Diversity & Inclusion

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by Daniel Quasar

GISSV Diversity Statement

At GISSV, we actively embrace our differences and celebrate diversity. We strive to not only accept but respect and welcome all members of our community regardless of ability, age, cultural identity, ethnic background, gender, gender identity, immigration status, national origin, physical characteristics, political ideology, religious belief, sexual orientation, or socio-economic circumstance.

We believe that in order to receive an outstanding education, students should feel supported and cared for. Our goal is to create a safe environment where all students and staff feel welcome to engage in dialogue, question, learn, and contribute to their fullest potential, resulting in an open and accepting learning community that emphasizes respect for everyone. Through our engagement with diversity, we learn to live and lead in a complex world, with an inherent sense of inclusiveness of different ideas, perspectives, and backgrounds.

At GISSV, we recognize our responsibility to lead the way to a world that promotes access, opportunity, and justice for all.

This statement was created and written by GISSV High School Students (High School Day 2019) with minor changes by GISSV’s Diversity Workgroup
(2019-20).

School for Diversity
Joint School Statement

School for Diversity

GISSV is a project partner at Schule der Vielfalt / School for Diversity - the first German School Abroad.

Inaugural event on June 12, 2021:

Commitment of GISSV

We want to be a “School of Diversity”. Everyone is welcome here, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity.

We show our dedication through this public display of the label “Schule der Vielfalt” at our school.

We will provide information about our activities for promoting diversity and condemning all forms of discrimination annually and publicly.

We are convinced: Appreciation of diversity in all its dimensions has a positive impact on our society. We will do our part.

Joint School Statement

Joint School Statement: Condemning Acts Against AAPI
March 22, 2021

Dear Yew Chung (YCIS) and GISSV Community,

Our connectivity, our common mission and values and our respect for the community connect YCIS and GISSV as an international school community. We are heartbroken that we have seen yet another incident of violence, harassment, and hate targeting the Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPI) community. The emotions around these heinous acts have certainly left our community with great sadness, anxiety, and fear.

YCIS and GISSV want to send a joint statement denouncing racism, condemning these attacks as well as all forms of anti-AAPI hate and give our community ideas and resources for action. As an International School community, we are here to support each other. We stand in solidarity with our school communities against any form of attack.

The leadership teams of YCIS and GISSV have been in contact with our MVPD Resource Officer regarding the rise in hate crimes on the AAPI community. Our school continues to take campus safety very seriously. MVPD will make it a priority to stay in touch with us and support us through continued monitoring of our parking lot and boundaries as well as keeping us informed of relevant information.

YCIS and GISSV remain motivated to root out injustice in our everyday language, in our actions toward one another, and in the ways we learn and create knowledge. In addition to our educational efforts in both schools, we encourage you to educate yourself and children about racism and Anti-Asian violence:

We encourage teachers, parents, and high school students to take a Bystander Intervention Training (Hollaback / Asian Americans Advancing Justice).
Liz Kleinrock's lessons and work on Learning For Justice (formerly Teaching Tolerance) has a lesson called Min Jee's lunch and "After Atlanta" section includes a number of resources.
The Immigrant History Initiative has developed two new lessons about how racism and scapegoating has shown up in previous pandemics, tying history to current events. The second one in this series will address anti-Semitism.
Children's books and middle-level book recommendations:
- Fred Korematsu Speaks Up
- We have a few copies of A Kids Book about Racism on campus. Contact the YCIS office if you'd like to borrow and return the book (sanitized).
- German journalist, San Francisco-based author Christoph Drösser has published "100 Kinder", nominated for the Deutscher Jugendbuchpreis 2021. GISSV has signed copies in both San Francisco and Mountain View.
- Check out these recommendations from the NY Times.

During the next weeks, YCIS and GISSV will connect the middle school grades for a joint discussion on issues of discrimination and injustice. The misogyny of this recent attack also reminds us of the intersectionality of race, gender, and class. We also stand against racism against Black, Indigenous, Latinx, immigrant, and sexual/gender and religious minority communities.

In Partnership,

Crystal Vaught, YCIS Principal
Kathrin Röschel, GISSV Head of School

Definitions:
Diversity refers to the traits and characteristics that make people unique while inclusion refers to the behaviors and social norms that ensure people feel welcome.