Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
The Lincoln Academy is committed to fostering, cultivating and preserving a culture of diversity, equity and inclusion. The collective sum of the individual differences, life experiences, knowledge, inventiveness, innovation, self-expression, unique capabilities and talent that our staff, scholars and families bring to our school is a significant part of not only our culture, but is reflective of our belief that every individual contributes to our success.
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We embrace and encourage our staff, scholars and family differences in age, color, disability, ethnicity, family or marital status, gender identity or expression, language, national origin, physical and mental ability, political affiliation, race, religion, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, veteran status and other characteristics that make our school community unique.
Staff Diversity
It is our desire to have staff be reflective of the community we serve, including ensuring bilingual staff can support and meet the needs of non-English speaking families. Recruitment efforts are designed to attract diverse candidates and ongoing evaluation to assess engagement and retention by race, gender, age, etc.. Additionally, The Lincoln Academy will ensure the recognition of the accomplishments of diverse teams and DEI initiatives.
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Culturally Relevant Curriculum
The Lincoln Academy teaches a literacy curriculum that exposes scholars to Black, Indigenous and People of Color in both literary and informational text. Culturally relevant teaching practices are implemented that focus on building cultural awareness, developing learning partnerships and understanding the information process of all scholars to create a community of learners. We value and create opportunities for scholar voices to be heard.
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Ongoing Efforts
The Lincoln Academy’s ongoing efforts associated with diversity, equity and inclusion include a focus on training, leadership and discipline.
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Training: We incorporate professional development activities in staff training that encourage a broader understanding and appreciate of cultural differences. We also require all employees to attend and complete annual diversity awareness training to enhance their knowledge.
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Leadership: We ensure The Lincoln Academy leaders model and promote an inclusion vision internally.
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Discipline: We embody discipline practices that ensure equitable practice for all scholars. A key component of equitable disciplinary practices is the teaching of restorative practices, rather than punitive measures. Additionally, TLA disaggregates all discipline data by race/ethnicity and special education status.
