Growing a community of belonging
Culture of Belonging at LILA
Respect, excellence, and diversity are the core values that embody our mission at LILA.
These fundamental principles are guided by our commitment to multiple perspectives that include the French Ministry of Education’s laïcité, our American location, our ever-growing international community, and our local Southern Californian context—inviting multiple opportunities for our LILA community to build bridges across differences.
As a mosaic brings together a combination of colors, our Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging (DEIB) framework embraces students’ voices, lived experiences, and cultural ways of being and knowing as building blocks to how we address injustice both locally and globally. With this student-centered relational approach we deepen our students’ understanding of self.
Joy is at the center of our DEIB framework, as we cultivate spaces of belonging that foster open dialogue, self-reflection, and curiosity, and that inspire critical thinkers.
“Joy is the practice of loving self and humanity; caring for and helping humanity and earth; recognizing truth, beauty, aesthetics, art, and wonder; and working to solve social problems of the world.”
Dr. Gholdy Muhammad
Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, & Belonging (DEIB) Initiatives
In cultivating a strong sense of belonging, wellness, and connection at LILA, we implemented our “Ethic of Care” model to highlight the importance of community building and inclusivity across differences.
Through co-created social spaces, we provide opportunities for our students, families, faculty, and staff to participate in affinity groups and initiatives that provide opportunities for shared culture, adequate support and resources towards students’ needs and accommodations, community building, increased learning enrichment, and pedagogical and policy shifts.
With the advocacy and support of these groups, we continue to strengthen our commitment to anti-racism and our quest to counter discrimination with initiatives that are culturally responsive and serve our students’ needs, social-emotional learning, and wellbeing.
In order to complement the work on curriculum and in the classroom, employees have established Faculty and Staff for an Inclusive LILA, a school-wide group.
This reading and inquiry series offers LILA employees a platform for discussion, for learning, introspection, and action related to issues of racism. The emphasis is on reflection.
We recently welcomed Camilla Hawthorne, Associate Professor of Sociology and Critical Race & Ethnic Studies at UC Santa Cruz, for an online exchange.
Dr. Hawthorne shared her research on how colonial dominant narratives continue to impact education to this day and how educators can develop alternative ways of knowing that recognize those who have been excluded from mainstream knowledge production and cultural remembrance.
See below for a list of LILA’s current affinity groups.
Adoptive & Surrogate Family Group
This is a group for families who are connected through similar stories of adoption or surrogacy.
Asian Affinity Group
This group aims to provide an environment that supports and nurtures our children’s development of their Asian American identity. The group also endeavors to dispel simplistic perspectives and stereotyping by bringing awareness that the Asian American community is a broad spectrum of influential figures that have contributed to American history and culture in significant ways and will undoubtedly continue to do so.
Black Affinity Group
The group supports Black parents and families who have Black children, with a goal to connect Black families across the School’s different campuses in the hopes of creating a safe space for all students while focusing in on the nuance of being a Black person. The group strives to foster an environment where all Black students and their families can feel represented.
Cultiver, v: to cultivate: Nurturing spaces for allyship to grow.
This is a group of parents who are curious, and who want to be courageous and informed about inequality, privilege, and allyship. Everyone is welcome
Español + LatinE Affinity Group
This is a group for those of Spanish, Hispanic and/or Latin American origin, including everyone who identifies as LatinE / LatinX. We embrace the diversity within the Spanish-speaking community and welcome all who identify as part of such a culturally, racially, and ethnically varied group.
Jewish Affinity Group
This is a group for those who identify as Jewish or wish to connect with other Jewish LILA families.
LGBTQ+ Affinity Group
This group welcomes LGBTQ+ parents as well as parents of LGBTQ+ students.
Middle Eastern Affinity Group
This is a group for those of any Middle Eastern origin or connected to these cultures through marriage. The group facilitates off-campus cultural activities and discussions.
Parents of Neurodiverse Children Group
The group supports parents, families, and children with neurodiversity and learning. Topics include complex interactions, learning environments, developmental change, and strategic support.
The following heritage clubs meet regularly:
Hispanic Heritage
Middle Eastern Heritage
BIPOC Student Union
Asian Heritage Club
GSA – Gender Sexuality Alliance
Student DEI Committee
ASL Club
Recognizing the needs of our community socially, culturally, and academically, we offer various opportunities for school events and family outings.
Recently, we invited LILA families to World Without End: The George Washington Carver Project at the California African American Museum. Exhibition curator and LILA mom Dr. Yael Lipschutz walked us through the show. Families then enjoyed art activities utilizing assemblage art and cyanotype.
Our professional development is shaped to keep our teachers on a learning path to build culturally responsive inclusive classrooms. At our recent training day, sessions included sharing student-centered inclusion practices and learning about visual and auditory processing.
PINE
We partner with the Program for Inclusion and Neurodiversity Education (PINE), which educates and empowers schools and communities to embrace neurodiversity, creating inclusive, accessible, and supportive spaces for children wherever they go.
