TNSM’S ABAR Statement

Hello Friends, For the past two years, TNSM has been exploring how our strategic goals align with our mission related to equity and justice. With the help of our community, including staff, students, board, and the parent-led Diversity Committee, we have created an anti-bias/anti-racist statement that will be incorporated into our strategic plan. We are grateful for the time and energy our Diversity Committee chairs (Meredith Dixie/Sarah Corlett) and the rest of the committee members have put into this important work.   As we begin our “self-study” for the accreditation process with the American Montessori Society and the Independent Schools of …

Challenges of living in community

This article is written by Hope Miller, TNSM parent and member of the Diversity and Community and Engagement Committee (D+CE) and expresses her views. At TNSM, we are grateful to have this D+CE forum that allows opportunities for members of our community to share their own beliefs, always with the goal of  expanding our understanding of each other’s experiences and points of view. I waited to write this post until after the Auction and Gala so that I could say something pithy about community. In waiting, something else happened: another mass shooting in America. On Saturday afternoon, May 14—while many …

We resonate in different ways

Article written by Claudia Lòpez, chair of Diversity and Community Engagement Committee (D+CE) and expresses her views. At TNSM, we are grateful to have this D+CE forum that allows opportunities for members of our community to share their own beliefs, always with the goal of  expanding our understanding of each other’s experiences and points of view. I’m writing this post one week before it is published in A Look Ahead and one day after our last Diversity and Community Engagement committee meeting of the year, and I am sitting here now, writing this with feelings of gratitude and wonderment. In the …

Join in the festivities along with the Asian American Cultural Association of Cincinnati!

This article was written by Allie Blocksom Precht who is a member of TNSM’s Diversity + Community Engagement Committee (D+CE) and expresses her views. At TNSM, we are grateful to have this D+CE forum that allows opportunities for members of our community to share their own beliefs, always with the goal of  expanding our understanding of each other’s experiences and points of view. The month of May was chosen to commemorate the immigration of the first Japanese to the United States on May 7, 1843 and to mark the anniversary of the completion of the transcontinental railroad on May 10, 1869. …

Revisiting our list of summer activities that focus on diversity and inclusion

The end of the school year is always an exciting and busy time, full of more than we can fully take in. When I sat down to work on this week’s Diversity & Community Engagement post, I started by googling and came across the most wonderful collection of resources. Through the magic/terror of Google’s algorithms, the first result my search returned was an archived blog post from this very same committee last spring. In it, Randi Burlew offered us a treasure trove of resources, links, and suggestions for how to keep issues of diversity and inclusion active in our households …

Celebrating holidays in harmony and respect with others

This article was written by Rachel Lwin TNSM parent and Diversity and Community Engagement Committee (D+CE) and expresses her views. At TNSM, we are grateful to have this D+CE forum that allows opportunities for members of our community to share their own beliefs, always with the goal of  expanding our understanding of each other’s experiences and points of view. This time of year and around the winter holidays too, I spend a lot of time explaining myself. “My family celebrates Easter, but we’re not religious,” I say, a bit ruefully. It’s a familiar line to me, and I’m sure to …

Recognizing how difficulties “bad” help us appreciate easier times “good”

This article is written by Hope Miller, TNSM parent and member of the Diversity and Community Engagement Committee (D+CE) and expresses her views. At TNSM, we are grateful to have this D+CE forum that allows opportunities for members of our community to share their own beliefs, always with the goal of  expanding our understanding of each other’s experiences and points of view. We live in a Good Friday world—a world of perennial bad news and immeasurable sorrow. The tragedy in Ukraine, the never-ending pandemic, our sobering history/reality of racial injustice, the quickening pace of environmental destruction…I could go on. But what …

Doing the work that brings true equality

Article written by Rachel Lwin, member of the Diversity + Community Engagement Committee (D+CE) and expresses her views. At TNSM, we are grateful to have this D+CE forum that allows opportunities for members of our community to share their own beliefs, always with the goal of  expanding our understanding of each other’s experiences and points of view. Last week, DC+E committee members Claudia Lòpez and Allie Precht shared their dialogue about the mixed feelings that they, and perhaps many of us, have about monthly recognitions like Women’s History Month. I, for one, found myself internally nodding along to their points …

The complexities of celebrating one-day or month-long holidays

Article written by Allie Blocksom Precht and Clauda López – members of the Diversity & Community Engagement Committee (D+CE) and expresses their views. At TNSM, we are grateful to have this D+CE forum that allows opportunities for members of our community to share their own beliefs, always with the goal of  expanding our understanding of each other’s experiences and points of view. The Diversity & Community Engagement committee members have engaged in vulnerable and open conversations around a number of topics from world events, legislation being formed in our very own state that could impact our families and children, and …

Honoring and celebrating women’s history and contributions

Article written by Claudia López, Diversity and Community Engagement  (D+CE) Committee Member (D+CE) and expresses her views. At TNSM, we are grateful to have this D+CE forum that allows opportunities for members of our community to share their own beliefs, always with the goal of  expanding our understanding of each other’s experiences and points of view. The Diversity and Community Engagement Committee has been working together with TNSM staff to develop a cultural calendar to coordinate different curricular and extra-curricular activities for our TNSM students and community. We know March is the month when we especially honor and celebrate women’s history …