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Nestled in the dynamic and historic neighborhood of Capitol Hill, CHCP prioritizes maintaining a diverse membership. We greatly value the LGBTQ+ community on Capitol Hill, and are also grateful for the racial, cultural, and socio-economic diversity within our membership. Our Co-op model allows each family to bring their own unique experiences and perspectives directly into the classroom. Students, family members and caregivers of all abilities are welcomed at CHCP, where we take pride in our ability to accommodate a wide range of accessibility and access needs. In our commitment to create a more equitable future, CHCP values building a strong community and network of families.

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At CHCP, the teachers are committed to implementing an anti-bias, play-based curriculum that allows students to explore the concepts of sharing, fairness, empathy, and creative conflict resolution. Being with others, discussing, disagreeing, listening, and observing fosters a sense of individual and group identities. The classroom provides meaningful opportunities for children to be surrounded by a variety of families with different backgrounds, structures, cultures, and religions. Students are taught to value and respect their own identities and the identities of others through exploration, creation, experimentation, and socialization. Our students are learning to stand up for themselves and others against bias when we develop this sense of positivity towards diverse identities.

 

At CHCP, we know it is vital to open dialog with our children in order to build mutual respect inside and outside of the classroom. We are committed to our BIPOC and LGBTQ+ families, to foster anti-racism and anti-discrimination in our children through age appropriate discussions, books, toys, and role modeling. To be true to our values, we must review the systems that perpetuate inequality and use our place in the community to listen, learn, improve, and speak out.

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While Social Justice has always been important in the environment and curriculum at Capitol Hill Cooperative Preschool, the Diversity and Inclusion Committee was officially founded in June 2020 in order to more methodically address social injustices. As we work towards our goals of being more conscientiously inclusive, we have established a monthly, themed newsletter to motivate action and spread awareness about issues affecting our own community and beyond. We work with the Service Learning Coordinator on projects such as a February book drive for the Northwest African American Museum for Black History Month. Please check out an abridged issue from December 2020 on Inclusive Language to get an idea of what we publish for our families. In a full issue, you will generally find an introduction, a calendar of events related to the topic, parent resources and book suggestions, contributions from our teachers and parent educator, as well as community members.

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One of the many benefits of participating in the Co-op is the knowledge we gain through our interactions with the families. The Co-op was very lucky to have the assistance of Debbie LeeKeenan, a renowned expert on anti-bias education. She was a grandparent at the Co-op and has advised us on our practices and policies.

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"Young children use our vision as a guide when they create their own dreams for the future."

-Eric Hoffman, ECE educator