Our Programs

Diversity and Inclusion Center for Equity

Northwest Academy, as well as all of downtown Portland, rests on the traditional and ancestral homelands of the Multnomah, Kathlamet, Clackamas, Tumwater, Watlala bands of the Chinook, the Tualatin Kalapuya and the many other indigenous nations of the Columbia River. 

We acknowledge that we are guests on this land and we honor their legacy as a learning institution by educating our students of this history, and endeavoring our students to justly serve all communities with compassion and reverence.  

DICE

List of 1 items.

  • Diversity & Inclusion Center for Equity

A commitment to equity and inclusion lies at the heart of Northwest Academy’s culture, and we strive to carry it out through our arts and academic partnerships. We value the uniqueness of each student, family member, teacher, and staff member; their diverse backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives create a culture rich with mutual respect and authenticity. The Northwest Academy community values all ethnicities, races, cultures, religions, economic backgrounds, family structures, sexual and gender identities, and abilities. Ongoing efforts related to diversity, equity, and inclusion are essential to our staff and to our students’ abilities to develop into thoughtful and creative global citizens. Reach out to the DICE team at dice@nwacademy.org.

Resources

Definitions

List of 7 items.

  • Ally

    Someone who makes the commitment and effort to recognize their privilege (based on gender, class, race, sexual identity, etc.) and work in solidarity with oppressed groups in the struggle for justice. Allies understand that it is in their own interest to end all forms of oppression, even those from which they may benefit in concrete ways.

  • BIPOC

    Black, Indigenous, and People of Color. The term BIPOC highlights and aims to undo the Indigenous invisibility and anti-Blackness that is so pervasive in our nation.  

  • Diversity

    Diversity includes all the ways in which people differ, and it encompasses all the different characteristics that make one individual or group different from another. It is all-inclusive and recognizes everyone and every group as part of the diversity that should be valued.  

  • Equity

     Equity is the condition that would be achieved if one’s identity no longer predicted, in a statistical sense, how one fares. This includes the elimination of policies, practices, attitudes, and cultural messages that reinforce differential outcomes by race or fail to eliminate them.

  • Inclusion

    Authentically bringing traditionally excluded individuals and/or groups into processes, activities, and decision/policymaking in a way that shares power.

  • Racism

    • Racism = race prejudice + social and institutional power
    • Racism = a system of advantage based on race
    • Racism = a system of oppression based on race
    • Racism = a white supremacy system

    Racism is different from racial prejudice, hatred, or discrimination. Racism involves one group having the power to carry out systematic discrimination through the institutional policies and practices of the society and by shaping the cultural beliefs and values that support those racist policies and practices. 

  • Structural Racism

    The normalization and legitimization of an array of dynamics – historical, cultural, institutional, and interpersonal—that routinely advantage Whites while producing cumulative and chronic adverse outcomes for people of color. Structural racism encompasses the entire system of White domination, diffused, and infused in all aspects of society including its history, culture, politics, economics, and entire social fabric. Structural racism is more difficult to locate in a particular institution because it involves the reinforcing effects of multiple institutions and cultural norms, past and present, continually reproducing old and producing new forms of racism. Structural racism is the most profound and pervasive form of racism – all other forms of racism emerge from structural racism.
Definitions from: RacialEqualityTools.org

Affinity Groups @ Northwest Academy

Affinity Groups (AGs) have run since 2020. You would think during a time of a global pandemic and quarantines in place students wouldn't want to spend another second in front of the computer. However, maybe due to the pandemic and a strong need for connection or maybe due to this being a space students have wanted for a long time, we saw many students gravitate to this space and thrive in it. Affinity Groups are a place where groups of people with common interests and backgrounds come together to support each other and share their experiences. It’s a designated “safe space,” where everyone in that group can speak from the "I" perspective about an identity that they share. This identity can be based on race, gender, or sexuality. Currently, Northwest Academy has the following AGs:

High School 
  • LGBTQIA2S+
  • Neurodiverse
  • BIPOC
  • Woman Identified
Middle School
  • LGBTQIA2S+
  • Neurodiverse
  • AAPI
  • Woman Identified
  • Jewish
  • Ally

All Affinity Groups have staff/faculty advisors who are able to identify with the AG they help supervise. Some AGs have or will have student leaders who lead discussions, plan trips, or bring in organizations to talk to AGs. Affinity Groups are optional! For students in the Middle School who do not attend, they take part in Affinity Group Flex discussions with the head of the DICE program. In this space, students have the opportunity to learn in a group setting about societal structures and how our varying identities such as, race, gender, sex, and economic class can affect our ability to move through them, make a living, meet people, and feel at home.

Below is a video of staff advisors who came together to talk about some of the tough conversations that have come up in their groups and about AGs in general. This is a part of a series we hope to have more of in the new year (2024)!
1130 SW Main Street, Portland, OR 97205-2047
Phone: 503.223.3367   
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