Anti-Oppression Commitment

Degrees of Freedom denounces any form of systemic or incidental oppression. We vehemently reject oppressive practices based on race, gender, ethnicity, immigration status, language, sexual orientation, gender identity, socio-economic status, religion or any other ascriptive characteristics. Degrees of Freedom actively opposes any actions that are contrary to our mission, vision, and values. We believe it is our duty to engage in practices that affirm the identities of all members of our community. Acknowledging that oppression is multi-faceted, we constantly seek to enhance our policies and practices to reflect the communities we serve. Our organization commits to the following:

Anti-Oppressive Decision-Making

We engage in a collaborative decision making process that seeks to minimize adverse and disproportionate impact on our community. This process involves engaging the following practices: seeking input from the group(s) who will be impacted most by a decision, soliciting feedback from diverse stakeholders, and leveraging proven solutions implemented in a similar context.  Degrees of Freedom also commits to annually developing and reviewing our policies and procedures.

Anti-Oppressive Leadership

We believe in representative leadership, and therefore maintain a board and staff that is diverse and reflective of the community we serve, while actively seeking advice from groups not yet represented. We ensure a non-oppressive distribution of leadership by assigning compensation and responsibilities commensurate with expertise. 

Anti-Oppressive Human Resources

We understand that only a highly-skilled, diverse team is suitable to carry out the mission and vision of Degrees of Freedom. We therefore make all reasonable efforts to recruit, retain, and promote such talented individuals. This includes, but is not limited to, prioritizing outreach to underrepresented groups in our recruitment, enacting a rigorous and asset-based selection process, and providing bi-annual anonymous surveys. We will also analyze data annually to ensure our school environment does not disproportionately isolate diverse talent. 

Anti-Oppressive Partnerships

We seek to partner with mission-aligned individuals and organizations committed to employing equitable practices; this includes actions that take place outside of the Degrees of Freedom community. Our vendor selection process will generate a portfolio of organizations led by people reflective of our community, which will be achieved by eliminating unnecessary barriers in the proposal process, and prioritizing organizations owned and operated by underrepresented groups.

Anti-Oppressive Culture

In an identity-affirming culture, we will maintain high academic and behavioral expectations for our students, and high professional standards for our staff. That is, we will acknowledge differences, promote inclusivity, and seek to maximize our school community’s health and well-being. We will collaborate with families and high school partners from diverse backgrounds to support students in their holistic learning and development. 

Anti-Oppressive Communication

We empower our constituencies with the ability to make informed decisions, by ensuring that all communication from our board and staff is accessible, transparent and strives to be conscious of current norms around naming/classifications of groups and individuals. 

Adapted from Dunia Collegiate