Affinity and Allied Spaces

Master educator and nationally recognized diversity speaker Rosetta Lee shared these responses to the most commonly asked questions about affinity groups, including how these groups promote a more inclusive, rather than more segregated, community. We have welcomed Rosetta Lee to Holton multiple times in the past few years to present on diversity, equity, and inclusion to students, faculty, and parents.

Allied spaces bring together people who have a common commitment to an identifier group, e.g. race, gender, religion, family status, etc. They are for individuals who identify as members of the group and/or as people who support and stand in solidarity with that group. Allied groups allow members to learn about each other, think about each other, empower each other, and act on each other's behalf to build inclusion. Much like affinity groups, allied groups also allow all students, particularly young adolescents, who are aware of social identifiers at a very early age, to share experiences and strategies that lead to greater inclusion and integration within the broader community. Allied and affinity groups also help to minimize the effects of isolation on mental wellbeing and academic performance, and we designed Common Threads to respond to this need.

Please take a moment to examine the chart below. As you can see, children are aware of differences starting as early as six months. By the time children enter our Lower School, they have already formed biases and are aware of stereotypes. By fifth grade, students internalize stereotypical messages and cross-group play can decrease. Summed up, we only have a short time with students before they have internalized the stereotypical messages shared with them by society. By the time students reach fifth grade, we must begin the process of helping them to “unpack” and “unlearn” what they have already absorbed from the world around us. Therefore, we think it is critical and essential to be doing this work with all of our Lower and Middle School students. Our hope is to move beyond a community that celebrates difference to a community that uplifts everyone’s identity.

We want to make sure that Common Threads is responsive to the needs of our students. Therefore, we see this program as dynamic, with some groups running consistently and some groups phasing in and out. Groups will be designed based on the needs brought to us by students and needs seen by the faculty and administration. Each group proposed will be given thoughtful consideration by a small team that will include the Middle School Director, the Lower School Director; Assistant Lower School Director; and the Director of Diversity, Wellbeing, and Global Education. All affinity groups will be led by adult facilitators who share the students’ identity.

There are countless resources on kids and positive identity development and how to initiate conversations with your children about these topics. Below, we list just a few. As we noted above, research shows that even when we don’t discuss identifiers like race and gender with our children, kids begin to internalize stereotypical messages as early as elementary school. As the articles below state, these conversations can be challenging for parents, but they’re a critical part of positive identity development, combating stereotypes, and fostering an inclusive and equitable community.

In allied groups, students have the opportunity to engage in positive identity development, reflect on who they are and their experiences, discover connections, further explore topics from Seminar, advisory, and assembly, and learn how to support each other as they navigate in the larger community.

This is both for students who are members of the LGBTQIA+ community and students who want to support their peers. In Spectrum students will be learning more about the multiple dimensions of gender and sexual identity that are a part of the Tenets Sexual Education students are discussing in Seminar.

Please look for a sign up link when we return from winter break.

Parents are invited to opt their student in using this link.

Students in this learning space will participate in activities and discussions that focus on positive racial identity development and understanding and advocating for racial justice. They will be involved in additional exploration of topics from Seminar, deepen their understanding of their racial identity, learn strategies for allyship, and determine ways they can work towards racial justice in the Holton community and beyond.

This learning space is for any student who can speak from the “I” perspective and is interested in additional learning about racial justice beyond what is already shared throughout the Lower School program. Students should be willing to deepen their understanding of their own racial identity and a curiosity towards discovering what it means to be an ally and promote racial justice.

Please look for a sign up link when we return from winter break.