You're Invited to December DEI Affinity Groups

Join our Affinity Groups for DSST Staff!

Where: Cole MS

When: Tuesday December 17, 2019 at 5:15 PM-6:45 PM

Dinner will be provided!

Email Aaron at aaron.griffen@scienceandtech.org, if you’re interested in dinner so we can best meet your needs.

Our initial groups are as follows (but more will be developed depending on interest):

• African American/Black
• Asian/Pacific Islander
• Hispanic/Latinx
• Unpacking Whiteness and Allyship

If you are interested in leading an intersectional affinity group, email Aaron J. Griffen at aaron.griffen@scienceandtech.org

For more information on our current Affinity Groups please reach out to our Affinity Group Leaders:

African American/Black: Laurie Pochette 

Asian/Pacific Islander: Jan-Louis Burroughs 

                                           Melissa Tran 

                                           Joah Chun

Hispanic/Latin(o/a/x): Rosita Mallo 

Unpacking Whiteness and Allyship:  Meg Lafarge 

                                                                     Ashley Gelb 

                                                                     Shannon Feeney 

                                                                     Lauren Hesse 

***Please reach out to Aaron J. Griffen if you are interested in participating in a race-based group that is not listed above. These groups were chosen from our 2018-2019 interest survey based on the needs of our staff.

Affinity Groups will tentatively take place the third Tuesday of each month for the 2019-2020 school year. 

Mark your calendars for January 21, 2020, February 18, 2020, March 24, 2020, April 21, 2020, and May 19, 2020 from 5:15 PM-6:45 PM at Cole MS. These dates are subject to change based on scheduling availability.

Background Information on Affinity Groups

What are Affinity Groups?

We launched our first network wide Affinity Groups during the 2018-2019 school year at DSST. Affinity Groups are an optional discussion space in which participants unpack what it means to have membership within a racial group, build relationships with teammates network-wide, and collectively strategize what our individual work can mean for our collective mission.

In the pilot year, Affinity Groups were race-based and for our staff (see below for more context). In an effort to be as inclusive as possible, we are not assigning identity groups, rather asking interested participants to self-identify affinity groups when you join us. During our first session, an interest survey will be provided to gauge interest in additional groups.

Why race-based affinity groups?

• Users will find that there’s an intentional but not a sole focus on race.
• Identities are exponential; choosing to focus on one aspect of identity allows us to deeply understand racial identity while also preventing exclusion of certain identities. Narrowing the lens intentionally narrows the scope of what otherwise would be an infinite list.
• Race is external, unlike most other identities. It is often the first point of judgment and exclusion.
• DSST’s focus on integrated schools means that we interface directly with racial diversity as a core component of our model, and therefore must take ownership of the impact of race on our mission.
• Even as participants continue to explore other lines of identity—it is done through an intersectional lens.

Why adult learners?

• Identity development is neither finite or linear. Because there’s no final destination, the space to reflect and investigate about identity needs to exist both for adults and students, particularly for those adults attempting to build identity investigation spaces for students. Affinity Groups honor DSST’s institutional recognition of this necessary space.
• As adults, we must cultivate our own identity development simultaneously as we look to the students.

Also, please check out our DEI Portal on the Helix. Here you will find resources and programming that aim to support all of our collective work toward developing our equity mindsets.

Please reach out to aaron.griffen@scienceandtech.org with any questions.