Engaging students as active participants in their learning is an act of social justice.

At Advent, we listen to and build relationships with students, making them aware that their ideas are important and central to changing our world for the better.

We define Social Justice as the active participation of all people in a society to equitably value and meet the needs of all individuals and communities. The ongoing and necessary work toward this goal must be deeply democratic, recognizing and redistributing social inequities and power.

The School acknowledges that no single curriculum can produce socially just classrooms and studies. In addition to the classroom curriculum, Advent uses Rosetta Eun Ryong Lee’s Inclusive Classroom Practices and is guided by Learning for Justice’s Anchor Standards and the Four Core Goals of Anti-Bias Education.

These four guiding questions, articulated by Rosetta Eun Ryong Lee, are part of Advent's daily and yearly practice to create, support, and uphold classroom environments in which all students can both learn and thrive to their full potential:

• Do you see me?

• Do you hear me?

• Will you treat me fairly?

• Will you protect me?

Advent students become independent investigators to develop their advocacy skills. They connect their lessons and current events to deepen their understanding of a topic and think critically about real-world topics.

Advent’s buddy program supports academic and social interactions across grade levels. In this photo, Third Grade and Kindergarten students enjoy a buddy recess on Advent’s playground.

Affinity Groups

The Advent School’s mission and purpose of social justice teaching state that we prioritize supporting students’ identity development as a school community. To guide students in fostering this development, the School offers affinity spaces where families and students can opt-in and gain support for aspects of their identity marginalized by mainstream society. The affinity space facilitates growth in students’ self-identity through age-appropriate activities, projects, conversations, and explorations.

The broad goals of the affinity groups are to

1. Create a space for students to celebrate unique aspects of their identity

2. Allow students to communicate about and gain support for aspects of their identity not supported by mainstream society

3. Provide students additional tools for navigating through challenges that might arise in their lives

There are currently two student affinity groups: A students of color group and an LGBTQIA2S+ student group. Participation in affinity groups is optional.