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Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Belonging

The Atlanta Speech School's Mission, "To help each person develop their full potential through language and literacy," and our vision, with "literacy and justice for all" demand that we pursue equity in everything we do. For that purpose, we:

Proactively build a culture and experience of diversity, equity and belonging among staff, students in our care and within our work in the community, and beyond. 

Deepen awareness of others through an increased consideration of and emphasis on strengthening cultural competencies and growing emotional intelligence.

Endeavor to embrace change and scrutiny, ever perfecting our craft and refining our strategies to be increasingly effective in meeting the needs of students, clients and every child outside our walls. The deep reading brain is one that is prepared to embrace differences and to think empathetically about the plight of others. Because you are here, you belong here.- Ashley Ellis, Director of DEIB  

 

 

Our Initiatives

Staff

  • DEIB Departmental Sessions
  • Working To Be Better Allies
  • DEIB Council

students

In particular, I loved the TedTalk by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. The topic was relevant and important, and I really enjoyed being in a group discussion with people cross-departmentally. It felt like a great way to fight the 'single story' narrative by having a wide variety of employees in a small group together. I also loved the Penned Stories event.

-Speech School Staff Member

Meet the DEIB Council

The Diversity Equity Inclusion and Belonging Council is a cross-departmental collaborative of 16 Speech School staff members who represent their areas of practice and expertise and use their knowledge, experience and skill to further the work of DEIB within the Speech School community.

Members of the DEIB council are as follows: Angelia Kingsberry​, Miranda Carroll, Linsay Reijmer, Anne Bell​, Jane Wilkinson​, Ramona Brown, Candace Hogan​, Meagan Gordon​, Maggie Deaton, Shenikia Robinson, Angela Musille, Emily Kleinberg​, Robert Spiotta​, Katrina Henley, Krissy King and Diana Garcia 

DEIB Resource Hub

 

If we hope to interrupt educational inequities and create schools in which every child thrives, we must open our hearts to purposeful conversation and hone our skills to make those conversations effective. With characteristic honesty and wisdom, Elena Aguilar inspires us to commit to transforming our classrooms, lays bare the hidden obstacles to equity, and helps us see how to overcome these obstacles, one conversation at a time.

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How do we talk about bias? How do we address racial disparities and inequities? What role do our institutions play in creating, maintaining, and magnifying those inequities? What role do we play? With a perspective that is at once scientific, investigative, and informed by personal experience, Dr. Jennifer Eberhardt offers us the language and courage we need to face one of the biggest and most troubling issues of our time. 

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More than ever, young children need educators who can help them navigate and thrive in a world of great diversity, educators who can give them and their families the tools to make the world a more fair place for themselves and for each other. Whether you’re new to anti-bias work or seasoned in it, you’ll find inspiration and support here as you walk this journey and meet and work with other travelers.

 

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The Danger of a Single Story

Our lives, our cultures, are composed of many overlapping stories. Novelist Chimamanda Adichie tells the story of how she found her authentic cultural voice - and warns that if we hear only a single story about another person or country, we risk a critical misunderstanding. 

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Microaggressions in the Classroom

Directed by Carla LynDale Carter, Lecturer at the University of North Texas in the Department of Media Arts 

Produced by Dr. Yolanda Flores Niemann

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How racial bias works - and how to disrupt it

Our brains create categories to make sense of the world, recognize patterns and make quick decisions. But this ability to categorize also exacts a heavy toll in the form of unconscious bias. In this powerful talk, psychologist Jennifer L. Eberhardt explores how our biases unfairly target Black people at all levels of society - from schools and social media to policing and criminal justice - and discusses how creating points of friction can help us actively interrupt and address this troubling problem. 

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