Our Vision
Collective well-being — children and families thriving without difference by economic situation, racial or ethnic identity, ability or another designation.
Our Mission
To support parents, staff, and school-based and educational system leaders in partnering to co-design equitable, anti-racist schools that advance collective well-being.
Our Approach
For parents and educators to realize the potential of their collective impact as partners in the education of all children in their school, they first need to get to know each other, build trust, understand multiple perspectives, and find common ground. They then need safe and brave spaces to deepen their understanding of racism on all levels and develop the skills and motivation to influence the school’s approach to addressing the inequities and racism that affect their students’ education. From there, they can work together to reimagine and co-design equitable educational experiences for children.
Diversity is a buzz word. There aren’t many safe places to talk about the difficulty of diversity – the fear, the bias. I hold myself back because I don’t want to look different or stupid. Diversity becomes very rich when you can start talking with each other. This has been so unique. I don’t know any other group where you can do that.”
-Marie Reed Parent
“It’s the unspoken that hinders children’s lives.” – DC parent
Personal Transformation
We bring diverse groups of parents and school staff together to engage in open, honest dialogue about their identities, histories, and the ways that race and racism impact the way they experience the world. As a result, participants grow their empathy, deepen their racial consciousness, and develop a shared commitment to advancing racial justice and educational equity so that their school community is a place where everyone can thrive.
Equity-Driven Action
After examining how racial inequity shows up in their school, parents and staff turn their dialogue into collective action to address it, forming equity teams and centering their efforts on the perspectives, experiences, and ideas of participants who themselves have most experienced the burdens of inequity.
Seeding & Socializing Change
In Kindred’s second year of partnership and beyond, more participants experience dialogue and join equity teams, growing to a tipping point the community of parents and staff committed to working together – in collaboration with school leaders – to advance racial justice and educational equity, thus catalyzing the impact of their ongoing community building and equity-driven actions into meaningful improvements in the school.
Advancing Collective Well-Being
Kindred is growing a movement. Through our online community and first-hand training and coaching, we are building parents’, staff members’ and school leaders’ capacity and motivation to co-design equitable, anti-racist schools that advance collective well-being. Across our partner communities, members of the Kindred network are working as advocates for shifts in the policies and practices of education systems by sharing with education influencers their powerful experiences and transformative successes in building equitable schools.