Understanding and Celebrating Ethnicity, Equity, and Diversity
  SUCCEED is a program for students of color in first through eighth grade and is designed to give them a place to come together, have fun, get better acquainted, and discuss issues that affect them at school.